Jump to content
    Westley D.
  • Author
  • 904 Words
  • 1,189 Views
  • 2 Comments
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Tuct Side - 40. Letters

The following is a collection of unsent letters written by the late Antonio Morterero-Rabellino, former Tuct Side Saturns leader, who died on July 4th, 2004 in an unsolved homicide.

December 1st, 2002

I went to visit Jaime and his wife and kids a few days ago. They all seem to be doing better than ever. Mi hermano is now the governor of New York, Adara is still sweet and head over heels for him, and the kids seem to be getting along. A lot different from my own. It’s honestly quite strange seeing such a normal, happy, and loving family. I never thought that that kind of future was in the cards for either of us, but my brother managed it. He was always the rebellious one, shirking off his duties to play guitar in the streets just to stick it up to Papaito. I can admit that for just a small second, for a tiny moment, I thought about abandoning the Saturns like he did.

But I knew it was too late for me, and my tainted blood seems to have finally kicked in with my sons. Lacia, my wife, is even more distant than ever. She had been lively for the first time in a while when we went to visit Jaime and his family, but now she’s back to being a shut-in. Javier doesn’t seem to mind – nothing really gets to him these days – and Jorge doesn’t seem to notice. My youngest son was… jumpy after the visit. As if he didn’t want to leave his cousins’ house.

To me, that was a sign.

A sign that I could possibly stop what was to come next. If only for a little while. But Saturn business runs deep, and we’re spreading like an infection.

Lo siento, mi hermano.


June 14th, 2003

I failed. And now, I am unredeemable. Destined for hell. To suffer for all eternity and beyond.

My older brother is dead, and his blood is all over my hands. But what has sealed my fate was Iliana, my brother’s youngest. Just two-years-old.

And I snuffed it out.

I should have stopped him. Jaime’s been adamant about fighting gang activity in New York. It was a middle finger to our father, who now lays six feet underground and laughing. I can only find relief in the fact that Jaime won’t be joining him. I could say that my old man forced me, but I was the one with the gun. Why was it so much easier to shoot a man through his back and into the chest of his baby girl than a frail, elderly man in his deathbed?

Lacia’s gone. Though, I think it wasn’t just Jaime and Iliana’s death that hit her the hardest. It was the fact that she knew. She knew who had killed them in cold blood. She could smell the guilt. And now she’s gone, left to me and the boys to live with her brother, Alonso. He never liked me, saying my business would end up ruining her life, and he was right.

I am a destroyer. A thief. And there is no coming back.

Javier had no other reaction but a shrug. It was just daily news to him. Jorge’s was more appropriate. He wanted to go back to New York to see his cousins. My youngest was already a better person. The infection hasn’t taken root in him yet, and it’s all thanks to my brother’s family. Maybe there was still time to save him.

Maybe here in Tuct Side, Idaho, my boy can break the cycle.


August 25th, 2003

What was I expecting? I shouldn’t have expected anything.

Because I am still here. And as long as I’m alive, the poison spreads.

Lacia had the right idea moving to Maine. It would have gotten to her, too. The divorce papers only cemented the fact that she wasn’t coming back.

Yeah. She knew.

Adara has changed, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better for her. Not even moving away from New York to Tuct Side. Why should it? I took away her husband and daughter, and now she has to walk past their killer every day now. Bran and Neil, her boys, are taking the brunt of it, but my kids seem to have taken them under their wing. Javier and Bran are two peas in a pod, going around town to cause trouble. I had to bail them out of police custody once already. Jorge seems to have wrapped himself around little Neil. The poor, young boy was a trembling mess when they got here.

I just hope they don’t get infected, too.


July 3rd, 2004

Jaime always liked Independence Day. The fireworks, the cooking, the celebration. But I always felt like he loved it for a deeper reason. He was free all his life, not weighed down by the atrocities around him He was able to get a girl and start a family while my father’s burdens sat on my shoulders. Mi hermano knew that. Saw it. He was going to help me. Said it to my face months before I… before he died that once he became governor, he was going to take all that weight off my shoulders.

What have I done?

Oh god. What have I done?

Tonight, I pray for retribution.

It’s time to take my place beside the Devil.

Copyright © 2021 Westley D.; All Rights Reserved.
  • Like 4
  • Love 3
  • Sad 1
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
You are not currently following this story. Be sure to follow to keep up to date with new chapters.

Recommended Comments

Chapter Comments

What a mess and what a disturbed, complicated, violent, broken up so far irredeemable, gang infested family. Brother killing brother (and young daughter). The pain and sicknesses were transferred to Tuct Side and the gang life ruined and is still ruining family lives.

Antonio ,Tuct Side Saturn's gang leader, realized what he was finally."I am a destroyer. A thief. And there is no coming back."

He was killed in an unsolved homicide, He knew it was coming." It’s time to take my place beside the Devil."

With these letters we see how messed up and interrelated all the gang and Morterero family have been and is. Death and crime and violence are constants.

Neil understands how dangerous his family is and how they pull people in. He seems to be setting out on a new course after his sex play and tapes (and possible government law enforcement witness help). He is honestly telling West to get away. West is over his head and unable to see who he is facing. His friends are not realizing how entrenched and powerful and deadly the Saturns are.

Maybe, if West and Neil get together more and become realistic and fatalistic about the messes, they might see that they can only live in the moment and not worry about the future. They can live day to day and enjoy each other and what else motivates themselves.

There are so many possibilities that I don't have a clue on a likely path and major upcoming events for the key players. But, I expect reading about all of them will be entertaining.

  • Like 3
Link to comment

I wonder if it will be revealed who specifically did the homicide could West somehow  find out that information I can see him trying to.

Was  the mentioning of playing guitar in the streets a throw away line or is it connected to how Neil got into music.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
View Guidelines

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Newsletter

    Sign Up and get an occasional Newsletter.  Fill out your profile with favorite genres and say yes to genre news to get the monthly update for your favorite genres.

    Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Our Privacy Policy can be found here: Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..