BASIC INFORMATION:
NAME: Carla Beneventi-Vespucci. AGE: 32. PLACE OF BIRTH: Launceston, Massachusetts, United States. AFFILIATION: The Sovrani. OCCUPATION: Lawyer; public defender. FACE CLAIM: Greta Onieogou. AVAILABILITY: TAKEN.
BIOGRAPHY:
“You know you don’t have to come with us, right? Your life is here, my love.”
“A life where I spend every day worrying about what’s happening to you guys?”
There she stood, with her hands on her hips, and defiance in her words that she’d learned by heart from the woman before her. Like mother, like daughter…
And no matter what people said—no matter the looks they might’ve received over the years—she was her mother. It was a great source of pain when anybody doubted it.
From the very start, it’d been the Italian who had raised her; though never through any fault of her biological mother’s. It was just one of those unfortunate things. Frieda had been sick, and Allegra had been her best friend in the entire world. Without any family to fall back on, and with so much love for the small human she had been blessed enough to spend three painfully short years with, she had pleaded with the woman she trusted most to take care of her child when she was gone. People were so quick to paint the Italian as a heartless monster, but Carla knew better. There was no way she would be half the woman she was today if Allegra hadn’t made that promise.
“Your father and I will be fine.”
“And what if you’re not? What if something happens and I’m stuck here?”
It was a terrifying thought.
Whilst Carla didn’t remember anything of Frieda—the only knowledge she possessed at all coming from the memories and photographs Allegra happily shared with her—the bond she had with her mother was unbreakable. And that wasn’t to say that she didn’t love her father and her sister, too, because she absolutely did. With her whole heart. But there was something special between them. The woman was her mother, her best friend, and her mentor all rolled into one, and whilst it pained her to wonder what might’ve been had Frieda lived to raise her, Carla knew that she was blessed to have been taken in by the family she had. So much so, that being without them for the first time in her memory was a dire prospect.
Being a member of the Vespucci family was a privilege for all, not just the girl who had ended up there by a twist of fate. Her parents had done well to hide the reason as to why from her for as long as possible, though. It’d been disappointing to find out they’d kept it from her; that, far more of a blow than realising her family was about as involved with the mafia as was humanly possible. Of course she’d heard rumours, but she’d always just thought people were teasing her. Carla wasn’t angry with them. Any hurt had been short-lived because as was always the case, they had only been doing what they thought was best for her, and how could she be upset at that?
Her parents just wanted her to do better. To be better.
“If things get too crazy, we’ll come right back home.”
“You say that like I don’t know you. I know you won’t turn your back on Vincenzo right now. I know that he needs you there, and that’s okay. Just let me be there, too.”
Thanks to her family’s wealth and influence, Carla knew she’d lived an utterly privileged life. They could afford to send her to the best schools, to buy her the best clothes, to take her on the most wonderful family vacations to Rome. And whilst she would’ve been a fool to pretend she didn’t love every moment of it, the best part of all was that she felt so unconditionally loved. Perhaps, in ways that some children never even felt with their biological families. With her parents also came the extended family—both Vespucci and Auditore. Maybe some of the people in their home borough of Valence raised an eyebrow at them wandering around with a child who looked like her, but the family never had. Not once. And she was damn sure that if they’d ever caught word of someone treating her with any less respect than the rest of them, there would’ve been hell to pay.
In all honesty, Carla had never had any intention of following in their footsteps, though. Her parents needn’t have worried. Whilst she didn’t condemn what they did for business—how could she when everybody good in her life was a part of it, too?—she would’ve never had the heart to do it herself. Allegra and Michael had wanted better for her, and she was happy to oblige. With smarts, strength, and a whole load of ambition, she instead set off for law school, and it fit her like a glove. Life had blessed her in ways she could never be thankful enough for, so maybe she could start by giving a little back in defending the people who needed it most.
“Has anybody ever told you, you’re incredibly stubborn?”
“Wow, wonder where I learned it from? Look, we only just got dad back. I don’t want to lose him again. You know I always keep myself safe, and there’s no way it can be any worse than Launceston. Maybe I can even help the guys out whilst I’m over there.”
It wasn’t as if she’d never done it before.
Wearing the name Auditore or Vespucci in Sovrani circles was akin to being royalty. But whilst some played on that knowledge to prime their egos, she never had. It might’ve been one of the reasons even the lower ranks had seen her as so approachable. The reason she called so many of their loyalists friends. Michael hadn’t been too keen on that. Even from prison, he’d always made it clear that whilst he wouldn’t tell her what to do—she was an adult who could make her own decisions—he didn’t want her associating with the Sovrani any more than she already was. Even when it was just to offer a little friendly legal advice or some representation for their more minor grievances…
Carla had always been a kind soul, though, and he only had himself to blame for instilling that in her. From her mother she gained her ambition, her strength, and her smarts. From her father she gained her humility, her generosity, and her good heart. The two had always complemented each other in the most admirable way, and it was only proven by how their two daughters had turned out. Everybody who didn’t hate the Italians on principle alone adored her because it was impossible not to. And that made her so happy. She loved to be around people, she loved to be around her family, and she loved to be the person they could turn to when they needed help.
By the sounds of how things were going in London? They needed it there, too.
The fact so much of her family had uprooted itself to go there had been a difficult pill to swallow. Eventually, many of her closest friends had followed, too. It dawned on her quickly that almost everybody in her life was affiliated with the Sovrani, because people outside of it were too intimidated by her familial connections to give her a chance. Staying behind without them would be lonely. Hearing about them getting hurt without her being there to help them out, frustrating.
And that was precisely when she’d made her mind up.
Carla had no interest in war, nor did she have any real interest in leaving Launceston behind for somewhere like London. But as the people she loved started leaving the city one by one, she realised that even though she adored her life just the way it was, it was mostly because of the people in it. The sheen was dulled by the day.
It didn’t really matter whether her parents agreed or not, and they all knew it.
As kind of a soul as she might’ve been, as the legal world already damn well knew: if she wanted something, she wouldn’t stop until she got it.
Like mother, like daughter, remember?
“You promise me you’ll come home at the first sign of trouble?”
“I promise, mom.”
“Fine. Make sure to pack an umbrella.”
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS:
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single. FAMILY: Allegra Vespucci (adoptive mother), Michael Beneventi (adoptive father), Rosa Beneventi-Vespucci (adoptive sister), an amount of cousins and second cousins so large it could only be Italian. CONNECTIONS:
Vincenzo Vespucci: Second cousin, good friend. More of a protective older brother than a cousin, but she can appreciate that he's always looking out for her in a less-invasive way than if she actually had a mob-affiliated big brother. Carla loves all her family unconditionally...but if you were allowed to have favourites, Vincenzo would definitely be hers. Though she knows he doesn't need to hear it, thus will never tell him, she worries about him now he's leading such an unpredictable city.
Greta Sorrentino: Best friend. Whilst her family is undoubtedly the biggest reason for making the trip from Launceston to London, Greta is a close second. They met on their first day of school and have been utterly inseparable ever since. Even though she took a much more involved stance with the Sovrani than Carla did, it's caused surprisingly few problems during their friendship. Greta is a little shit, but she always has her best friend to keep her in line, and everyone is grateful for it.
Aria Rossi: Good friend. Where she and Greta might be polar opposites, Carla gravitated toward Aria because of their similar nature. They're both kind-hearted souls in a world filled with growingly few, and sometimes it's refreshing just to be around somebody who isn't constantly preoccupied with the mob wars unfolding around them. They've grown so close over the years that Aria's son affectionately refers to her as 'aunt Carla'.
Patrizia Pecatti: Mentor. It's a role Patrizia seems to have fallen into both begrudgingly but affectionately. There are few in the legal sphere more cut throat than Patrizia Pecatti, and whilst some of the lines she toes for the people she does makes Carla uncomfortable, she can appreciate it's always for the benefit of the Sovrani. She's learnt much from the older woman (both career-wise and how to balance the lives they lead with the family they're apart of) and if she pursues the ability to practice law in the UK, knows Patrizia can and will help secure her a position at the prestigious Bennett & Gallagher firm, no questions asked.















