CH 7

Sonny was so young when it happened, barely out of his teens. Life was so good, he had a great family and loved them all. He always adored his uncle Gary, he wasn’t very close to his own father Mike, who was in and out of his life. Mike and Gary were brothers, though nothing alike. His father was irresponsible; he had a very big gambling addiction and was always gone.

Gary and his wife Florence thought of Sonny as one of their own kids. Sonny got along with Gary better than Gary’s stepson Marcus did and Sonny and Marcus didn’t get along well either. Marcus always resented that fact that his stepfather got along so well with his cousin. When they got older, Marcus moved away to live with his biological father. This pushed Sonny and Gary even closer.

When Sonny was 15, his life endured big changes. His father and mother were trying to work things out and I guess they thought a baby might help.  Mike moved back in for the hundredth time and tried to get closer to Sonny. But Sonny already saw Gary as a father figure and would always turn to Gary over Mike with things. When Sonny’s mother Adela, found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic. Even more so when her sister in law, became pregnant three months later. His mother Adela had a baby boy she named Juan, after her brother. And his aunt Florence had a beautiful little girl she named Gia Marie. From the moment Sonny held Gia after she was born, he felt a connection. He adored that little girl more than anything.

When he was a young boy, Sonny became fascinated with his uncle Gary’s business. From a very young age he knew that what his uncle did for a living was not legal. Florence and Gia always thought that he was a highly respectable businessman and he was, they just didn’t know that what he did could cause his family so much harm. But Gary trusted Sonny with his life and eventually took him under his wing. He began to teach sonny all about the business. By the time he was in his late teens, Sonny started taking over for his uncle. Gary had great hopes that Sonny would someday become the most highly respectable mob boss in the country. 

When his uncle Gary became involved with the well-known company Cassadine industries, Sonny knew it was risky. He had heard things about the way they work and he didn’t want his uncle involved. But eventfully it was no longer an option and his family was threatened. So Gary started working for a man named Stavros Cassadine. Sonny would often attend meetings with his uncle and did not get a good feeling about this man. He had a hunch that if something went wrong, his uncle would be in great danger. And that hunch was proven one night when Sonny was in his early twenty’s.

Sonny and his uncle were supposed to meet with Stavros Cassadine. Sonny found it odd that he would want them to meet at the Cassadine estate on Spoon Island, rather than at their office building in the City. But his uncle didn’t seem to worry about it so he didn’t say anything.

Sonny had only been in this the Cassadine estate a few times. They had just gone to a dinner party here a few moths ago. The whole family was invited, even the kids. Sonny didn’t like the thought of his family being so comfortable with these people. So he tolled Juan and Gia to stay close and not to talk to anyone. He also tolled them that Stavros’ son was a monster to keep them away from him, and it worked.

Sonny thought about the night he tolled Gia about the monster. He couldn’t help but laugh, remembering the look on the beautiful little girls face.

Stepping inside the huge estate, sonny got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. They were greeted first by Stephen, Stavros’ brother and business partner. He didn’t bother Sonny as much as his brother did but he still had the feeling that he too was not a man you would want to cross. Stephen apologized for the wait that they had endured, but they had just sent his nephew Nikolas away to school and they needed to see him off. Stephen then excused himself and said that his brother would be in soon.

When Stavros entered the room, he was not pleased to see Sonny sitting next to Gary. He asked if he could leave, that this meeting was to only involve Gary. So Sonny reluctantly stepped out of the room, allowing them to discuss things on their own. He waited for what seemed like an eternity and when he heard the two men arguing, he decided to see what was going on. When Sonny reached the door all sound stopped in the room, and that made him even more uneasy. Stepping into the room, Stavros looked up at Sonny with an evil grin on his face. Looking down, Sonny saw that his uncle was lying dead on the ground. Blood was gushing from a slit across his throat. I sight he would never forget.

When they went to trial for the murder, Sonny was threatened with not only his own life but also his entire family’s. They made this clear when Sonny found a man in Gia’s room, watching her while she slept. This scared the s### out of him. Not wanting to loose his loved ones, he lied to the judge about what he saw and the Cassadine’s got away with the crime.

Gia reminded Sonny of his uncle Gary so much. Her spunky personality and quick wit was just like her fathers. When Gary died, Sonny swore that he would keep this little girl safe. So he helped raise her, along with the rest of his family. Sonny took on the role of not only her cousin, but her father too.

Sonny vowed to keep his family away from the evils of the Cassadine's. He forbad both Gia and his younger brother to even talk about them around him. And if they did, it would only be to speak poorly of them. They were never to go near anyone associated with the family either. He tolled them the truth about the Cassadine’s, that they are all evil and that they killed Gia’s father. So growing up, Juan and Gia were constantly reminded that they were to hate all things Cassadine, and they did.