Welcome to Suburbia.

The man was asking for it. With his leering eyes and slick smile, he was asking to be killed eventually. Dominic just happened to get to him first.

Dominic worked with a construction company that, occasionally, was hired by some fronts for the Italian Mafia. They never turned down such jobs; to do that would have been risking offending some of the most powerful men in the country and that was not a good idea. As a result, even though each worker knew that they were being paid under the table, no one complained. Dominic certainly didn't. As site manager, he rarely had to do hands on work and he was comfortable with his job, even if it involved illicit dealings. He consulted with men like Angelo and Larry on a daily basis, always accepting the bonus they'd slip in his pocket if he proposed an idea they found particularly useful. With that extra money, he could bring his two young girls, Emily and Alex, new clothes or books or that new Barbie they'd asked for. They could use it for grocery money, or for a new piece of furniture. That extra money helped a lot and Dominic didn't even care that it was illegal.

If it wasn't for Michael Lombardi, Dominic probably would have gone on living like that until he was arrested or until the Mob contracts dried up. It would have been the American dream. But then one day, when he consulted with Angelo about an add-on he wanted to add to a night club he owned, some greasy haired fuck with pitted skin and a loud mouth swaggered in, popping the collar of his thousand dollar suit. When he spoke, the sound grated on Dominic's brain, clawing at his eardrums. With that first glance, he hated him.

"Dominic, this is my nephew, Michael," Angelo introduced after him and Michael had shared a hug. "He's here to see the business first hand."

"Wonderful," he muttered, gritting his teeth. As the meeting went on, relations only got worse. Every time Dominic would begin to talk to Angelo about an idea he had, Michael would starting talking, spitting out his own opinions like he was Jesus and they were his followers. Dominic could feel a blood vessel in his eye threatening to explode but Angelo only stared at the rat with fondness, agreeing with his dumbass ideas.

But things shouldn't have gone past that point. Dominic should have stayed merely annoyed with the greasy bastard. He should have gone home and had his wife, Olivia, give him a back massage, melting the stress away with her magic hands. He should have forgotten about Michael.

Fate was an asshole in it's own right. Olivia happened to choose that day to bring Dominic the lunch he had forgotten at home. When she walked through the door, seven months pregnant, maternity dress clinging to her large belly, Dominic wasn't the only one admiring her glow. He wasn't the only one who thought that she looked absolutely gorgeous. She only stayed long enough to drop off his spaghetti and leave but during that short time, Michael Lombardi had set his sights on acquiring Olivia for himself.

It started out with just phone calls. They would usually come around nine in the evening, when Dominic was putting his twin eight year old daughters to bed. He would race to answer them before Olivia got up but each time, the line was empty. It started off with only one of these a night but it soon escalated to two, even three. Some nights, they would be awoken at three or four in the morning to the phone ringing. Eventually, Dominic ripped the phone cord from the wall, using his mobile for communication.

Michael showed up almost every day, making annoying comments about any suggestions Dominic put forward. However, there were also times when he would inquire about Olivia, asking Dominic how long they'd been married or if they had other children. Dominic had reluctantly answered the questions, hoping it would make him shut up.

Verbally, Michael did. He showed up occasionally but he was nearly silent. He spent more of his time staring at Dominic, smiling at him when he noticed. Dominic gradually realized that this was worse than the constant talking. Now, it just seemed like he was hiding something, dangling information over Dominic's head that he just couldn't reach.

The communications began again, but this time they were targeted at Dominic's cell phone. He was bombarded with text messages that were completely disgusting. He'd block the number from his phone only to receive them from a different number. Some of them literally made him physically sick. Others made him infuriated beyond what he had thought himself to be capable of.

i want to lick your wife and make her scream like you can't.

When you read something like that, it's nearly impossible not to be a little pissed off. They got to be so much that Dominic took a hammer to his cell phone on his lunch break, smashing it into bits of glass and twisted metal. When he turned around, face dripping with sweat, Michael had been leaning against one of the trailers, cigarette between his lips. Their eyes had locked for one tense moment and at that moment, Dominic finally connected the dots. The greasy scumbag had been the one tormenting his family for weeks, sending him the most perverse things about his wife. He'd been there the entire fucking time, mocking him.

And when Michael lazily winked at him before disappearing back inside, Dominic knew he had just destroyed the only proof he had.

Three days later, Olivia went into labour. Dominic left his job to one of his assistants for the day and broke the speed limit on the way to the hospital, narrowly avoiding being hit as he ran red lights. When he finally arrived at the hospital, he ran up the stairs but froze in the doorway of the delivery room.

Michael was in there. His wife was lying on her back, legs in stirrups, screaming at the top of her lungs and he was staring at her. He was wearing scrubs and a surgical mask was on his face but it was those damn eyes. Those pitch black, cold eyes that hid animalistic thoughts. Dominic stormed into the room and immediately scrubbed up as well, holding his wife's hand and kissing her temple as she screamed. He glanced upwards and Michael was gone. He was sure that he had been there but it may of been his imagination.

It wasn't. When Olivia fell asleep, Dominic retreated downstairs to get a muffin and some coffee from the hospital cafeteria. He was only gone fifteen minutes but when he returned, there was a large bundle of roses sitting on Olivia's bedside table. They weren't from anyone in either of their families; they would have known that Olivia despised roses. Making sure that she was still sleeping, he stepped over and snatched up the flowers, reading the attached tag.

your beautiful.

The man couldn't even spell and Dominic just knew that it was Michael. But was he still in the hospital? Kissing Olivia on the temple, he slipped out of the room, wandering around until he found a nurse to direct him to the nursery. Turning a corner, he could see the long, glass window that the infants were secluded behind, little balls of red flesh tucked into pink and blue blankets. There was another man standing in front of the window, hair gleaming. When he turned his head, Dominic saw those same eyes, staring at him with envy. There was something dangerous in his eyes, lingering below the surface. His hands were clasped behind his back and he nodded his head at the window. Stepping up beside him, Dominic started to cough. Michael had bathed in cologne.

"Cute child," he remarked. Dominic's son, Daniel, was in front of them, sleeping soundly. His face was still pink from his birth.

"Do you really think it's yours?" Dominic didn't know what came over him. One minute, he was looking at his newborn son and the next, he had grabbed Michael by the collar of his shirt, slamming him against the window. Some of the babies inside woke up from the commotion and began to bawl. Michael wriggled around but Dominic pulled his collar tighter, practically strangling him. Strange gurgling noises came out of his throat and on the other side of the glass, a nurse was banging her fist, screaming at them.

"You stay away from my family," Dominic growled, twisted the collar in his hands. "Do you understand? Stay the fuck away." With that, he shoved Michael back against the glass before storming down the hallway, sweat falling from his forehead. When he returned to her room, Olivia was awake, lying on her side. The roses were still there but she didn't comment on them.

"Isn't he adorable?" she whispered, looking up at him. Her hair was greasy and tangled and her eyes were rimmed with red. Yet, to him, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Yes, he is," he replied. "He's gorgeous, like his mother."

Two days later, Olivia was allowed to leave the hospital with Daniel. Dominic returned to work, but not for long. One night, around six in the evening, Olivia used her mobile to call him at the office. When he picked up the phone, it was evident that she was in tears.

"There's someone outside," she whispered. "I've locked the doors and windows but I can hear them rustling around." He immediately drove home, not caring that he was in the middle of a job. He parked down the block and, reaching in the back of his truck, pulled out a shovel. The sun was almost below the horizon but he had just enough light to see. There were bushes planted outside of his bedroom window and, just as Olivia had said, they were rustling slightly. Dominic planted himself behind a large tree that separated his own yard from his neighbours and waited. Half an hour had gone by, the sun had gone down and finally, he could see someone wriggling out of the bushes. Groaning, they walked right beside Dominic's position, cursing underneath their breath.

"Michael?" Dominic said, stepping out from behind the tree.

"Yeah?" Michael turned his head and even in the dark, Dominic could see the grease in his hair.

"I told you to stay the fuck away from my family." He only swung once but the blow was more than powerful enough. When the shovel collided with Michael's neck, blood spurted onto Dominic's face. Michael swayed for a few moments before he hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. He didn't stick around long enough to hear Michael gurgle. Grabbing the shovel, he hurried to the front door, banging madly.

"Olivia! Let me in!" Emily opened the door instead, her blue eyes huge.

"Daddy, why are you covered in blood?" she asked.

"Olivia!" he screamed again. Michael was part of the Mafia. He estimated that he had exactly three days before he himself would be slaughtered. When Olivia slowly came out of the bedroom, holding Daniel, she froze mid step, eyeing the blood splattered on her husband's face.

"Dominic, what did you do?" she whispered. Even Daniel just stared at him, eyes nearly hidden in his chubby face.

"I protected us."

Let us leave them to hide the body and travel cross country to their new home with their new identities. Elsewhere in the suburbs, on the fringes closest to the city, is a woman named Lindsay. Lindsay lives with her daughter and her husband, Gerard. Lindsay believes that Gerard is a night security guard with a local office firm. She never questions that his pay seems exuberantly high for a security guard. When he brings home wads of cash, she simply assumes that he cashed his cheque before he came home.

However, they say that assuming makes an ass out of you and me. So, we won't assume any of this. We're going to delve deep into the lives of the residents of 4 Monroe Drive. We are going to find out what Gerard is really doing at night, when the respectable people of the world are asleep and the others are just waking up.

It is the latter that Gerard deals with.