Characters
THE CALLAHAN FAMILY
Ethan Antonio Giovanni Callahan: first son and eldest child of the former head of the Irish mob, Liam “the Mad Hatter" Alec Callahan, and former head of the Italian mafia, ex-governor, “Bloody" Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan. He is the father of Giovanna Athena Callahan and has been in a longtime secret relationship with Calliope, as part of his plan to expose his parents. He is often quiet, cruel, ruthless, and cold. He will do anything and harm anyone to achieve his goals, including those he cares about the most. Due to the fact that he’s spent much of his time observing others, he’s very good at playing on other people’s desires. Like his mother, he took over control of the family at eighteen. As such, he bears resentment for his parents faking their deaths and leaving him with such a heavy burden and pain. As the third generation Ceann Na Conairte, he often struggled with keeping or breaking the traditions of his family, as he does not wish to be the son brings down everything his parents and grandparents built. After meeting Calliope, he’s relaxed, as he has someone to share the burden with. He is very manipulative and enjoys fooling others, so much so he tends to be a bit dramatic. Those who do not know him well call him Mani di Forbice, scissor hands, due to the fact that he stabbed a child-molesting priest when he was young. His siblings and cousins call him Il Burattinaio, the puppet master, due to his intricate plans which end up forcing people to do exactly as he intended. His mother called him Mio Bel Leoncino, my beautiful little lion or lion cub. While his wife, Calliope, simply calls him Boss, though he’s sure it’s just to mess with him.
Calliope Seraphina Orsini Callahan: the mother of Giovanna Athena Callahan, the wife and longtime lover of Ethan Callahan, a fact unbeknownst to anyone else but to the two of them. She is also the daughter of Camilla Affini. Her mother was raped by an unknown person, thus conceiving her. This information is not publicly known outside of her family, and she was raised as the youngest daughter of Roman and Camilla Affini. She has two half-sisters, Avena and Bellarose. Her childhood was a dark one. Hated by her mother, ignored by her step-father, she grew up somewhat disconnected from others. That disconnection allowed her to better read and understand people, information that she uses to manipulate for her own means. From a young age, she desired to be rich, respected, and influential but did not know how…until she met Melody Callahan at age seven. Since then, she has worked single-mindedly to obtain everything she has ever wanted, her central desire being Ethan Callahan. To do so, she left Chicago, on the path to become an assassin. She can be vain and petty. Her light-hearted approach, as well as her sweet outer appearance, often mask her true ruthlessness. She is called both La Mia Anima, meaning my soul, and il Triste Mietitore, the Grim Reaper, by Ethan Callahan. She has many secrets and lies well. Nothing can shake her from a plan when she has set it out, not even her own emotions or child.
Giovanna Athena Callahan: the only child of Calliope and Ethan Callahan. She is four years old and has heterochromia. One iris is green and the other brown. She was born in Chicago but raised with her mother and great grandparents in Italy, who call her Giovanna Siena Orsini-Callahan. She learned all about her father and his family from bedtime stories. She is also the first grandchild of Liam and Melody and the first biological great-grandchild of Sedric and Evelyn.
Wyatt Sedric Callahan: the youngest son and child of Liam and Melody, the younger brother of Ethan and younger twin of Donatella. After losing his parents, he became disillusioned with his family and seeks to do something to snatch people back from death instead of sending them to it. He thus became a trauma surgeon and moves away from the family to Boston, where he remained for years. He often makes jokes or acts immature to hide from the truth that he truly can’t escape his family. He loves to remind his siblings that he is his mother’s favorite. Between all of his siblings, he’s the most temperamental and least calculating. Earning the nickname Mad Doc. He loves his family dearly and often blames himself when they hurt. It is for this reason he’s easily manipulated by his brother Ethan. He simply chooses to stop fighting it now. He’s in love with Helen, his adopted cousin.
Helen B. Callahan: the adopted daughter of Declan and Coraline. She is the biological daughter to former senator, civil rights attorney, and activist Graham King, who was killed by a young Wyatt when he filed to have Helen returned to him and away from Declan and Coraline. Since they were children, Helen and Wyatt have been close friends. Due to this, Helen developed feelings for him despite being raised as cousins, and he comes to realize he feels the same. They have begun a relationship, even though Declan does not approve. She’s the head of technology at WaveTree and handles all cybersecurity for the Callahan family.
Darcy Killian Callahan: the biological son of Declan and Coraline Callahan and was the starting point guard with the Chicago Bulls before he retired to join the family business with his cousin Sedric. He is Ethan’s youngest cousin, as well as Liam and Melody’s youngest nephew. He is of Black and Irish descent, born in Chicago, and named after his mother’s favorite character, Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, and his grandfather, Killian. Darcy, like all Callahans, hungers for the chance to prove himself and is also aware that had his grandfather not died, he’d be the one running the family now. But he knows that as a biracial Callahan, the Irish and Italian families don’t respect him in the same manner.
Sedric Liam Callahan: the younger half-brother of Nari Callahan and the biological son of Neal and Mina Callahan. He is Ethan’s cousin, as well as Liam and Melody’s nephew. He once played for the Chicago Cubs, but retired in order to work in the family business with his cousin, Darcy. He is of Korean and Irish decent and born in Chicago. He enjoys shooting with his father and is eager to prove himself, but as he and Darcy are among the youngest of the family now, he is often overlooked.
Evelyn Callahan: for
merly O’Tierney, is the widow of Sedric Callahan, who married her despite his father’s wishes, which led to a rift between Sedric and his family. She is the mother of Neal and Liam, the aunt of Declan, as well as the grandmother of Ethan, Donatella, Wyatt, Nari, Sedric, Helen, and Darcy. She is very much the matriarch of the Callahan family and has seen the family through many dark times. After being run off the road by Fiorello Orsini, she lost one of her twins, Davina, and that sent her into a long period of depression. After recovering, she initially did not want to know or be involved with the family business, rather focused her attention on throwing lavish parties and spearheading charities. However, after the murder of her husband, she became hands-on in securing the lives of her children and grandchildren.
Declan A. Callahan: the only son of Killian and his wife Kelly Laoghaire, both of whom were killed in a police shoot out. He was raised as a son of Evelyn and Sedric, his uncle and aunt. He was also best friends with his cousin, Liam. He is a quiet person by nature, and learned computer science and hacking, as well as mechanics to assist from the sidelines. However, over the years, he has gotten more hands-on in the family business. He married Coraline Wilson despite the concerns of his family. They adopted one daughter, Helen, and later had a son named Darcy.
Coraline Callahan: formally Coraline Wilson, was born into wealth as her family owned Wilson Bank. Her parents died when she was young and her aunt and uncle lived with her, as she was the heir to the family fortune. When she was young, she was often naïve, kind-hearted, and spoiled, leading her to reject Declan when she realized what his family did. However, after her family frames her for an accident she did not do, and Declan comes to her aid, she parts ways with her family and Wilson bank. She marries Declan Callahan. Due to her past struggles with cancer, she adopts Helen and later has a son, Darcy, via surrogate.
Neal A. Callahan: the first son of Sedric and Evelyn, Liam’s older brother. However, he wasn’t as smart or as cunning as Liam, and thus his father felt it best he step aside for Liam to take over. He agreed to keep the peace in hopes of mending fences with his brother. His first wife was Olivia Coleman, whom he ended up strangling when he learned she betrayed his family. He later remarried Mina Sung, as well as adopted her daughter. They later have one son together, whom they name after his father, Sedric.
Mina Callahan: formally Sung, is the wife of Neal Callahan and the mother of Nari Khan as well as Sedric. She was the campaign manager for Neal’s first wife’s father, the Coleman’s and later helped Melody become governor. She was born poor, but through hard work and grit worked her way up the ladder. Melody encouraged her to get involved with Neal in hopes of getting his mind off Olivia for good. She now tends to the family business as well as travels with her husband.
MARRIED OUT
Nari Callahan Khan: formally Sung, then Callahan, is the biological daughter of Mina and the adopted daughter of Neal Callahan, Ethan’s uncle. She is married to a Mr. Khan and has a daughter, Saura; however, she keeps her family name, Callahan, for public image, work, and out of fear that without it, she’d fade away from the family. Being adopted, she’s never felt very secure as a family member; as such, she seeks to be of service to the family in any way possible. She was charged with making Ivy presentable for the family and often clashed with Donatella due to their similar ambitions.
Mr. Khan: A man of Korean descent, who spends most of his time in Korea due to business reasons. Not much is mentioned about him, other than the fact that Calliope and Ethan believe him to be an idiot.
Saura Khan: the daughter of Nari and Mr. Khan…it’s suggested that her parents married due to the fact that she was conceived. She a month younger than Giovanna.
Princess Donatella Aviela Callahan: the only daughter of Liam and Melody Callahan. The younger sister of Ethan Callahan and the older twin sister of Wyatt. Both her and Wyatt shared rooms until they became teenagers. They both swear they can tell when the other is sad, upset, or hurt. She loves her other bother but was often jealous of the power and responsibility given to him over her. Her ambition and hunger for power were so clear that it often caused her and Ethan to butts heads…it also prevented her from ever truly being serious with a former childhood friend/family guard, Tobias Nikolai Valentino, who tries to use her to gain more power and whom she later kills. She is beloved by the Italian families due to her similarities to her mother, Melody. However, she wishes to rise above her mother. She is currently married to Prince Gabriel Honoré Déllacqua III, Hereditary Prince of Monaco, the Marquis of Baux, and no longer lives in Chicago but in Monaco as Her Serene Highness Donatella Aviela Callahan, the Princess of Monaco.
Prince Gabriel Honoré Déllacqua III: the son of Prince Davet-Jacques Florestan Déllacqua I and Adésme Benoîte, Princess Consort of Monaco, and the husband of Donatella, brother-in-law to Ethan and Wyatt Callahan as well as the son-in-law to Liam and Melody. Due to a power struggle for the Monegasque throne, in Monaco, which claimed his mother’s life, Gabriel spent most of his time in hiding until meeting Liam and Melody Callahan. In exchange for their help, he married their daughter. Thus, he and Donatella are currently in Monaco fighting for control of the country, and since leaving Chicago, they have not had time to spend with Callahan family. Gabriel also has not told Donatella the full truth behind his arranged marriage to her.
IN HIDING
Liam Alec Callahan: a second-generation Irish American and the second son of the Sedric and Evelyn Callahan. Liam, from a young age, despite being a sickly child, showed a determination, drive, and deep desire for power. He overshadowed his elder brother, Neal, and with his marriage to Melody Nicci Giovanni, was able to solidify position as Ceann Na Conairte, the head of the pack, and Callahan family at twenty-seven. Both his father and brother step out of the way for him. His quick temper and violent behavior led to him being nicknamed “The Mad hatter.” He is the father of Ethan, Donatella, and Wyatt, as well as the grandfather of Giovanna.
Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan: the only daughter of the Giovanni Crime Family, daughter of Orlando Giovanni and Aviela DeRosa. She was raised by her father. Later, due to his illness, she takes over the Italian mafia when she is eighteen. She goes on to marry Liam Alec Callahan, to join the Irish-Italian Mafias, as her father and her father-in-law had always hoped, at age twenty-four. Due to her ruthlessness as a leader, she is quickly nicknamed Bloody Mel. She controlled both mafia families with her husband as well as also became the first female governor of Illinois. She has three children, Ethan, Donatella, and Wyatt, as well as one granddaughter, Giovanna.
DEAD
Shamus & Margaret: were the parents of Killian, Fianna, Sedric, and Abigail. It is unclear how or when Margaret died, though it was likely before the murder of their eldest daughter Fianna. When their son Killian was murdered, Shamus abandoned America and returned to Ireland. He had made a deal with Ivan DeRosa, many years before anyone knew who he was, for his son Sedric to marry Catherine Briar to keep the balance of the mafia power within the States; however, Sedric did not. He later returns to the States and out of fear, pain, and exhaustion with his life in the mafia, he shoots himself in the head at the back of Callahan Manor, while standing in front of the graves of his wife and his granddaughter Davina, in the presence of his son Sedric.
Killian & Kelly Callahan: were the parents of Declan Callahan, Killian the older brother of Sedric, and former Ceann Na Conairte of the Callahan Family. However, after being betrayed, they were caught off guard one night by police. They were killed, shot in their car, eighty-seven bullets between them both. Their deaths were a massive blow to both Sedric and their father, Shamus, who in anger left America and returned to Ireland, as well as fueled hate for the police in their son.
Fianna Callahan: the second child of Shamus and Margaret, and older sister to Sedric. She was trapped in her house and died when it was set on fire. It is for this reason that one of the family rules called for all family members to live together. Her death also brought Killian and Sedric together fo
r the first time as they avenged her.
Abigail Callahan: the youngest child and second daughter of Shamus & Margaret, as well as the younger sister to Killian and Sedric. Sedric loved her very much and was very close to her. She was the wild child of the family and spent her days traveling. While traveling, she was kidnapped, raped, and beheaded, and her head was sent to Sedric. This traumatized him so severely that he broke down in front of his son Liam. Her death also left Sedric as the only surviving child of Shamus and Margaret.
Sedric A. Callahan: the second son of Shamus and Margaret Callahan, as well as husband to Evelyn. They had two sons, Neal and Liam. He took in his brother’s son, Declan, after his brother was murdered by police and raised Declan as if he were his son. After the death of his brother, Killian, he became the Ceann Na Conairte of the Callahan family, despite never having wanted the title. After his son’s marriage to Melody, he retires to live the life he wished with Evelyn but is murdered via gunshot to the head on the orders of Ivan DeRosa, saving both Melody’s life and his grandson Ethan’s.
Olivia Callahan: formally Coleman, was the beautiful and ambitious wife of Neal Callahan as well as the daughter of President Coleman. Her jealousy of Melody and her frustration at her husband’s lack of desire in being head of the family leads her to betray the family and making a deal with Ivan DeRosa. When this is found out, she is strangled by her husband Neal but does not die only loses consciousness. It is only when she wakes up does she realize that Melody had her buried alive. She suffocates and dies in her coffin.
Davina Callahan: the only daughter of Sedric and Evelyn, as well as Liam’s twin sister. She died in the womb as a result of Evelyn being run off the road by Fiorello Orsini near the end of the Irish and Italian wars. Her brother Liam survives, but her death sends Evelyn into a deep depression for years.
EVERYONE ELSE
The Giovanni Family:
Orlando Giovanni: Melody’s father, the previous Don of the Italian. He was euthanized by his son-law, Liam, due to the severity of his colon cancer. He was called Iron Hands.
Ignazio Giovanni: Melody’s grandfather, the father of Orlando. He died at sixty-one after being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. Melody’s mother, Aviela, had been poisoning him with arsenic.
Francesco Angelo Giovanni: the first son of Ignazio, the older brother of Orlando, uncle of Melody, and died at twenty-six. He was murdered a year before his father by Melody’s mother, Aviela, with arsenic.
Emilio Giovanni: Melody’s half-brother, whom Orlando allowed to grow up as Emilio Esteban Cortés without him, hoping he’d learn to fight on the streets. He came to Chicago and challenged his sister for the control of the Italian Mafia. He was Chicago’s mayor for a short period. He was shot in the head by Liam. It’s because of him that Melody feels compelled to finally walk away and fake her death.
The DeRosa Family:
Aviela DeRosa: the mother of Melody, lover of Orlando, and daughter of Ivan DeRosa, who was abusive and manipulative to her most of her childhood. This led her to her having mental issues and complex loyalties. She did the bidding for her father, as well as kidnapped and drugged her daughter. Melody strangles and kills her. Later it is revealed that Aviela betrayed her father and sabotaged his plans to take down the Callahan and Giovanni family.
Avian Doers/ Ivan DeRosa: the father of Aviela and grandfather of Melody. He was also the director of the FBI, which tried to limit the power of the mafia families while ruling over them both secretly. He had Sedric killed. After being betrayed by his daughter, Liam has Ivan cremated alive to avenge his father.
The Affini/ Orsini Family:
Fiorello Orsini: the grandfather of Calliope Callahan and the great grandfather of Giovanna. He once was the right-hand man for Orlando Giovanni. Two of his three sons were killed by Sedric Callahan during the Italian-Irish Blood Wars. In return, he ran Evelyn off the road while she was pregnant with Liam and his twin sister Davina. He planned to kill her but was stopped by Orlando, as he and Sedric signed a truce to end the blood wars. He also cared for Melody Giovanni as if she were his own daughter and believed her marriage to the Callahan family only weakened her and what killed her in the end. He raised his granddaughter to go further, to be better than Melody ever could have been….so she could destroy the Callahan Family in his final act of revenge.
Siena Orsini: the grandmother of Calliope Callahan and the great grandmother of Giovanna. She took care of Calliope when she was young in order to mold her into a weapon that could be used to avenge her sons, two of whom were killed by the Callahan family.
Roman Affini / Michelangelo Roman Orsini: Adoptive father of Calliope Callahan and grandfather of Giovanna. He is the only surviving son of Fiorello and Siena Orsini. He changed his name to Roman Affini after the death and destruction of his family in order to live a normal life.
Camilla Affini: the wife of Roman Affini, the biological mother of Calliope Callahan, who was conceived by rape. As such, she has always hated and abused her daughter, Calliope. She is also the grandmother Giovanna.