Basically without giving too much away, my main character runs a mafia that her dads father ran but her dad didn't want it so she took over. Her mother had no idea. But, no one also knew that hey mothers family is with the mafia. Her Mother dies and the story takes place 8 months after but I need help figuring out WHY her mother dies. I want to say her mother kills herself because of SOMETHING to do with the mafia but I don't know what and no one would know her mother killed herself yet until the end. Any ideas?
Instead of suicide what about this. The mother could have found out and the shock of this news could have caused her to have a heart attack or a stroke.
I think your answer lies therein. After all, there's a reason your MC's father didn't want to take over the Family - and there's a reason her mother had no idea your MC took over in his place. Obviously, without more detail from your side, I'm making assumptions here, but it sounds like the mother may be part of the reason your MC's father decided not to take over from his father. If that's the case, it also explains why she (the mother) had no idea that the MC took over. As a placeholder concept to make my my point as clear as possible, let's assume that Mother is against her family being part of the mafia now that Grandfather has died. Father is given an ultimatum and chooses his wife over Grandfather's legacy. MC, however, was never subject to the ultimatum, so MC takes over the mafia group. Father knows (perhaps it was his idea?), but Mother isn't allowed to find out. Except... Mother did find out. BLAM. Brains all over the carpet (or something, I dunno how you want her to have killed herself). Father knows why she did it, but no one knows that he knows. At the end, he reveals it to the MC. The ultimatum he was given, that caused him to pass up on taking his own father's place, was that Mother would kill herself if he took over and brought the family into that life. She finds out her daughter took his place, so even though the ultimatum was originally meant to be only if Father took over, the family has still be brought back into the mafia lifestyle, so Mother feels that Father broke his side of the the deal.
@EBohio there are plenty of ways to include the suggestion (and remember, it's merely a suggestion) without making it appear like a soap opera. Soap operas are long-drawn drivel with very little plot (at least in my experience). The suggestion is also more realistic and in line with what the OP said than: For context, this is what the OP said: Tuning a piano has nothing to do with the mafia, and the correlation between "kills herself" (i.e. suicide, therefore intentional) and an accident is dubious at best.
Like, no one no one or no one meaning no allies or family, mafia or otherwise. Could be she was threatened by another mafia head to kill herself or they would sell her daughter to be a prostitute for the rest of her life or something more horrible. For a mafia head and a mother to kill themselves like that it's gotta be about protecting somebody.
I was making a joke and a suggestion at the same time. The only way this story is going to be interesting in my opinion is if the mother did not commit suicide but was actually killed by the Mafia. Maybe that's what people think at first (suicide/accident) but she was really murdered.
Eh... Maybe back in the 50s, but these days? Not so much. I used to have contact with three different Mafia Families, none of them ever used piano wire anymore. It's become a cliche they actively avoid. Missed the joke part, apologies. I tend to read things on forums from the perspective of "If I had asked this question, how useful would I find this answer?" Actually really like that one. But then we also come back to OP's question as to why. Any ideas there? I've only just woken up, my brain won't be good for new ideas until sundown.
Have you noticed that the OP has not come back yet. I don't think we should write this story for them. Honestly, this sounds like something they should have an idea about already. I don't mind critiquing what they come up with, but I am not going to write it for them. Which is why I was playful, I thought everybody had read or seen the movie The Godfather where there is a memorable scene with a guy being strangled by piano wire.
That is a good point. And I agree, it does seem like it's a major part of their story - something that ought to have been figured out. Seen it, read it, lived it. Like I said, when I think mafia, I think of the Families I used to have regular contact with, which in turn means I think the opposite of iconic mafia films (purely because by being iconic, what they portray has become cliche).