I sat myself down on a pew in the middle of the church. By now Don Angelo knew about the FBI auditing grandpa's company. The company in question was the closest Don Angelo ever got to going straight, when it was left to him in his father's will. My father wasn't a sentimental man, but it being the last thing his father gave to him made it special. So much so that he even kept it legit for a few years after it was bequeathed to him. Just like everything he touched though, it eventually became just another front for illegal activity. Still, to this day, it carries a special place in his stone cold heart.
After a move like giving that to the FBI, he was going to find me no matter where I went. So I opted to make things easier on us both and put myself out in the open so he could find me easily.
"Cute little trick, sending the feds to my doorstep," said Don Angelo, sitting down next to me ten whole minutes after I had put myself out there.
That was him saying he already knew I was going to try and bluff my way through this day. He liked the game though. The back and forth between us. Wanted to see me flailing about like a fish out of water. I didn't have a prayer of pulling this off and yet, here I was, playing the game anyway.
Ten minutes was a good time to keep me waiting. It made him seem more composed than he probably was. Like he was unaffected and not in a rush to find some way to get even.
But he would get even. My father was not a man who enjoyed being backed into a corner.
"Ciao, daddy," I said, keeping it brief to appear confident.
I was going to fail. I already knew that. How I failed mattered though. It had to be on my terms.
"Joey has something for you," I said, forcing myself to stay on task.
No emotions. No shaking hands. At least not yet. He would see only what I wanted him to for as long as I could hold out.
"It's Joseph," Joey seethed, stepping forward and handing my father a tablet. "She's gone too far. She's emptied our bank accounts. Say the word and I'll kill the bitch," said Joey, hovering over our father's shoulder.
I sat back, crossed my legs, folded my hands in my lap and let Don Angelo confirm this information. Tessa and Toni were godsends throughout hacking Don Angelo's accounts. Where would I be without them? Just keep breathing. Can't let him rattle me. At least make it past the ceremony. The second he got into my head, it was over. I needed to get as much as I could from him before that happened.
"My bank accounts," said Don Angelo, slapping Joey clean across the face before grabbing Joey's neck and sticking his nose in Joey's face. "My heir. Not some disposable whore you picked up on the side of the street. You will show your sister some respect. On your knees."
"But daddy she stole from you. Not once, but twice. She is a disposable wh—" Joey whined.
This time Don Angelo used two of his fingers to call forth one of his men, who sucker punched Joey without a second thought. The blow left Joey with a bloody nose, down on his knees next to our father. He knew better than to react beyond covering his nose with his hands.
"She's a hundred times worth what you are, you little shit. Now beg your sister for forgiveness," Don Angelo insisted, his voice ice cold.
It was a power play. His way of showing me he was on my side. He was trying to get into my head. Acting like nothing had changed and it was still me and him against the world. Can't let him in.
"I'm sorry," said Joey, glaring daggers up at me.
"Leave. I want to catch up with my erede," said Don Angelo, dismissing Joey with the wave of a hand.
There's nothing quite like the illusion of a father's love. Being made to feel important, before the other shoe dropped. It was fucking with my head. I had crossed so many lines, betrayal after betrayal and he was still calling me his heir. It scared the shit out of me. Little tremors went through my hands and I grabbed a hold of one with the other.
"So, how's life? Do I need to save the date for graduation yet or are you still exploring? Did you enjoy seeing Jenny and your mother again? That is why you chose New York in the first place, isn't it?" Don Angelo asked, spreading his arms out on the wood behind us.
Do not engage. He already knows what the absence of Collette and Jenny meant to me. He was trying to push my buttons. Searching for weaknesses. Looking for vulnerabilities. Don't give him anything he can use later. Stay on task. Make this wedding happen.
"I wanted to show you that the dead man's switch still exists. That the great Don Angelo missed one of my back ups. I knew the audit wouldn't be enough, so here we are. Tell me daddy, how did I do? Do you believe me now?" I said, staring straight ahead.
I wasn't ready to look him in the eye. It would give him too much power over me. He would make it happen when he was good and ready anyway.
"Guns blazing on what is supposed to be a happy occasion. What is it that you want to happen, erede?" he said, turning towards me to peer into my face.
"I'll give your money back in exchange for you allowing the wedding to proceed and for letting me go," I said, and heard the quiver, the begging, in my voice.
I wreaked of weakness. He just hadn't been so close in months. I could hear every breath he took and it struck fear into me. There was no taking the words back though.
"Send Luca and the guests in," said Don Angelo over his shoulder to one of his men stationed at the door. "How is that for an answer to your q
uestions? Let's have a wedding," he said into my ear.