Ruthless. Hateful. Sadistic.
And completely unsatisfied with anything short of being Don, which will never happen.
Ever.
Vince is uneducated, unhinged, and utterly lacking in leadership. A spoiled, rich man-child with the emotional intelligence of a spoon and the temperament of a pit bull on bath salts.
He has no value to the business.
He’s a goon—one of the worst.
That’s why Dad insists I’m the one to take over.
Makes sense.
Ezra isn’t great either, but at least not anywhere near Vincenzo’s level of viciousness, and he’s loyal. Obedient. Another Campisi goon, through and through.
Then there’s Alessandro—Alex. A year older than me, not particularly skilled at crime, but passionate about it: currently serving three to five years, and I swear he treats jail like a badge of honor. Loyal soldier. Prison, to him, isn’t punishment; it’s some twisted rite of passage.
So, it’s just me.
The only one with a remotely level head.
The only one who’s gone to college, who can think beyond muscle and fear.
The only one who could run the business side without wiping us out or landing in prison.
And yet… the thought of making decisions that could cost lives terrifies me.
I know a lot of these people are bad, so how are we really any better?
I have more questions than answers about this life my family leads. The idea of running the legitimate side of Campisi’s empire intrigues me.
The crime side? No real interest.
Dad knows it. He just doesn’t care. He doesn’t take no for an answer.
But I love him anyway.
He is a good dad, in his way.
As normal as a mafia don could be.
He came to my school plays. Took us to the zoo. Went on roller coasters and held my hand when I cried after Mom died.
Mom died when I was ten, and he never remarried.
Nannies came and went; Sure, some of them probably warmed his bed, but he never tried to replace her.
She was the love of his life.
And he loves us too. I know he does.
That’s what makes it so damn hard to walk away.
Even though I’ve got no taste for blood, I used to think it would kick in eventually, like a dormant gene waiting to be activated. That one day I’d wake up as a ruthless, unflinching killer, maybe, just like the rest of them.
But it never came.
