He leaves his office, and I look at Gio. He stands and offers me his hand. “Come on, I think you’ll get a kick out of this.”
“Do you know where we’re going?” I question, following him out of the room. Dad waits at the bottom of the stairs, and he quietly whistles a particular tune. Not long after, Mickey comes back down and shakes his head, frowning in annoyance.
“Goddamn it, Stefano, why did you make your damn rooms soundproof? I had to go out onto Gio’s balcony and climb across to yours. Thankfully that door is not soundproof, but it wasn’t easy in these pants. I was just coming back in when you whistled.” Mickey is wearing a tight pair of dress pants that wouldn’t give him much room to move.
“Did you hear anything of value?” Dad asks, but before Mickey can answer, Penelope appears at the top of the stairs. She changed from the outfit she was in earlier, though I don’t know why she bothered. It’s still the same style of dress, just a different pattern or label or something.
“I’m going out for lunch at the club with some of the women,” she announces. Her gaze moves to me, and a sneer crosses her lips. “At least the one good thing to come out of all this is that we will finally be moving to a place befitting our social status.” Her cryptic comment has me wanting to ask more questions, but I keep my lips zipped for now and scowl back at her.
“Have fun.” Dad doesn’t rise to her bait as he calls back before leading the way out of the house and to his car in the garage. I turn back to look at my stepmother, and the expression of rage on her face is breathtaking. I’m not sure if it was aimed at me or my father, but I have never seen her look like that before. Shaking off the tiny hint of dread I feel, I hurry after the others.
Dad’s Mercedes is back in the garage, so when Gwen and Louise return mine, it’s back to leaving it outside. Gio and I get into the back, while Mickey and Dad climb in the front. Everyone is completely silent as Mickey pulls out a device and turns it on. He waits a moment, and when it beeps, he nods. “All clear.”
Dad backs out of the garage, and soon we are heading across town. “I’m sure you have plenty of questions, but I know one you have wanted an answer to over the years is about Penelope. She is an alliance marriage and a convenience. Nothing more. I will never love another woman like I loved your mother, but I secured an alliance with another family by marrying her. They will forever be in my debt now because it made them a hundred times more legitimate than they were. I am afraid, however, that Penelope may have gotten a little too comfortable. She’s been vocal lately and has made it clear she does not approve of how I run things. I’m not old-school enough, not that her approval means anything to me. I think Penelope may be a traitor, but she is not smart enough to be the mastermind behind it.”
“How do we deal with traitors, Dad?” I ask, bracing myself for his answer. His eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, and I see something in them I have never seen before—the same ice-cold fury that I feel about Stacey’s betrayal.
“We kill them.” He doesn’t hesitate to tell me the truth, nor does he do me the disservice of trying to soften the blow, and for that, I am grateful.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nod.
“Did you hear anything of importance?” Dad asks Mickey.
“No, she made two phone calls. One was to her friends and was mind-numbingly benign, and the other was to someone else who did all the talking. She said nothing useful.”
“Have someone follow her to the country club. Make sure that is where she goes. I want a tail on her at all times. I want to know if she is reporting to her family or if it is another individual altogether.”
“I can’t see Vincent or Marco being stupid enough to double-cross you after all these years,” Mickey scoffs. “He likes his cushy life now, so there’s no way he would jeopardize that.”
Vincent is Penelope’s dad, and Marco is her brother. They are both chauvinistic assholes, and thankfully we don’t see them very often. They are more like business associates than family, which I guess makes sense now.
“No, you may be right about that, but it’s better to be safe than dead,” Dad muses. “There is one more thing I must tell you before I allow you to ask questions. It is about your friend Stacey… or not so much a friend now, but an enemy, no?”
“Yes.” I don’t elaborate, and I know I don’t need to. Somehow, both Dad and Mickey have seen the video, I know it in my gut.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, and I’m afraid some of that is probably my fault. You see, Stacey’s dad is from a rival family. He is the fourth son, and as such, he is not much use to his father. I am pretty sure he encouraged her to be friends with you to have a way to get to me. I have an alliance with his father, but it is an uneasy one. I wanted to put a stop to your friendship with her, but by the time I realized who she was and how she was related, it was too late. She was firmly entrenched in your life, so I swore as long as she didn’t hurt you, I would stay out of it, but no more. I’m not sure if she did what she did out of her own misguided ambitions, or if she was put up to it by her father. Either way, she will pay. As will her family.”
Fuck, I feel ill at his announcement, and I breathe deeply and slowly to try to control the urge to vomit. Our friendship wasn’t even real. No wonder she didn’t hesitate to do what she did to me. Though it eases my mind somewhat that maybe my judge of character isn’t as fucked up as I thought it was and she’s just a damn good actress.
“I want to do it.” I lean forward, making eye contact with him through the rearview mirror so he can see that I mean what I say. “Please don’t take away my revenge.”
“You are not ready,” Dad argues, his firm tone leaving no room for argument.
“Not now, but when I am, allow me the satisfaction of watching her beg. She took something away from me that I will never get back. Even now, I’m not sure what was real and what was pretend. I’m so confused, but one thing I am certain of is that Stacey will get what is coming to her.” I’m practically begging now.
“Let them sweat for a little while. Gregor will believe that Stacey has succeeded in breaking Tori when she doesn’t go back to school. We can spread a rumor that she is attending a boarding school overseas. Then bam! Tori strikes, and they won’t know what hit them.” Mickey sounds gleeful, and I shoot him a look of gratitude when he turns to wink at me.
“Fine, but their family will be made to pay an extra contribution this month and banned from running their money through the casinos for another month. I won’t let them think we have gone soft. We will make it clear that what happened to Tori is unacceptable, and next time, we won’t be so lenient. That will also lull them into a false sense of security so they won’t be expecting Tori’s revenge.”
“Thank you,” I tell my dad, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. No one will take away what is owed to me, and I plan on collecting tenfold.
The car slows, and I finally take note of where we are. The fortress gates loom before us, and the guard steps out of the guard box.
Holy shit! No fucking way. I can’t believe we’re here.
“Good morning, Mr. Russo.”
“Hey, Frank. You know Gio, but this is my daughter, Tori. She is allowed full access from now on, alright?”
