“I’m upset, so I’m not hungry!”
I wanted to delve further. In all the time she’d been trapped in the room, there hadn’t been a day where she’d been overly upset. At least, not since she had to leave her sister on the first day.
It seemed stupid to ask, but I needed to know what had changed. The biggest regret she’d ever have would be making a fool out of me—if she was trying to do that, she wouldn’t see her sister again. I would stop showing up altogether.
“What’s changed?”
She furrowed her brow. “Your brother, that’s what’s changed.”
“Romeo?” I asked, unsure as to whether she was telling the truth. “What happened?”
“He mocked and antagonized me and my sister. He was terrible to her! I heard everything from in here. He even made her cry and threw things at her. It’s bad enough we’re trapped in here, but now he’s abusing us? It’s bullshit.”
It sounded like Romeo. I was just surprised that he only abused them verbally. He wasn’t exactly known for treating women that well, and in there he had two perfect subjects who couldn’t do anything to fight back.
I grew frustrated at the thought. He’d ruined my day by being a jackass. I never understood his need to ruin things for everyone else. He enjoyed hurting and taunting people. My thoughts quickly turned to the other sister. I didn’t care so much what happened to her, but if she was hurt, it would mean that I’d have to stop the visits for a while. Which was something I didn’t want to do.
Chiara was mine. Seeing her distraught upset me because it ruined the visit completely.
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again,” I told her and pointed towards the food. “Eat your dinner. There’ll be no seeing your sister tonight.”
She furrowed her brow at me. “He harassed my sister! I want to see her and make sure she’s okay. You promised that if I ate the way you wanted, you’d let me go visit her.”
I tapped my fingers against the door. “You’re too worked up, and I’m sure your sister is too. Let me deal with it. You can see her tomorrow.”
“This is bullshit,” she said and pushed the plate aside. “If someone did that to your sister, wouldn’t you want to see her?”
She always asked those kinds of questions, as though we shared the same love that her family had. No. My family was conniving and ruthless. The only time we spent together was in family meetings. Otherwise, we had limited contact.
“Nevermind that. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I closed the metal slide before she could say another word and began walking away. There was no other choice than to claim what was mine and let Romeo know that he was overstepping his boundaries, and I wasn’t going to stand for it. Not when it came to her.
* * *
As soon asI walked through the door, he was standing there. I could feel the anger building in my chest as I approached him, my hand formed into a fist. He didn’t stand a chance. My brother was strong, but there was no way he could take me on. I was intimidating to everyone, even the heir to our family’s criminal empire.
“What’s wrong with you?” Romeo asked, stepping back as I made my way across the room.
“You look like you’re ready to kill.”
I could feel my feet pounding against the black marble tiles as I clenched my teeth. “I think I might be, you know, you… ”
“Come on, guys. We’re having guests.”
I stopped mid-step and turned towards the front door, which was open, letting in a light summer breeze. My father’s eyes were enough to cause me to relax my fist and inhale deeply. He knew what was going through my head—he was a man who needed little explanation. Still, it was unlike him to gather us together on short notice.
“Get to the dining room. The guests will be arriving soon,” my father said, closing the door. “Come on. Romeo, you, too.”
I saw Savio in the dining room, already sitting at the table, and ushering us to whatever it was my father had planned. There was no denying him a request, though. I may not have feared much, but I knew to fear my father. Family or not, there were rules.
We knew we had to do as he said.
I left my brother where he stood and turned toward the dining room as my father led the way. I would deal with the situation later when my father couldn’t intervene. My brother and I rarely came to blows, but I’d be ready if the situation arose. He knew better than to start a fight like that with me. He hadn’t tried it in over five years.
Whatever it was my father had planned, it seemed intense. I had no idea what it was, but I was sure that Romeo had been told the details and just forgot or couldn’t be bothered to tell us. He was the heir, but he was a lazy piece of shit when he wanted to be.
Still, I didn’t want the title.
