“So, you wanted…” he trails off.
“We need to go over a few things. I’m turning thirty soon. I think it’s time to move into the next phase.”
“Well. If you had married Arianna, that would be the next move, but unfortunately, son, without a marriage of standing, we won’t be able to move forward.”
“So you’re saying because I’m not married, that I’m incapable of running the business?”
“I’m sorry, son, it’s just the way things are. Enzo came to see me about you marrying his daughter. I feel that could be a good match. I need to look into her further, into her mother, her… breeding before I make a final decision. I’m just waiting for some more information to come back before I lock in the proposal and form the contract.”
I nod. I steel my emotions like always and ask. “So why can’t we move forward without a wedding? You know I’m gay anyway, so is there really any point?”
“Point?” He stands from his desk, fists clenched. “Appearances are everything. You can be gay behind closed doors. After an heir is birthed. You will move up, and only then will you step into my shoes… eventually, and lead the family along this path. What you do once your part of the transaction is complete is up to you as long as it’s kept in private.”
“What about change? Don’t you think we’re getting stale? Don’t you think we’re set in our ways? Isn’t forcing a marriage a little archaic?”
He blows out a breath. “You are not in a position where you need to think, Bellino. You follow the plan set out for you. Are you really trying to insult our beliefs? Our breeding? This is set in stone. This is how we do things, how we have always done things, and how we will. Always. Do. Things!” He gets louder as he shouts the last few words, slamming his hand down on the desk. I rise, fastening my jacket, and nod before turning and leaving. Before I’ve even clicked the door closed, I hear him buzz his secretary.
“Send the temp back in.” I shake my head as I stroll down the corridor. A dejected-looking woman walks back towards my father’s office with her head hanging down. It’s the same young woman as before. I don’t want that life. The one he’s dangling in front of me. I don’t want to be like him. I will take it and make it mine. As I make my way outside to my car, I know one thing for sure: I will have to use them to get what I want.
On the drive back home, I plan over and over in my head how to take him out. That will be easy. I can get close to my father; he trusts me, but the accounts and everything else getting that into my name will be another matter. Arianna says she can help, but trust does not come easily to me, and I wouldn’t trust her not to screw me over yet. But I can use her. I can make her think I want to work together and screw them over later. I have people I can buy. I can pay. But I need someone I can trust. There is no one in this world I trust, but there’s a niggle at the back of my brain.
Arianna and Vittorio. She wants to be a family, whatever the fuck that means. She wants to be trusted. She wants to form an alliance. But how much can I trust her and my brother? What about him? Whose side will he be on? My father alwaysfavoured him, always gave him special attention, or so I thought. He allowed him to be a child. I killed my first man at the age of eleven. My father gave him everything. Me, he only ever took from me. When this narrative came crashing down, I’m left wondering what the reality actually was. When the chips fall, can I trust my brother, too, or will he betray me to side with Father?
Ineed to figure out this conundrum first because if my brother chooses Father, I can’t trust Arianna either. I need to clear my head. I need to think. Everything I thought I knew has been turned upside down, and I need to regroup.
I do nothing but think about the situation. Which side will the chips fall? I call Arianna a few days later and set up a meeting with her and my brother. If I want them on side, to help with the dirty work. I need to play nice. Once Father is dead, I will destroy them both, but for now, I might as well use them to get what I want. As I walk into the house, they now share the Bianchi house. I look around, and there are subtle differences. The house feels warmer, different somehow. Less stark. I follow the housekeeper through to the sitting room.
“I thought we were having a meeting?”
Arianna nods. “Yes, but this is family.” I huff at her as the housekeeper rolls in a tray of sandwiches, a pot of coffee, and some pastries.
My brother strolls in, snatches a sandwich from the plate, and walks over to Arianna, leaning down and kissing herforehead before taking a seat next to her. He peels the crusts off his sandwich, stuffing them in his mouth and chewing. He looks relaxed—so does she.
I stand. “I’m not here for a fucking tea party.” I snap my walls firmly up. This setting is a complete contradiction to the “meetings” I’m used to.
“Sit down, Bellino,” she returns, and I glare at her. “Bell, sit down.” She softens, but I don’t like the familiar tone and the nickname.
I don’t know why, but I do. I take a seat and snatch a sandwich off the plate, glaring at my brother as I rip the crusts off mine, stuffing them in my mouth the same way he did. He smirks at me as he stuffs another bite in. I stare between them as we eat, assessing each other, no one wanting to be the first to cave. Once Arianna finishes her sandwich, she dusts off her hands and flicks the crumbs from her lap, then glares at me.
“So what do you want, Bellino?” Her tone is challenging; she’s all business now.
“What?” I snap.
“I mean, in the grand scheme of things, what do you want?”
“I want to burn it all down, I want to piss on the flames, and I want to marry someone I want.”
“You have someone in mind?” She leans forward slightly, assessing, interested.
I nod.
“So how can we help?” The look that spreads over her face is purely devious. She’s not the timid little thing she tricked us all into believing she was. She’s something darker.
“I’m going to take it all. I’m going to kill Father, and then I’ll rule the way I want to. I’m not living the way these archaic men dictate anymore. I’m taking it all. I lean back and swipe another sandwich from the pile. I stare at my brother, and heactually smiles at me; that’s the first time in years he’s looked at me with anything other than a blank stare, void of emotion, or contempt.
Once we finish eating, we step into the office. Arianna goes through the plan she’s devised, and while I wasn’t going to go after Father with as much planning. I see now how her taking over was so seamless. She’s going to include me in all of Father’s assets. She will leave it all to me. My brother says he doesn’t need any of it. He has everything he could ever need with Arianna, and I frown because why wouldn’t he want anything from Father?
“You don’t want anything? I find that hard to believe.” I scowl at him because it feels like a setup.
