That was the price of being a Mafia boss. Most men in his position died young.
I shut the door behind me, eyeing the family portrait hung behind him on the wall—the only thing in the office that had changed in decades. Everything else looked exactly the same since I was a kid. Dark wood, leather chairs, and the antique bar cart in the corner. The bar now held more liquor than the last time I was here.
This office would never belong to me.
Neither would the house.
That honor went to Benny.
The perks of being the firstborn son.
Right now, Benny had his own house on the Marchetti grounds. When the time came, I’d either move into his place or build something new somewhere on the property.
Either way, I’d always live here.
I’d graduate from Saint Vale, then spend the rest of my life doing what I had been raised to do—help run our family empire.
My father slid his reading glasses down his nose, then removed them completely before tossing them onto the desk. His hair, which had once been as dark as mine, was peppered with gray, but he still didn’t look anywhere near his age.
He leaned back in his chair, his face rigid as he studied me. “Welcome home, Son. How’s Saint Vale?”
“Good.” I sank into a leather chair across from him. “Glad it’s my last year.”
He gave a slight nod, satisfied with my answer, and folded his hands together. “It’s time we talk about your future.”
“I think we both know what my future looks like after Saint Vale.”
“The society you joined has rules, and you owe them loyalty.”
I knew what he wasn’t saying.
I’d sworn loyalty to the Night Sons, but my loyalty to my family ran deeper than that. And in the Marchetti bloodline, family always came first.
My blood boiled at how he stared at me, as if testing where my allegiance truly was.
I cleared my throat. “Attending Saint Vale was your idea. I wanted nothing to do with that place. You said it’d make our family stronger, so I went.” My eyes held his. “Same with joining the Night Sons.”
He worked his jaw, taking in my words.
“I swore an oath to them,” I continued, my tone level. My stare remained locked on his. “But I had been born to protect this family.”
Silence fell over the room, so I tapped my foot, hating it.
One. Two. Three.
Faster and faster.
For years, I’d always wished I could cut open my father’s skull to see what he was thinking.
“The Night Sons are a network,” I added. “I joined it to expand our reach. Not replace it.” My tapping stopped, and I lifted my brow. “You questioning my loyalty pisses me off.”
“Enzo,” he snarled.
My father never raised his voice. He didn’t have to.
“You’re smart enough to understand my concern,” he said. His chair snapped forward as he leaned toward the desk.
“I attended Saint Valefor you?—”
