Children of Vice (Children of Vice 1)

“And you’d be wrong. When both of them were young they went to Ethan after hearing he’d take over as the head of the family and let him know they’d always be loyal to him. You see, people are always looking for cracks in the family to get in through. My father’s first wife betrayed the family, and…she’s gone.”

“Did he—”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell,” she shot back. “Anyone could set them up. Make it seem like they are also betraying the family. Ethan, back then, told them simply, make me look good and have fun doing it. Play a sport. An arena, which can also have fans, be treated like superstars, and never be linked to anything they aren’t meant to be in. I inherited my father’s hotels. I don’t need people to fan over me, only respect. Helen is the same. We are all in our own spheres, so we don’t ever step on each other’s toes. It’s not a happy accident but by design…Ethan’s design.”

“All of you are doing careers he told you to do?”

She nodded as if that wasn’t creepy. “He grew up with us. Our parents were busy. He watched over us all, and as we got older, as we got more worried about what our lives were going to be like when were adults, he…he knew each of us better than we knew ourselves. He knew Helen was a computer genius and told her to keep at it. He knew the boys liked attention, competition, and sports. I’m bossy. I like being bossy. Why not be a boss? You think it’s weird and yet we’re probably the only family in America who has monthly dinners and never misses a birthday or holiday with extended family.”

When she said it like that it didn’t seem as creepy.

“Finally,” she said and flipped to a photo of a gorgeous couple, the man with green eyes and brown hair, the woman with long black hair and big brown eyes. “Ethan’s parents, Liam and Melody Callahan, the previous king and queen…both dead.”

I froze. Just staring at them, their photos, from what looked to be a magazine spread, I wasn’t sure if it was fake or not, but they looked at each as if they were the only two people on the planet.

“Melody…total badass,” she whispered, and I looked up to see her staring at the photo on her tablet too. “If there was a glass ceiling within fifty feet of her it shattered automatically. She and Liam were arranged to be married because her father was the head of the Italian mafia…until she took over.”

“Wait…what?” I whispered and then remembered the two Italian women who’d protected me when back at the prison.

“It’s a long story. If I started, I’d need at least four novels to finish,” she replied, tapping the photo. “To summarize, when they got married, they merged the Irish and Italian mafia, in doing so crushing everyone else in their path. She later moved to public life, becoming governor, and was so loved, people hoped she’d run for president. But she said Chicago was her home and if she wanted to live in a giant white house she’d paint her house white. She died due to a sudden cardiac attack from a car accident…Liam, her husband, was crushed. It was the darkest time in our family. I can still remember him the week after. You could hear his screams throughout the house, and then it got quiet. He’d drink himself to sleep…my father and Uncle Declan kept suicide watch. After her funeral he barely spoke to anyone and visited her grave every day until he died a week after the twins turned eighteen. Ethan was nineteen.”

I reached for my glass of water, not sure what to say. My throat hurt badly, even more so when I looked at the couple.

“They had three children. Wyatt Sedric Callahan, who’s currently a trauma surgeon at Boston Medical.”

I wanted to say beauty ran in the family but then again, seeing as how I’d been transformed, I couldn’t really believe it was genetics. Either way, Wyatt was handsome. Tall, with deep brown eyes, brown bedhead hair, and a five o’clock shadow. He was rugged in a way and relaxed. So far, he was the only person I’d seen who didn’t wear suits. If he wasn’t in scrubs, he’d be wearing jeans and a sweater.

“His twin sister is Donatella Aviela Callahan.”

Ugh… she was pretty much her mother but with green eyes. In other words, even more stunning.

“Let me guess, she’s like a supermodel?” I muttered.

“No. Donatella is a novelist,” she replied, completely catching me off guard.

“An author? Her?”

“No one knows. She writes under a pen name. Everyone thinks she’s just the family princess, but her work is pretty famous.” She tapped again, getting to the last photo. “Last but not least, your future husband, Ethan Antonio Giovanni Callahan, the head of the Irish and Italian mafia, and the Callahan family.”

Fuck me.

Ugh, not like that…well…no, I just meant. Holy shit. I glanced back up at her.

“Yea, that’s why I saved him for last.” She winked, turning off the tablet and handing it back to the guard, who once again I forgot was there. “Tell them they can bring the food now.”

What are you doing, Ivy?

I was getting sucked in and distracted…

It didn’t matter what he looked like or what any of them did.

“It doesn’t matter,” I whispered. “I’m not putting myself through all of this for him…for any of you. I’m here for one reason only…my father…for revenge.”

“Then you’re in the right place. We specialize in vengeance. But…” she said as the server put the plates in front of us.

“But?” I repeated when he walked away.

“Can you handle it?”