If that’s not bad enough, there’s now the fear of losing my business if Mr. Russo follows through with his threat. I’m not sure how he got all the information he collected since most of it is private. Like knowing who ninety-five percent of my investors are, all of my investments and holdings, including real estate that had been bought under an umbrella.
I still don’t know what the hell is going on right now because I’m stuck trying to unravel the past, and now according to Ella’s advice, I’m looking for Greta, the old housekeeper, to get the rest of the story but no one seems to know where she went when she left here years ago. The truth is, I’m almost afraid to find her, afraid to hear whatever it is that she’s going to say that puts that look of fear in Ella’s eyes.
“Felix! Say something.”
“What would you like me to say? How could you? You know what that car means to Gia, and besides, it wasn’t yours to sell. I can’t figure out what was going through your head when you made such a stupid decision.”
“That’s not what’s important right now; the cops are coming. What’re we going to do?”
“What can we do, Becky? You broke the law.” Why don’t I feel an ounce of empathy for her tears? Where’s that feeling of comfort I used to have when I believed that she was a wife and mother who had my daughter’s best interest at heart?
Have I really been that emotionally dead for the past ten years that I let that be the only prerequisite? What was it that blinded me to the truth? And why do I feel like I’m now waking up from a deep sleep? It’s odd, but when I look at her, I feel nothing, not even physical attraction. I think somehow that makes it all worst.
How did I get here? How did this become my life? My daughter is gone before eighteen. She treats me like a stranger. Sure, she sat and talked to me the day she came to visit, but it wasn’t like anything I’d have expected from the little girl who used to run and jump into my arms when her mother was alive.
When was the last time she greeted me at the door with her beautiful smile? Or gave me a hug? I felt cold when I realized that it hadn’t happened in quite some time. When did the light go out of my daughter’s eyes? “FELIX, I’m talking to you.” I barely restrained myself from telling her I didn’t care.
Is she so self-centered that she thinks I’m going to overlook the horrible thing she’d done? Why wouldn’t she? I’ve been letting her get away with shit since the beginning. I was saved from having to engage when we heard cop cars pulling up outside. “Oh no, Felix, they’re here, hide me.”
She looked around the room as if she thought that was an option. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do that; they’re already at the door.”
“Just tell them that you’re the one who sold it.”
“Didn’t you hear the Russos? They already went to the police. This Jimmy person already told them that you were the one who sold it to him.”
“Gia, tell them it was Gia.”
Until she said those words, I think I was still holding onto the slightest hope that this was all a misunderstanding. I’d even played around with the idea that Gia was just being a teenager and acting out. She recoiled from the look I gave her as I went to answer the door.
DRACO
I think I celebrated too soon. I watched my son become a man tonight, and I gotta tell ya, it scares me a little bit. The way his mind works is terrifying, and I just realized that I may have armed him with four more who are just like him, at least when it comes to fighting skills. This is not a man who’s going to allow anyone to shadow him.
His sisters, Lance, even his uncle, and grandparents are all under his thumb. He’s a fucking master, a leader, and if I don’t nip his shit in the bud, there’s going to be blood. Fuck me! “Gabe.”
“Yeah, Pop?”
“What all are you planning to do to these people?”
He didn’t take his eyes off the road, nothing else changed, not even his breathing, but there was an energy in the air that needed no explanation. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill them. But they’ll probably wish I had.”
“So, now she’s going to have a record in two states; what’s next?”
“She’s only lived in those two states, and she doesn’t know anyone anywhere else. There’s no one she can rely on for help, nowhere for her to run to. She won’t run to NYC because she’s facing charges there, and she won’t be able to leave here unless she wants to become a fugitive. But, if she does, she’ll have a hard time of it, because she won’t have any money. I’ve cleaned out her accounts, which she doesn’t seem to have noticed.”