Ruthless Prince (Dark Syndicate 1)

“Yeah. I’m not surprised that you didn’t know. Membership is only made up of men. So, maybe your uncles or someone like that would have dealings with them.”

Uncle Leo is basically Dad’s right-hand man. “I see.”

“You get initiated based on wealth or resource. Whatever you can bring to the table that’s valuable. They live by a creed they sign in blood to protect each other to the death,” she explains, hugging her knees to her chest. “Your father and Giacomo D’Agostino used to be best friends. Your father stole their business you now have from him and wiped him out. Left him with nothing. And because he had nothing, he got uninitiated from the syndicate. That is worse than having nothing. It’s often worse than death because you aren’t supposed to be in a situation where you can share information about the Syndicate and its secret plans and plots.”

Jesus Christ. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

“What happened to them?”

“Everything bad. They lost their home. At one point, they were living in a trailer park. Just barely. Fifteen years ago, Giacomo started his oil business and flourished. The wealth was like wildfire, but it never made up for their biggest loss of all. They lost all they owned during that terrible time, but they lost something worse when Massimo’s mother died.”

“What happened to her?”

“She killed herself when Massimo was twelve. He found her.”

“Oh my God.” I bring my hands up to my cheeks.

“I know. It was so sad because she was like this perfect being. She was always so nice to me. Called me the daughter she never had. I was always hanging out with the boys. Massimo never said as much, but he blames your father for her death.”

My eyes grow wide as I recall what he said about not being able to bring the dead back to life.

“This is a nightmare.”

She smiles without humor. “It’s worse than a nightmare, Emelia. This war began long before we were born. Massimo blames your father for her death and the hard life they were forced into when he was growing up. But his father blames your father for so much more. The thing about hearing too much is having to bear the responsibility of knowing when to keep quiet. The reason why their fathers fell out was her. Massimo’s mother.”

My breath hitches in my chest. “What do you mean?”

“They were both in love with her.” A steel weight drops in the pit of my stomach. “That’s all I know, but it makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Makes you wonder what else happened.”

Secrets and lies, that’s what my world feels like it’s based on. I stare at her long and hard and wonder why she’s telling me so much.

“Why? Why are you telling me all of this?” I ask.

She raises her shoulders into a shrug. “Maybe I feel bad that you have to be dragged into a battle that isn’t yours to fight. Maybe I feel bad that your life will be stolen from you if you marry Massimo. Maybe I’d just hate to be you. Or… maybe I’m trying to justify my reasons to help you, breaking loyalty to a man I think of as a brother.”

My nerves scatter. “What are you saying, Candace?

Will she help me? How?

She leans in close. Her eyes turn glassy as tears well within them. “He trusts me the most. That’s why I get to hang out with you. Me and Priscilla. But he’s not the boy I grew up with. None of the brothers are. It’s not their fault though.”

No, it seems to be my father’s.

“Candace, are you going to help me?” I ask, cautiously. We both look around nervously.

We’re far away from the closest guard, who’s stationed on the terrace. He can’t hear us talking, but it’s understandable given the circumstances that fear and paranoia would set in.

Candace nods when I look back at her. “If he finds out I was disloyal in any way, I wouldn’t blame him if he killed me.”

“Then don’t. I couldn’t bear it.” I wince, shaking my head.

“Evil will always continue if good people stand by and watch, Emelia. Evil will always win if good people sit back and allow it to happen. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t help you, but please think before you act.” She holds my gaze as I consider her words.

Think before I act… A chance to escape is worth gold to me right now, but I know what she means. If I get it wrong, it won’t just be me who will be punished.

She looks ahead of us and carefully points to the end of the beach.

“Do you see that cave?”