Page 211 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

I pulled over to the side of the road, across the street from the restaurant, and waited for them. What had I ever seen in Tommy? He had to be one of the stupidest men on this goddamn planet.

Someone knocked on my window, making me jump. I gazed over to see a police officer staring at me through the glass. His brows were furrowed.

“Hello?” I asked politely.

“Hello. Are you Ms. Capitelli?”

I pressed my lips together. “Why?”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m with Detective William.”

“Detective William?”

“Yes.”

I paused for a few moments, gazing back at the restaurant to see if Tommy had walked out yet. The door opened, and a tacky blonde walked out with her arm curled around Tommy’s. Her head rested on his shoulder in an attempt to look cute.

“He wanted me to deliver a message to you,” the officer said.

The woman on Tommy’s arm had her breasts pushed up far beyond belief.

I mean, good for her, but does she have to look like that during breakfast? Jesus Christ.

Tommy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer, a big smile on his face. He whispered something in her ear, and they shared a laugh.

“Ms. Capitelli?” the officer said.

Once Tommy and that bitch got into their car, I started mine.

The officer grabbed my hand on the steering wheel. “William needs to talk.”

“Tell him that he can tell me himself.” Tommy’s car sped down the road. “I need to go now.”

Without another word, I pulled onto the road. Tommy would drop her off, and then he’d drive to my place and tell me that he’d had a long night at work.

Instead of going right back home to hear his lame excuse, I drove to Il Giardino del Cancio. Daddy’s guards urged me to wait outside since he had a very important guest inside. I walked in anyway.

I needed to make sure I talked to him before Alessandro had a chance to.

He sat across from a balding man and gave him the smile he always did right before closing a big deal. After they shook hands, Daddy lifted his gaze to meet mine. He clenched his jaw and dismissed the man.

Everyone left the room, including the guards. When the door closed behind his very important guest—a guest obviously more important than me—he turned to me, eyes ice cold.

“Chiara.” He shook his head. “I gave you exactly what you wanted. I gave you a chance to run this family, and you blew it.”

Alessandro had already told him, dammit.

“I was at the exact address he gave me, Daddy. He gave me the wrong place to meet—”

He slammed his fist down on the table. “Don’t give me excuses, Chiara. I can see right through your lies.”

“It’s not an excuse!”

He grasped my arm, forcing me closer, and lowered his voice. “I gave you a chance. I wanted to see you run this family.” Lie. “Do you know how bad it looks that you didn’t show up? It looks like you aren’t taking this job seriously, and I can’t have you fucking this up for our family.”

“Why don’t you believe me? Is it because nobody wants a wom—”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t start with that shit, tesoro. You know I want to see you run this family.”

---