Page 7 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

Years had passed since my parents were murdered. Had I not received that call, my uncle showing up more wouldn’t have made sense. He was tossing around money and things that would have been helpful years ago. I had already put two sisters through college and law school and was putting a brother through college. Where the fuck was his ass when I needed him?

Whenweneeded him.

I played my part, pretending like I was so excited to have my uncle around. Nash Eaton may have been smart but I was smarter and played my role the way that I needed to play it. Doing what I wanted meant that I had to step to the other founding members and get their approval, which wouldn’t be easy.

It was me asking them to kill the head of the third family, something that wasn’t a light thing to ask and was risky even putting my neck out there and asking the shit. I remember going in there with Core right by my side and laying everything out in front of them.

That bitch had my parents killed because he wanted something that he had no rights to. A business that he neverwanted anything to do with. Nash was used to getting everything he wanted. He had never been told no before and that was what fucked him up.

His younger brother – the spare – telling him no didn’t sit right with him. When he took him away from us, he never considered his nieces and nephews. He didn’t give a fuck that we would be in this world without our parents.

There were technically four founding families, however, the Vanducci-Cromwell’s were always counted as one because of their close ties to each other. The heads of the Vanducci, Cromwell, and Davis families sat at the table and stared me down as I told them everything. They all sat at that table reading me, taking in my body language and seeing if I understood what I was asking them.

With a deal that I had to fulfill on my end, they gave me the blessings to do my uncle in, and I did just that. Taking my uncle out wasn’t as easy since he had children, and they would step into his role if he was murdered.

With the way my cousins acted with me and my siblings, like they were better than us, as if we didn’t deserve to have the Eaton name, I had fun making sure they were no longer with us. Ego was something that would be a man’s biggest downfall.

Nash was all too excited to have his nephew groveling at his feet, wanting to learn the family business. It turned his freaky ass on to know that his brother’s son needed him.

I admit, the shit tasted like poison.

For my family, I would make sure that we were good, so I did what I had to do. Getting close to my uncle was easier than I thought. So easy that he didn’t see it when I played Russian roulette with his children and wife in front of him before turning the gun on him.

I smiled, as my chest heaved up and down with blood across my face. Core was right there to hold a towel for me, so I could quickly wipe the blood from myself.

“You did it… you good… Maverick Eaton runs shit now.”

I remember turning to look at him. “The Eatons are gone… the Caselli’s are here. Menace Caselli runs shit now.” I got rid of any trace of my father’s name, and we took on my mother’s maiden name.

I was Menace Caselli, and I owned Case House along with everything that the Eaton’s used to own, and the lawyer that I sat down with after the funeral made sure of that.

Stevie

“Stevie!”I heard Estella burst through the door with so much energy.

So much for her being tired and wanting to take a nap before dinner. Skyler came in with her backpack on one arm and her work bag in the other hand. I stuck my paint brush into my messy bun and bent down to kiss my favorite girl on her cheek.

“How was school today, Beautiful?”

She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a crumbled-up sticker she had stashed in there all day waiting to show me “I was a good girl,” she told me, and I pinched her cheeks.

“That’s because you’re the best girl ever… go and take your bag from Mama and wash your hands, okay?”

Estella snatched the bag from her mother and took off down the short hallway to her room. I stood up and looked at my cousin and I could tell she was worn out. She crossed the living room, tossing her work bag onto the couch before plopping down beside it.

“Mercedes called me and told me that you paid your portion of the rent, and even next month, too.”

Mercedes, our land lady, was a motor mouth, so I wasn’t surprised she called Skyler and told her.

I whipped my paint brush back out of my hair and went back to perfecting my canvas. “Uh huh… no need to worry about next month for me.”

“Guess I’m wondering how you paid this month and next month’s rent. Then the random call about the passport.”

Without even turning to look, I knew Skyler was staring a hole into the back of my head. As I slowly turned, all her attention was on me. “I can’t ask a random question, Skyler? Priscilla helped me out with some money for doing a favor for her.”

Skyler adjusted herself on the couch. “I don’t like her, Stevie.”

I turned back around and continued painting. “You have voiced that opinion already. I don’t judge your friends.”

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