Relief. It’s the only thing I feel, because I don’t want to be blood-related to someone like Gennaro.
“Anyway, they’re all dead. The whole family was wiped out, and before you ask, no, I didn’t have anything to do with it. But you have mafia blood in your veins, so it’s natural that you ended up like this. I picked you for a reason, and I don’t make mistakes.”
I just stare at him.
“Even if you showed up without that necklace, I would’ve kept you. But I wouldn’t have adopted you ortaken such good care of you, like you were one of my own.”
His description ofgood caredoesn’t match mine. Does he think he’s treated Matteo right? Because Matteo is his son, and he’s never shown him any affection.
“I had to get rid of that necklace. Someone could’ve found out, and I couldn’t let that happen,” Gennaro says. “But your family was dead by then, so it was easy to keep it all a secret. You have some cousins, but they’re not close by. Of course, if you ever need them, you could prove you’re related, but that’s up to you. They go under the same name as your family did—the Todranis.”
The Todranis? I’ve never even heard that name.
“Why didn’t you say anything about it before?” I ask.
“I’m telling you now. There was no need for you to know it before.”
“Oh, is that right? And what if I’d gone after my relatives?”
He shrugs. “What then? They don’t know you, and you don’t know them. They’re far away. It was impossible that your paths would cross.”
“Impossible?” I laugh, because the way Gennaro is just telling me all this, as if none of it matters, isinfuriating.
“Look, if you want to reach out to them, you can. I was only protecting you. I haven’t kept an eye on them, so I don’t know how they’ll react when they find out about you. They might see you as a threat, but once you have everything, no one will be able to touch you. They’ll want to be your friends rather than your enemies. You’ve made it, Adriano. I’m so proud of you.”
“You really want to merge our territories and leave everything to me?”
He nods. “It’s what I said. I doubt you’re not paying attention. I’ve prepared a contract where everything is perfectly laid out. We need to agree on all the terms because there can’t be any secrets or surprises between us. You would have it all, and I would retire and keep a percentage of your earnings that come from my territory.”
The deal Gennaro is offering me is something I’ve considered many times in the past. I knew he’d want to retire eventually. It would be a good deal for both of us, and with his territory and his men, I’d be unbeatable. No one would dare to come against me, and paying Gennaro and keeping him safe wouldn’t be a problem either.
But...
“What about Matteo? Where is he?” I ask. “I can’t imagine he’s okay with any of this. Does he even knowanything about your offer to me, or is he your backup in case I refuse?”
“Why would you refuse?”
“Once again, where is Matteo? Is he with you?” I stare into his cold eyes.
“Maybe.” The corners of his lips twitch.
Matteo is definitely with him then. Somewhere. Has Gennaro lied to him again? Convinced him he was going to take care of me? Or does he plan to send me to deal with Matteo once we sign our deal? Or...
“Is he still alive?” I ask.
“I told you not to worry about him. Don’t make me change my mind and back out of the deal.”
My hand tightens around my gun, which I keep under the table. Gennaro must have forgotten about it, or he thinks that I’m going to take his offer. He’s so sure about his twisted plan that it makes me sick.
My men have his men surrounded, and yet, he’s acting like he has all the power here. Matteo must be his backup then. Gennaro must’ve told him that he’d handle me, but without telling Matteo what that meant.
So now Matteo is waiting to see what happens. If something goes wrong here, Matteo is supposed to come for me. If we sign a deal, Gennaro will betray his own son and let me kill him, just like he already gave me permission to do it if it came to that.
I might be wrong, but I’m so tired of Gennaro’s bullshit. So tired of how he has treated both Matteo and me. We’ve always been his toys. His pawns on a big chessboard.
While we struggled to figure out which move to make next, he was probably enjoying himself. Even now, he’s only thinking about himself. He doesn’t give a damn about Matteo or me, just about who’s going to give him the best benefits. It turned out I was his preferred option, so now he wants to sign a deal with me.
“I don’t want your stupid deal.” I whip out my gun and pull the trigger.