Page 112 of Where the Wicked Reign

No, for me.

I’d thought I could deal with this alone, being pulled back in. I’d figured the reception would be frosty, but this was beyond that. Angelo had just made that clear to me. He was essentially my father’s mouthpiece at this point. That was how fucked-up things had become. Ever since he’d pushed Matteo, his Consigliere, to the wayside because he hadn’t agreed with his despicable plans and going the fucked-up route he currently was trying to, things had taken a dangerous turn. Angelo, the sadistic shit that he was, was reveling in it. He'd gotten too big for his own good, acting like he’d taken Dante’s place as Underboss, when he was still Capo. Maybe not for long, though, judging by the way things were going.

The fact was, I couldn’t show my hand yet.

I had to play the game like I’d agreed with the guys. But while I was doing that, it put me in a powerless state. And that meant relying on others to help me, like the guys. That did not sit well with me in the least. I’d learned to only depend on myself and now I was going to have to go in there in front of my father and act like a helpless little girl still under his thumb. Just the thought of it made me sick to my stomach.

Maybe this had been a bad idea all around.

I had the ability, skills, and means to disappear, essentially off the face of the fucking earth.

If I did that, yes, I’d lose everything I’d built, it would all be wiped out pretty much like it had never happened.

I could always start over, though.

And then I wouldn’t have to endure any of this.

But if I did that, then my father would grow all the more powerful, venturing into more despicable businesses, harming many more innocents, entrenching himself as a fucking king, essentially. Nico, Julian, and Milo couldn’t take down both the Leones and Marchettis without what I brought to the table.

They needed me.

But was that enough to root me to this place, to enduring this fate?

Information is power.

Information is power, Caterina.

I repeated that mantra over in my head as I stepped into the house, what had once been my family home, but which I now saw as little more than the demon’s lair.

Cold.

Uninviting.

Threatening.

And eerie as fuck.

I’d traded information with Nico a few days ago and I was in the process of sorting through it, wherein we’d then meet to discuss the optimal way to approach things, strategic strikes, all of that. While I rooted out irrelevant data, Nico didn’t. He kept every little thing, just in case. He didn’t want to miss anything. The way it was, it had clearly been a sign of his obsessive personality, something I’d become intimately familiar with when that had been targeted at me.

We’d also destroyed my father’s human trafficking ring and he would be flailing in that area for a while thanks to the damage we’d done, buying us some time before he ventured back into it again.

When it came to Marco’s prospective arms deals, the intel had been lacking, though. Something was off there. Nico should be all over it. Why didn’t he have more on it?

Regardless, we’d amassed a lot between us.

And we’d already struck and made a dent.

I needed to focus on that right now more than ever.

Because with every step I took deeper into the mansion with Angelo at my back, my blood was boiling at what I was about to be subjected to, and the urge to let my true fucked-up self out and decimate everything and everyone in my path was growing stronger.

It wasn’t just about swallowing my pride. It was locking my dignity up, too. Every ounce of self-respect. As if that wasn’t enough, I had to essentially put myself at the mercy of these foolish and incredibly brutal men who despised me. Even my own father.

Who was I kidding? He’d stopped being a father to me long ago.

Angelo suddenly brushed past me and snapped, “Move your sweet ass.”

I gritted my teeth and picked up my pace, noting the guards dressed in all black on either side of the corridors, all packing heat in the form of automatic weapons. None of them looked our way, remaining still and stoic.

---