Page 121 of Absinthe Minded

“And I have to pick up Maggie in Baton Rouge.”

He had the decency to look away.

I’d hated to leave her at the hospital, but the outcome of this meeting would set the course for our future. Besides, I hadn’t left her alone. She had Shanna and her mother to keep an eye on her until I could return.

I pulled a file from my bag and handed the papers to Leo. “This is a legal filing Chantal DuBois plans to take to court and release to the media in a few days. I’ve made copies for each of you.”

My father’s spine stiffened.

“Can we get the Cliffs Notes version?” Enzo took his copies and passed the rest on to Marco.

“In short, the Marchionni Corporation screwed her out of half a million dollars on the sale of a bar she owned with her husband, Martin Sinclair. As a result of the fuckery, Sinclair killed himself. She plans to sue us for the half-mil, along with pain and suffering and anything else she can squeeze out of us.” I withheld the fact that I’d come to an agreement with Chantal. I needed my father to come clean about what had really happened.

Leo turned to our dad. “What do you know about this?”

“Joe made the original deal with Sinclair for his half of the bar, but the wife refused to give up her half.” He kept his expression smooth, but I had him by the balls and he knew it.

Enzo motioned for him to continue. “Any reason why?”

“The wife suspected us of running off their customers and reporting them for selling to minors.”

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is how you acquire businesses?”

My father raised his chin and glared. “You don’t get to judge when the money I’ve made put clothes on your back and paid for your college.”

“Joe was involved?” My youngest brother, Dante paled. He’d worshiped Joe like others did rock stars.

“Your brother was a saint.” My father smiled, but Dante looked away. “By the time the wife agreed to sell, we were in a rush. The contract had a clerical error. She didn’t bother to read it before she signed.” My father shrugged.

This is why Chantal hates this family?I ground my teeth. “Clerical error?”

“It gave us full ownership for half the cost.”

The room grew still.

“Is that why Joe tried to quit the business?” Dante leaned forward and looked my father in the eye.

“Yes, one of the reasons.”

“Joe wanted out?” This was news to me. I’d always thought of him as a younger version of our dad. Although, it gave Pietro Lazio a hell of a reason to want my brother dead.

My father shrugged. “He would have changed his mind.”

Dante shook his head. “Not true. Joe promised me he’d get all of us out of this life.”

I needed time to think about the implications of Dante’s revelation, so I steered the conversation back to the matter at hand. “Why didn’t you correct the contract?”

“I didn’t know the bitch would go off the deep end and cause this much trouble.” He looked at each of us as if to judge our worth.

“I will not run the corporation if this is what you expect of me. Martin Sinclair is dead, and I’ve already been a participant in another—” I clamped my mouth shut. This wasn’t the time for me to give confession. Though I technically didn’t have Artie Guzman’s blood on my hands, I couldn’t tell them the truth. Not with my father in the room.

Dante’s mouth hung open. “You killed someone?”

Leo, God bless him, broke the silence. “What do you propose we do about Chantal’s case against us?”

I cleared my throat. “I’ve already taken care of it. The company will pay her the money owed to her, with interest. In exchange, she’s agreed to sign documents stating the terms of the original contract have been met.”

My father’s eyes rounded. “You played us?”

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