Page 14 of Checkmate

The first time I truly remember coming into the office I was just a kid. Leo and I held onto each other’s hands as if we were each other’s lifelines. We knew something was wrong. We were never allowed in our father’s office and now we were being summoned there. As we made our way down the stairs, him in his crimson silk pajamas and me in my satin pink nightgown, I look up at my big brother. “Leo, what did we do?”

Leo looks down at me. “What do you mean, Vieve?”

“If Daddy is making us go into his office we must have done something to get us in trouble.” I hang my head as I feel the tears start to build in my eyes.

Leo squeezes my hand tightly. “Vieve, look at me.” I sniffle and shake my head. “Vivianna.” When Leo used my full name, I knew he was serious, so I look up into his bright brown eyes. “We didn’t do anything, or at least you didn’t. I’m not sure if I did or not, but we’ll find out. It’ll be okay. Don’t be scared.”

“But Daddy is scary when he’s mad,” I whisper to him.

Leo gives me a smile. “Vieve, you’re his princess. You’re everyone’s princess, so Daddy will never do anything to hurt you.”

We reach his door and Luz, one of daddy’s workers, knocks and opens the door. “Come in kids,” Daddy calls to us from inside the office. Leo and I share one more look before going inside. Leo steps in first, pulling me with him. “Have a seat on the couch you two.”

Olga, one of the housekeepers and nannies, appears with two glasses of peppermint hot chocolate, my favorite. “Here you go Mister Leo,” she tells him, as she hands him the little mug with a cup holder wrapped around it to keep us from getting burned. Olga’s eyes are red and puffy, and I want to ask why but I don’t. “Miss Vivianna, extra chocolate for you.” She hands me my princess mug. “You two be careful, it’s very hot.” She pats us both on the head before standing up.“Is there anything I can get for you, Mr. Giordano?”

My father shakes his head as he approaches us. “No, Olga, thank you. You may go home for the night. Luz will make sure you get there safely.”

“Thank you, Mr. Giordano, you are too kind,” she tells him, before turning to us. “You two sleep tight. I’ll be back in the morning if you need anything.”

The sad look on her face and the tone of her voice has me scooting in closer to Leo.

My father takes a seat across from us. A small glass filled with amber liquid and some ice cubes in his hand. He looks tired, but not sad, like Olga. “Kids, I’m afraid I have some bad news.” He stops and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You understand that my business can be very dangerous, right?” We both nod in response. “You understand that sometimes bad guys want to hurt me, and in trying to do so, they hurt someone I love instead, right?” Again, we nod. “Well, there was an accident tonight. A bad man wanted to hurt me and the only way he could get to me was to go after your mother. She was on her way home from one of the charity events at the casino and her brakes failed. Her car was going too fast and slammed into a light pole. I’m sorry, but your mother is now an angel.”

My heart felt like it had been ripped from my body. I jumped up with no thought about why. Did I want to run? Did I want to hide? I was shaking so badly that my princess mug fell from my hands, shattering on the rug below my feet. I felt the hot liquid from the coco scalding my bare feet, but it didn’t register. Nothing mattered at that moment except my mama was gone. Tears streamed down my face. My dad started yelling at someone to clean up my mess, which only made me cry harder.

A pair of arms come around my shoulders, pulling me into them. Leo. He’s always there to save me. He whispers to me over and over about how it’s going to be okay, and he’ll always protect me.

****

A handful of years later, I’m sitting in my daddy’s office again. Things have been strained since my mama died, but he has tried. I get that. He’s just not cut out to be one of those lovey dovey dads. Losing her changed us all. I’m sure I’m not the daughter I would have been had she’d been here.

I walk through the front doors of my mansion to find the house is bustling with people. All eyes fall on me, and my attitude is once again back in place. I know who I have to be in order to survive in this world, even if I’m not here I know how to play like I am.

“Miss Giordano, you shouldn’t be home so early,” Luz comments.

I shrug and I’m about to answer when my father appears in the mass of men. “She is when she gets suspended from school for fighting.”

“It was barely a fight. I mean, all she wanted to do was cat fight. She pulled my hair and tried to scratch me like a newborn kitten. Pathetic really. Someone had to teach her how to throw a punch,” I tell him, then go on to check my manicure which now needed to be redone.

My father starts jabbering about in Italian. “Vivianna, office, now!” I smirk at the men that all work for my father as I make my way past them. “And pull that damn skirt down to cover your ass!” my father bellows at me. I should probably be embarrassed, but to be honest, I couldn’t care less. At least that’s what I think, until I walk back into the office. Everything from the night he told Leo and I about our mother comes back. I hesitate just inside the door. My father’s footsteps are heard coming up behind me. “Have a seat, Vivianna.”

I walk farther into the office then turn back around to face him. “I’ll stand.”

“Have it your way… do you care to explain why you got into a fight with another girl at school today?” he asks.

No, I don’t. I don’t want to discuss the fact that the fight I just got into was because of him and my family. I shrug. “Yeah, not really.”

My father pinches the bridge of his nose. “Vivianna. You’re a smart girl, but that private school is eventually going to stop looking in the other direction. I can only bail you out so many times.”

“Then stop. I don’t want to go there anyways. It’s a horrible school, full of stuck-up rich brats who don’t know the first thing about me or my family, but they assume they do, so they whisper and harass me once Leo isn’t around,” I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Vivianna, you don’t live in a world where you can just go and attend a regular school. You know this, yet you continue to alienate everyone at that school. That school is the safest place for you to be unless you want me to ship you off to a boarding school,” my father tells me, his tone beyond exasperated.

“I wouldn’t need a special school if you would be a normal father. If you weren’t the mob king of Las Vegas I could just go to a normal school. I wouldn’t be the one being attacked by the other students because of the things that you do. Everything you do comes back on Leo and me, don’t you get that?” I’m seething with anger, and I know he can see it. I’ve never spoken to my father like this and I don’t care right now that he is the mob king. I’m his damn daughter and I’m suffering.

My father stands up at his full height which towers over me. It’s a move of intimidation, but it doesn’t scare me. I can play his game better than him, thanks to years of sitting on the sidelines, watching and learning. I’ve seen this tactic used with the men outside of this room, but he doesn’t scare me. “Don’t you speak to me like that, Vivianna Giordano! You know the family business and what it entails.”

I nod my head vigorously and cut him off before he can continue his tyrant rant. “Yes, all too well. Remember it killed my mother,” I tell him, as I spin around and head for the door.

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