Revenge.
I'm familiar with it. You have to be when you're the firstborn son of a notorious mafia leader. Death and vengeance have been the very foundations of my life.
So who in their fucking mind would be stupid enough to cross me?
My brother and...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Do you know where he went?"
Cavallo's incredulously spoken question brings me back to the present. I need to focus. I've been losing my mind all day wondering if I fucked things up in a way I can't take back. Wondering if I really let my brother walk out and potentially lost him for good.
"No idea," I answer after a minute.
I look down at my wrist, at the broken charm, and allow it to ground me. Remind me. This is the impossible for a reason.
Cavallo curses under his breath, bracing his palms on his desk as he leans over it. "He would retaliate too, consequences be damned. Wouldn't he?"
I have been wishing for death to take me for weeks.
Is that why Felix has been borderline killing himself, tainting his system with substance after substance? Numbing himself and getting as close as possible to death without actually dying? I should have looked after him better. Had his back and been behind him whenever he strayed. He was right to say I was never there. Even now, he's fuck knows where and I'm not with him.
"Knox." Cavallo's firm command snaps me out of it. A-fucking-gain. "There's only so much you can do, son. He is both old and wise enough to make his own decisions or to seek help if he needs it. He has to do his part too."
"You make it sound like I did mine. If I did, Ferrera wouldn't be alive right now."
"It's just a matter of time anyway. I called him. He should be here soon. Let's gather the journals and the documents to present to all the Familias. Once he's deemed guilty, he's yours to deal with."
It's almost too hard to believe. For months I have been planning and waiting. I've lost and I've gained. And now the time has finally come for my revenge.
We leave his office and head toward his study. We pass the living room where Mariana is squirming on the couch as Axel guards her. She insisted on being here and confronting him despite my constant warnings that this isn't something she wants to see. But she said she wouldn't find peace until she got answers from him so I brought her along.
The younger Ferrera is at our home with Mariana's friend, Anna. I met her briefly, and by met I mean she pinned me with a cold glare that I'm sure intimidates men that aren't me, who will look after her per Mariana's request. Mariana warned me she was banished from her Familia for trying to escape but I didn't give a shit and frankly, neither did Cavallo. He was a fair leader above all and he had better things to do than to monitor one lone individual. I gave her permission to stay in our home and she tossed me a look that had said she would have rather swallowed bricks than get my permission for anything.
It's a wonder she is friends with someone like Mariana but my wife has the unfortunate habit of choosing the messy ones. I'm a prime fucking example.
"You're sure about this?" I ask her when she comes to my side.
She nods but it's not as convincing as I was counting on it to be. "I need to hear him admit it. Not because I don't believe it but because I need him to say it to me. To drop his act and show me who he really is instead of hiding like the coward he is."
