Matteo smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, letting me know it’s fake. “I’m just grateful to have found you.”
“But are you really grateful? I feel a little like a pawn to you.”
“I only want the best, Dove. Marriage in our world is for power, so while you may be in a loveless marriage, you will be safe. I will not stop you from seeing Zane, that’s the most kindness, I can give you. I’ve worked tirelessly to get the Castro name to where it is. When it’s time for you and your new husband to take over, I want you ready, and so babying you isn’t going to prepare you for what will come. Kindness gets no one anywhere.”
“How will you choose the man I’m supposed to marry?”
“I need you to marry someone who will eventually take over the business, someone I trust. But I will also make sure he’ll treat you well. I won’t allow someone who is violent with women for no reason.”
For no reason? I’m both scared and curious to hear what reasons are acceptable in his eyes. I doubt it will take much.
Wanting to keep him talking, I ask another question, “What kind of business will I be doing? I want to be involved, to know what it is you’re preparing me for.”
“You know, you don’t have to be this involved in everyday dealings of the business. Your future husband can take all of this on.”
“If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this all the way. I know you don’t know much about me yet, but I can tell you that I’m not the kind who sits at home and twirls her thumbs. I want to be involved, and I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. By getting my hands dirty, I meant it the way most people use the expression, of course, getting your hands dirty, means something else to someone like Matteo. I wish I could take back what I just said, but I can’t without sounding weak.
Matteo rubs his chin. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear this?”
Pursing my lips, I say, “Doesn’t matter if I’m ready, does it? Eventually, I’ll be running this ship, so there isn’t any better time than the present. No point in easing into things. Might as well drop me off in the deep end and let me teach myself to swim.”
A soft chuckle emits from Matteo’s throat, and if I didn’t know how fucked up he was, how willing he was to end mine and Zane’s lives, I’d say this was a nice little bonding moment.
“No, sweet Dove, I will not drop you off in the deep end. I want our name to succeed long after I’ve died, so I’ll ease you into things. Plus, the things you’ll be dealing with may be a little bit of a shock to someone as sweet and naive as you. After all, you weren’t born into this world.” I don’t miss the jab his words bring.
Wanting him to tell me something, anything at all, I push him again. “Then tell me something business-wise that’s going on.”
His expression becomes impassive, his dark brown eyes emotionless pits of nothing. How can he be my father? I just don’t understand.
“I’m not sure you’re ready for this.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. I try to make myself seem bigger than I am. Try not to let the sharks know that I’m a bloody piece of meat, barely staying above the water.
“Human trafficking. Right now, we’re recruiting women and taking them to Mexico to our whore houses. They’re used multiple times a day and are one of our number one profits outside of drugs.”
Bile rises up my throat, and my stomach churns. Oh god, maybe I wasn’t ready for this. I do my best to hide the disgust from my face.
“Where do you find them?”
Matteo smirks. “Find them? We don’t find them, sweetheart. We pluck them right off the street. Kidnap them from clubs. People that owe us debts and cannot pay. We take their mothers, daughters, wives, sisters. No one is off-limits to us.”
I’ve never heard anything so disgusting in my life. I thought Zane was mental when he told me there were worse men in this world, far worse than himself. I was naive to think that such people didn’t exist, simply because I didn’t see them. They were there though. Always watching, waiting in the dark for the perfect moment to ambush you.
“It’s a lot to take in, so I think that is all I will share with you tonight. Maybe we can do this again?”
“Yeah, definitely,” I say, pushing up and out of the chair. Can he see my fear? Feel my anger? Surely, he can, though I doubt he cares. He already sees me as weak, a naive little girl with no backbone. I can’t wait to prove him wrong.