ChapterOne
AVA
Ifelt them watching me from a distance. As I moved through the crowd, I sensed the Luciano brothers’ eyes on my back.
Dante, Nico, Stefan, and Angelo—the infamous Boardwalk Kings.
Each time my father forced me to attend one of their parties, they haunted me with their cold, intense gazes. My mother was a no-show for the charity gala. And without her here, my dad put even more pressure on me to perform.
To act the part.
After all, this was a performance, nothing more than a show for the Lucianos. They ran Atlantic City and owned everyone in it—including my family. All their loyal subjects were here to play their role in this sick and twisted game.
I hated every second.
My dad tugged on my arm when I glanced over at Dante Luciano, the oldest of the Mafia heirs. Dad didn’t like when I stared at his employers for too long. He also didn’t want me to draw too much attention to myself.
One day, Dante would become the boss. The Don of the Boardwalk Mafia. Tall and handsome, Dante wore a black designer suit that matched the color of his hair, which was short on the sides and top, styled off his forehead.
He stood between his brothers, Stefan and Angelo. The twins were only a few grades ahead of me when we were in school and around twenty-five.
Nicodemus was the bastard of the family. Unlike his father and brothers, Nico had blond hair and blue eyes. But they all had the same olive complexion.
All four owned every speck of fabric attached to their muscular bodies. But regardless of their expensive attire, they looked out of place surrounded by politicians and benefactors.
“Try to smile,” Dad said to me under his breath as we moved around the room. “You look miserable.”
Because I am.
I offered fake smiles to people. And when they stopped us to chat, I spoke about my time at Columbia University and how I was about to graduate. One more week until I started my new job at Hoffman Stone as a junior financial analyst. My dad asked me to work with him, but I wanted nothing to do with the Lucianos and their criminal operation.
Bored out of my mind, I drank flutes of champagne like a champ, pretending I didn’t hate wearing an invisible mask for strangers. However, appearances were everything. My dad and his employers cared about the optics.
Bella Parisi strolled over to me, a silky red dress swaying as she walked, and flicked her black hair over her shoulder. “Having fun?”
“Is that a joke?” I lowered my voice and turned away from my dad. “Save me. Please.”
She tapped my dad on the shoulder. “Mr. Vianello, do you mind if I steal your lovely daughter for a few minutes?”
He nodded and then looked at me. “Don’t be too long. I have a few more people I want you to meet.”
“Five minutes,” I promised, even though I wanted to run back to school in Manhattan and never come back to Atlantic City.
Bella steered me toward the bar and ordered our drinks. “So, how’s it going? Did your dad get any new investors for his hedge fund?”
“Yeah, a few.”
After the bartender slid the glasses in front of us, we moved away from the bar.
I sipped from the glass. “He’s using me to attract new clients.”
I had a gift for numbers.
My father said I had the Midas touch with the stock market. Last year, I helped him return a 10X profit to his clients.
We played a game every year on my birthday. Dad would give me ten thousand dollars to invest, but I had to do the research. And if I didn’t get a return on my investment, he would lower the amount each year.
Thankfully, I was good at choosing winners. The only downside was the funds were in my father’s name. So even if I wanted to sell it all and get the fuck out of here, I needed his permission or a death certificate to get my hands on it.