“Father set it up. He’s been dead for five years. You’re in charge now. You can release those funds for me. Let me leave. I can change my name, move to a city.”
He was shaking his head.
“Claudia, even if I had the power to release your funds, which I don’t because they’re locked in legally, where would you go? You would have to change every aspect of the life you once knew. You would have to pretend to be someone else for the rest of your life.”
I really thought about that.
“You’d never be able to see us again, never be able to talk to me or Amara. You could never come home.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk, his expression fierce. “Let that sink in. Picture it. You would be utterly alone, with no protection.” For a split second I saw the flash of fear on his face before he masked it.
The tears I tried so hard to keep from falling finally threatened to spill over. I sniffed and wiped them away quickly, glancing out the window of his office, taking in the bare trees, as fall had eaten away most of the leaves.
I knew without having to ask that Gio would let me leave if I wanted. He’d give me what money he could, help me become somebody new. Escape.
He would take the repercussions of that act because he loved me. So, could I actually do it? Could I leave behind the only family I had? I’d be out there alone, terrified that I wasn’t fully equipped to handle it.
And at that moment I hated my mother and father all over again for sheltering me so much.
“When is the first meeting?” It was hard pushing those words past my lips, but until I could figure out how to stop this, I had to be amicable.
He was silent for so long I felt this twisting, sour feeling in my stomach.
“Tomorrow night.”
My jaw unhinged, my eyes widened, and I covered my mouth with a hand, feeling like I was about to throw up.
He held his hands up in surrender. “It wasn’t my call. Carmine told me personally.”
I’d heard that name once before, when I’d overheard my father speaking on the phone. Father had used a tone I’d never heard when he’d been speaking to the mystery man.
He’d sounded… afraid.
“I don’t…” My throat tightened all over again. “Who is Carmine?”
“Carmine Lucchesi. Head of Italy,” Gio said without hesitation but with clear tightness in his voice.
So… the man who called all the shots for every branch of the Cosa Nostra on the East Coast, if not all over the world.
I said nothing. I didn’t know what I could utter that would change the course of this.
But what I knew was this one thing.
I was not going down without a fight.
Chapter 21
Claudia
I heard the doorbell ring and looked at myself in the bedroom mirror, smiling, although it didn’t reach my eyes.
The first arranged marriage “interview” was with a man named Riccardo Esposito. I had no idea who he was, but Gio told me he was the son of an underboss. At forty-two years old, he’d never been married and had no children.
Or so they said. Because truth be told, men in the Cosa Nostra weren’t exactly known for their faithfulness with anyone they were romantically involved with.
They had a lot of side pieces, which meant they probably had plenty of children they didn’t bother taking care of. Hell, Father probably had a few “illegitimate” children in the world. He’d, after all, gotten Francesca pregnant, lied about it, and wanted nothing to do with her.
Gio had told me to put on a nice dress and leave my hair down. What had I done instead? I twisted my hair up in a messy bun, then changed into a pair of ripped jeans, a slouchy sweater, and some ballet flats.
For all intents and purposes, I thought I looked good. Comfortable. But certainly not dressed up like I was about to meet a prospective husband.
I’d piss off Gio, but aside from him scowling and bitching, what exactly could he do? He knew how vehemently I disagreed with this whole charade.
And besides, if a man couldn’t appreciate me when I was dressed down, then he didn’t deserve me when I was dressed up.
There was a knock on the door and the muffled voice of a servant. “Your guest is here, Ms. Bianchi.”
I stood there another few moments, staring at myself, wondering if I could crawl out the second-story window of my bedroom without seriously hurting myself.
I exhaled, more irritated than anything else. I turned and opened my door and headed down the hall. Might as well get this done and over with.
As soon as I reached the landing, I heard two deep male voices coming from the study. There was a laugh, one that sounded so fake I all but rolled my eyes. Whoever this Riccardo was, it was clear he was kissing Gio’s ass.