Bad for You

Seventeen

I t’s quiet, which worries me.

Nothing good ever comes from silence.

Bria won’t look at me.

The air is thick with hostility.

It’s everything Gianna wanted.

She wanted chaos. She wanted to drive a wedge between us all. And I hate to admit she’s succeeded.

I have no idea where Valentina is.

A small part of me thought that perhaps we would prevail and Gianna would lose. But that’s not the case. With Bria bound, Gianna has the upper hand, and without a doubt, Aldo will do anything to save his daughter.

And what about Lewis? He will be awake and looking for his next fix. I found him, only to lose him once again. But most likely for good this time.

“Stop thinking so loud,” Bria quips, breaking the silence.

“Are you all right?”

She peers at the chains around her wrists.

“Yeah, good point. That was a stupid question.” I sigh.

“My father will be here soon.”

I nod because she’s right.

Gianna has the home-ground advantage. She won’t meet Aldo anywhere but here because she knows the moment she steps out of this house, she’s dead. That’s why she wanted Bria here.

And I delivered her on a silver fucking platter.

“Any ideas?” she asks, reading my thoughts on how screwed we are.

“Apart from ripping out Gianna’s heart and feeding it to her?”

Bria’s mouth twitches.

“I’m so fucking sorry I involved you in this mess.”

“Don’t go soft on me now, pretty boy. We both know Gianna always gets what she wants. We’ll figure something out. I know my dad, and although he’ll come alone and unarmed, his men will be waiting. He’d rather burn down this house with us inside than allow Gianna to win.”

She’s right.

“I always knew this would end in bloodshed. I just thought—” But I stop because I don’t want to be insensitive by adding I always thought Valentina and I would be fighting side by side. Not against each other.

“Even still, you love her.” It’s not a question but rather a statement, and there’s no point denying it because it’s true.

I will always choose her. She is my first and last choice because I love her so fucking much. I’ll never stop because she is a part of me. And she always will be. But that doesn’t mean I won’t kill her before she kills me because I know she’s out for blood.

Bria’s face falls, but her poker face soon slips into place. I wish I could say something that wouldn’t sound so fucking lame, but she knows, regardless of what Valentina has done, I will kill anyone who tries to hurt her.

What a fucking simp I’ve become.

“You’re loyal, Lenny, but can you say the same about her?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I reply because my loyalty will always lie with her.

“We are in this situation because of her! It matters a lot! For fuck’s sake.”

She has every right to be mad.

Fuck, I’m mad at myself for not being angrier at Valentina for what she’s done. But would I have done the same if I were in her shoes? The answer is yes. She is loyal to Gianna, and although we don’t agree on that loyalty, I admire her for sticking to her beliefs.

One day, she will see Gianna for what she is, but until that day, I can’t give up on trying.

Now is not that day, however, because when I hear the sound of heels stabbing at the stairs, I know the time has come. Gianna saunters down the stairs, her confidence suffocating, and why wouldn’t it be? Aldo follows her, at her mercy.

The moment we lock eyes, I know that either he or Gianna will be dead by the end of the night. However, it’s apparent that he doesn’t know who it will be.

He doesn’t cower or show fear. His pride wouldn’t allow it. Even though he is the underdog, he won’t beg. His relief is clear when he sees that Bria is okay.

“You were always one for theatrics, Gianna,” he says, unmoved.

This is all an act.

It’s killing him that his daughter is chained in a basement belonging to his demon ex-wife, and he is helpless to help her. He thinks he failed her. I also know he believes I failed him too.

“Let them go. You’ve made your point.”

Gianna grins. “Your compassion was always your downfall, bello mio .”

“What do you want?” Aldo doesn’t have time for small talk.

However, Gianna wants to gloat in her victory.

She walks toward us, her gaze bouncing between Bria and me. She’s about to reveal truths that will destroy us all.

“I want what is rightfully mine. I helped build your empire, and in return, you discarded me once you got what you wanted. You used me.”

Aldo shakes his head. “Still playing the victim card, I see. The lies you tell yourself, amore mia .”

The pet names they use for another are supposed to denote love, but they are anything but.

“I’m protecting what is mine, seeing as you allowed your love to blind you to what is under your nose.”

Bria exhales, knowing her secret is about to be revealed.

“What are you talking about?”

Gianna looks at Bria. “Would you like to tell him? Or shall I?”

“Fuck you.”

“What is she talking about?” Aldo questions Bria.

She lowers her chin, knowing what this will do to her father. “I’m the one who was stealing from you. I’m the one who was undercutting you.”

Aldo stands tall, but the twitch in his jaw is his downfall.

“I’m sorry, Papa.”

Aldo takes a moment and turns his attention to me. “You knew?”

I nod.

He shakes his head. “You allowed an innocent man to die when you knew the truth?”

“Yes.”

There is no point sugarcoating anything. I will accept my punishment.

He begins to pace, needing a moment it seems to digest that the two people he trusted betrayed him.

“I was only trying to protect you,” Gianna has the gall to say. “Your daughter’s dealing affected us both. This is why I brought her here.”

“Oh bull-fucking-shit! You only have your best interests at heart. You brought me here to blackmail my father!”

“Your father’s loyalty has cost us both a lot of money. You undercut us both. Neither of you would have ever told him. I’m doing this for his own good.”

“Enough,” Aldo says, defeated.

His own flesh and blood betrayed him. There’s no coming back from this.

“You think I’m unfit to run my empire, and you’re the best candidate for the job?”

“Yes. I’m giving you a choice to hand it over to me, or I will take it from you. When word gets out that your own daughter betrayed you, your reputation will be ruined. I’m helping you save face.”

We all know that’s a load of shit. Gianna does everything to benefit herself. Her empire is in shambles, so she needs another to stabilize her failing kingdom. She hopes Aldo’s slipup will sway his men into siding with her.

But they don’t have a choice because there will only be one drug lord come morning.

Aldo sighs, twirling the ring on his pinkie. There’s no way he will do what Gianna is proposing. But she also has him by the balls. This is a disgrace in the eyes of his men, and they would expect him to deal with Bria betraying him how he would if this were a stranger.

She is to be made an example of.

“Why did you do this? Did I not provide enough for you?”

Bria is quiet, but her trembling breaths reveal she’s on the brink of tears. “It was about power,” she confesses, as it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. “I liked that my name instilled fear in others. Do you realize how hard it is being your daughter? I’m forever known as Aldo Cattaneo’s daughter. Not Bria.

“This gave me my own identity. I was someone.”

“ Bambina , you were always someone. You were my someone. My world. Your mother didn’t die—”

“Don’t you dare!” Bria cries, yanking at the chains around her wrists. “She is dead because of you! Because of your stupid drug wars!”

“Yet you follow down the same path as me. I do not understand any of this. I failed you. This is my punishment. And I accept.”

“So choose,” Gianna says, stepping forward and placing her palm on Aldo’s cheek. “Your daughter or your kingdom. For you know, you cannot have both.”

And she’s right.

If Aldo wishes to continue being the top dog, Bria cannot live. It will show weakness. His men will eventually side with Gianna. But Gianna isn’t patient. If he were to step down, Aldo’s men would have no choice but to be loyal to Gianna, for these men have a taste for money and power. There’s no way they would ever turn over a new leaf and walk away from this life of crime.

Aldo looks at me, and I suddenly feel guilty. Like I too betrayed my father. “What would you do if you were me?”

It’s apparent our friendship runs both ways. I respect him, and he respects me. Because of that, he knows my answer.

Fight…

I would rather die fighting than surrender.

He nods, reading between the lines.

“Let them go, and I will agree to your terms,” Aldo finally says, turning into Gianna’s palm. “There was never really a choice, though, was there?”

Gianna leans forward, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

Aldo is rigid, but he accepts his fate.

The moment soon turns when Mario comes running down the stairs, Italian spilling from his lips frantically. When I hear Valentina’s name, I tug so hard at the chains that I almost dislocate my arms.

Gianna’s cool composure is shattered when Valentina walks down the stairs calmly. Her white gown is splattered in dried blood. Her hair is in two braids. My stomach drops.

“ Tesoro mio , what have you done?”

My dark angel is no more. In her place lays a killer who wants more bloodshed. She’s had a taste, and now, it’ll never be enough.

“ Ciao , Aldo.”

Gianna pales when she too sees the change in Valentina. So this means that whatever Valentina did was of her own accord.

What the fuck is going on?

Before anyone can speak, a blaring siren accompanied by red flashing lights assaults us all, and my fight-or-flight instinct kicks in.

I don’t know what’s happening, but this moment will change history.

Mario pulls a gun on Aldo, but Valentina elbows him in the nose, disarming him. She reaches for the gun, and I wonder if she’s had a change of heart. But when she points the gun at Aldo, I realize that she sees Aldo as her prey.

But why?

He ducks out of the way, but Gianna kicks Valentina’s hand, causing the gun to fly.

More men come running down the stairs, their hysterical cries stating that the security system has been breached, and men swarm the grounds.

Gianna’s perfect facade is fractured because this is do or die.

I don’t understand whose side anyone is on. Why is Gianna disarming Valentina? But more importantly, why is Valentina trying to kill Aldo? She has only known him to be the man who was kind to her when no one was when she was a child.

Unless…

What the fuck has Gianna told her?

I yank furiously at the chains. I need to get free.

Aldo reaches for the discarded gun and runs to where I am, shooting the chains. The moment they snap, I run for Valentina, who is trying to get past Gianna. However, Gianna holds her back.

“Get out of the way!” Valentina screams, eyes wild as she stares at Aldo.

“What did you do?” Gianna asks, but she knows. Valentina’s blood-soaked nightgown reveals that she finally got her revenge on Father Merry.

“Who saw you?” I push Gianna out of the way, shaking Valentina by her upper arms.

It’s as if she finally realizes where she is.

Her eyes focus, and I see it—she realizes her vast mistake.

“You have to go!” I order, gripping her by the back of the neck and pressing our foreheads together. “You cannot stay here. Gianna can’t save you from this. How could you be so stupid?”

“He needed to pay for what he did,” she says, eyes frantic. “And so does he.”

She yanks away, only to headbutt me and catch me unawares. Before I find my footing, she’s running for Aldo, who is helping Bria to safety.

“Aldo!” I scream, warning him that Valentina is coming.

Gianna pushes past me, again attempting to stop Valentina. But nothing is stopping her.

She turns and kicks Gianna in the stomach. Gianna stumbles backward, stunned. This is the first time Valentina has disobeyed her.

Aldo’s men cascade down the stairs, and it’s war.

Men from opposing teams fight, the macabre scene heightened by the flashing red lights and the urgency of the shrill alarm.

Gianna smirks. She appears proud that Valentina is fighting her. Has she been prepping us for this final showdown all along?

Aldo and Bria come to me. “Now is the time to take the bitch down!”

If that’s Aldo’s pep talk, then I’m sold. But on one condition—Valentina doesn’t get hurt.

“I promise,” Aldo says, reading my thoughts. “But do you know why she wants me dead?”

“No doubt some lie Gianna spun.”

“We finish this.”

Nodding, we go into battle, punching, kicking, and disarming Gianna’s men. Picking up a fallen gun, I fight my way through the mayhem, saving my bullets for the woman who destroyed our lives. Gianna and Valentina are still fighting, and no matter how many times Gianna knocks her on her ass, Valentina always gets back up.

I want to believe she’s fighting because she’s finally seen Gianna for who she really is, but it’s apparent Valentina’s goal is to get to Aldo.

I punch some motherfucker in the face and use him as a shield as bullets are fired my way. No one’s life is precious in battle. It’s every man for himself. And that is why I aim for Gianna’s head. I don’t have a clear shot, as Valentina gets in the way each time I want to shoot.

She is bloody and beaten, but she won’t give up.

Aldo slaps my arm down. “Not until she surrenders.”

“You’re fucking kidding me! We’re in an all-out war, and you’re worried about your reputation!”

“This will never stop!” He beseeches I see reason. “She must be made an example of!”

I soon realize what he means.

He wants to blame Gianna for the mole in the midst, saving Bria.

“There can only be one winner, Lennon. I prefer it is me. Don’t you?”

He’s the better of two evils. But why does Valentina want him dead? What did Gianna tell her?

But he’s right.

I can ask questions later because now, this bitch is going to be put down.

We fight side by side, Gianna’s men a laughingstock as they don’t stand a chance. Valentina limps, clutching her side, but she never gives up. Gianna is scolding her in Italian to stop, but Valentina shakes her head.

“He’s the reason I’m like this!” The back of her hand comes away bloody as she wipes her mouth. “He’s the reason my mother left me there to rot!”

I have no idea what is happening or what she is saying, but I look at Aldo, who suddenly looks guilty.

“It’s true?” I ask, punching anyone who dares interrupt this moment of truth.

“I can explain.”

But it’s too late.

“You knew this entire time, yet you never said a word.”

“Lennon…”

I don’t give him a chance to speak. I punch him straight in the jaw. He staggers back while Bria’s eyes widen.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

I can’t speak because I feel nothing but betrayal. I trusted him, but he’s been lying to us both this entire time. He came to the orphanage to “rescue” Valentina, but he was only there to save his ass in case she ever found out the truth.

I always thought Gianna was the villain, but is Aldo the bigger monster of us all?

At this point, I don’t trust anyone. All they care about is greed and power. I was wrong to ever doubt Valentina, and now I must right the wrongs.

“Lennon, don’t be stupid!” Bria screams, but I ignore her and punch Aldo square in the jaw.

Aldo and I commence fighting while Gianna and Valentina are still locked in battle. I read Aldo’s moves and dodge each attack with ease. Bria grips my forearm, attempting to stop me, but if she is against me, then she is the enemy too.

I don’t want to hurt her, but if I have to choose, she will always lose.

Valentina is suddenly by my side and has no issues fighting a girl. She kicks Bria in the stomach, who staggers backward, clutching her abdomen.

This is how I wanted this war to go—Valentina and I on the same side. We don’t talk; we merely fight to protect the other because now, it really is us versus the world.

Valentina and I are shoulder to shoulder, so I assume she has knocked Bria out cold. We face off with Aldo, who stands before us, shaking his head.

“All I wanted was to help you.”

“Don’t fucking lie! Gianna told me the truth! You came to that orphanage because you felt guilty for everything you’d done. My mother—”

“I was saving you from your mother!” he interrupts, on guard.

“Liar! You said you wanted my fighting spirit. That you needed it to succeed. That I was invaluable to you. Remember? Why?”

When Aldo doesn’t speak, Valentina steps forward and presses her gun to the middle of his forehead.

“You know why. You are the key to changing all of it.”

“What does that mean? My mother hid away from you because she was scared of you. Why did you come to the orphanage? To kill me too?”

“Kill you? Your mother is alive. She is—”

“I know where she is! I’ve seen her. She’s tied to a fucking bed, a medicated zombie, thanks to you!”

Confusion, followed by shock, passes over Aldo’s face, and I see that he has no idea what she’s talking about. It angers Valentina, and she cocks the trigger but never shoots because I disarm her.

She is stunned, but that soon turns to anger. “Lenny, get out of the way!”

I stand in front of Aldo, using my body as a human shield. “Stop, please, just for one minute. Tell me what Gianna has said.”

I don’t know who to believe. I need to hear all sides of the story because history has proven Gianna to be nothing but a liar. Aldo has been nothing but a friend. Nothing makes sense.

“You choose him over me?”

Gripping her cheeks, I beg she sees reason. “I always choose you, tesoro mio . But tell me why you want him dead.”

“Gianna told me the truth, that Aldo was in love with my mother, he was obsessed with her. And to protect me, she left me at the orphanage. He would use me to find my mother because he’s been looking for her for years. That is why Gianna trained us!

“To kill Aldo so my mother can be free.”

“And Gianna gets his empire.” I fill in the blanks.

“I saw her in some psych ward, Lenny! I cannot allow him to live! He destroyed her life and mine!”

This doesn’t make any sense.

I turn to Aldo, who has heard every word.

He shakes his head. “How she lies. She will say anything to win. Think back to when I came for you. Did I ever frighten you? Yes, I came with an ulterior motive, but it is not what Gianna said.

“ Bellezza , your mother is—”

A gunshot suddenly rings out…but it’s not Valentina who shoots.

Aldo drops to the ground, his white shirt staining red.

Both Valentina and I gasp.

Gianna walks over, smoking gun in hand.

I can’t believe my eyes. Aldo is bleeding and dying. He was about to say something Gianna didn’t want us to hear.

On instinct, I run to his aid, pressing my hands over the wound to his chest. There’s so much blood.

“We must go, piccola . The police will come for you. The sisters have alerted the police to what you have done. I cannot protect you here. Please.”

“Valentina, no!” I scream, pressing harder down on the bloody wound. But it’s in vain because Aldo will be dead in minutes. “She shot him before he could tell you the truth. You’re nothing but a liar, Gianna!”

I can’t believe I ever thought she could be good.

Sirens sound, and it’s apparent the police have swarmed the grounds. Men are dead and wounded, the sight a mass battlefield.

“Come with me,” Valentina begs, dropping to her knees and grabbing my cheeks in her trembling palms.

“I cannot,” I state because I chose a side—and it is not hers. “I won’t entertain her any longer. I cannot save you if…you do not want to be saved.”

Valentina’s eyes fill with tears. “So now, we’re enemies?”

I don’t answer, and that is answer enough.

“You’re choosing the wrong side.”

“Well, I can’t stay here.”

“Because you wouldn’t fucking listen to me! I told you Father Merry’s day would come. But you just defy me. Over and over again. And now, look what you must do.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, and I know she means it.

But that doesn’t mean she won’t kill me if I stand in her way.

And the feeling is mutual.

I will get my revenge on Gianna.

One way or another, I will bury her for what she’s done.

“We must go. Now!” Gianna says, tugging on Valentina’s arm. If the police find her here, it’s over for us all.

I look at Valentina and commit her to memory because I know the next time I see her, we will be hunting one another until one of us is dead.

“You’re tearing out my fucking heart!”

“So this is goodbye?”

I ponder over her words. Among the bloodshed and murder, I say the only thing I can. “For what it’s worth…I will never love anyone more than I love you. But love can’t save us from what’s fated in the stars. Run far away because when I find you…I’ll never let you go.”

She nods, understanding this for what it is. “ Ti amo sempre . But love isn’t enough. It never was. Goodbye, Lennon Shepherd. Let the best man win.”

Gianna tugs her arm one last time, and she surrenders and leaves me—for good this time.

Every part of me demands I chase her, but that’s all I’ve been doing and look where that has left me. Aldo wraps his cold fingers around my wrist and coaxes me down so he can whisper his dying words into my ear.

With his last breath, he changes my life forever, and I will never be the same.

Time stands still…

Bria’s scream is the first sound I hear reborn as she throws herself onto her father’s cooling corpse. Aldo’s men stop and look at me, unsure what to do.

With the police hot on our asses, I stand to face the men, covered in Aldo’s blood. “I’m Lennon Shepherd. Your new leader. Aldo is dead. We avenge him and the wrongdoings that were done here today.

“His death will not be in vain. He was a righteous leader. He sacrificed his life for his legacy to be protected. But none of you can be trusted. Gianna was the one who was working with his men to take down his empire. You need to prove your worth to me. To us.”

Bria is the rightful heir to Aldo’s legacy. But she can’t do this alone because no one knows Gianna and Valentina better than I do.

My white lie saves Bria. But that doesn’t console her because her father is no more.

The men listen intently because it seems they need a leader, and that leader is me. “We have a new objective. We destroy Gianna’s empire, and then…we destroy her. We do not cower in fear! We kill anyone who stands in our way, and so help me God, if any of you betray me…I will destroy everything you care about and make you watch. Pledge your loyalty, your life to me, here, now, or leave. This is your one and final chance because there’s no going back.”

This comes easy to me because Gianna raised me for this. She just thought I would be fighting for her side.

The testosterone is suffocating as the men holler in unison, celebrating me as their new leader.

“Go, now, and we meet tomorrow. For those who survive the night, you are worthy to fight for me. For those who do not, may God have mercy on your soul.”

With my pep talk over, the men scurry into the night.

But Bria peers up from where she cradles her father, blood mixed with tears. “What did he say to you?”

That is a secret I cannot ever tell. Aldo was guarding that truth for a reason, and that reason is now. This is what Gianna was protecting. This is her Achilles’ heel.

“You will get your revenge, I promise you. But now, we must go.”

She looks at her father, tears streaming down her cheeks.

I do not feel her pain because I need to switch off my humanity to survive.

“Don’t let his death be in vain. Fight with me. We kill anyone who stands in our way.”

“Anyone?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.

I nod, granting her permission to kill Valentina if she gets the chance. But she will never win against Valentina.

Bria lays a kiss on her father’s forehead before accepting my hand.

I lead the way to freedom with Bria by my side, for Valentina has made a new enemy, and Bria won’t stop until she avenges her father.

We flee into the night, too many of us for the police to apprehend, but before I leave, I set the basement alight and watch from the bordering forest as my once home burns.

I have a new purpose in life now.

I will get my brother clean.

I will run Aldo’s empire with Bria by my side.

But most of all, I will never forget Aldo’s dying words.

“Her mother is…Gianna. Gianna is Valentina’s mother.”

He perished before he could tell me more. But my need to kill Gianna only strengthens, and I will destroy anyone who stands in my way…even the woman I love.