Pretty Poison (Vitale Empire #1)
One
DARIO
My ears ring in anger, allowing the invisible steam to evaporate into thin air. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I scoff, running my hand down my face, though of course he wasn’t. My brother has never been one for jokes on serious matters.
For the last two months, I’ve led to the best of my ability after recovering from my injuries. Before that, I led for five years, bringing nothing but greatness to our family.
I always knew the possibility of an arranged marriage was on the table, especially after my previous failed one, but now? It’s not even been six months since I buried my fiancée.
“It doesn’t matter how little time has passed since Natalia’s death,” Maze sighs with a shrug, “you need to follow traditions. You’ve had time to pull yourself together, so get to looking.”
While I never loved Natalia, I played the part of a grieving fiancé during her funeral and for weeks after her death, just like what was expected of me. Apparently, stringing that out for as long as I did, didn’t make my parents believe it anymore than anyone else.
“I already went through the ordeal once,” I remind him. “Do you know how exhausting all the contracts, clauses and explanations are? I got lucky with Natalia because she already had a solid understanding of what I do and what was expected of her as my wife. She’s barely been buried for six months and they want me to go through it all again?”
“Would you stop being so selfish?” he retorts, shaking his head in disbelief as he drags his hands down his face. “I don’t think you understand just how close Dad is to handing me back the title. Do you know how badly that would break Katerina? She’s on edge with the job I have now. Being Don again would break her.”
He clenches his jaw, revealing his face again. “You knew exactly what was expected of you when you agreed to replace me. I won’t risk my family because you’re being too selfish and stubborn.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
He sighs heavily. “With the way you’re acting, I can see myself in a position where I have to choose between our family and our legacy, or the family I created for myself. It would kill me to actually choose, but I would. I would choose my wife and unborn child over all of you in a heartbeat. Mama isn’t ready for that kind of reality check, so do me a favour and save her the heartache, would you? Step up and be a goddamn man.”
I blow out a breath of annoyance as I rake my fingers through my hair.
Maze led for only two years, taking over at just twenty. In the eyes of my father, he was ready because he was married. Maze had always expressed a firm sense of hatred towards being the oldest—even if it is only by a few minutes—because he knew it meant he would be entitled to the throne more so than me, and he didn’t want it. Since he’s relinquished his ties to said throne, he would rather die than turn back to it.
“So what do I do?” I ask, feeling I’ve lost control. “Do I avidly seek a woman out, one whose family would benefit best from an alliance with us, or choose one from an already high ranking family? This is a lost cause, Maze.”
“That’s for you to decide, not me. Everything is under your control now, Rio, I can’t make the decision for you.” He offers a soft smile. “You just have to face the facts here because whether you like it or not, you need a wife. Our fucked up traditions tell us so. I don’t know how you managed to lead for three years without Natalia, and even after that, you postponed the wedding for two years. Now that is impressive for sure, but you need to buck up before Dad rips the title from you.”
“I honestly don’t know how Mama and Papa found each other in this damn lifestyle.”
“Real love, don’t forget,” he says with a tilt of his head. “Katerina and I found it, too. It’s possible, brother, believe me it is… You just have to want it as much as you want to keep your role.”
“You tried it your way, Maze, now it’s my turn,” my mother chimes in as she emerges in the doorway. “Out. I’ll deal with him myself.”
He doesn’t need to see her face to know how serious she looks. Maze presses his lips together to form a tight smile and spares me a you’re-on-your-own look before walking out.
“Traitorous pussy,” I call out after him.
“That's enough from you,” my mother says sternly, closing the door, confining both of us to the comfort of my office which now feels like a death trap. “I heard all I needed to hear from the hall and I don’t think you’re getting it. Even after Natalia’s death, you’re still not fucking getting it.”
“I understand why you and Papa are pushing me on this, I do, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
“I don’t care if it’s the most difficult task on earth, I expect you to do it without any hesitation.”
“Why, because that’s what our traditions tell us to do?” I bite back.
“Yes, exactly that. You need a wife and your men need a leader they can trust with their lives, and right now, that’s not you. You’re letting them down, Rio.”
“I understand your worry, mother, but you of all people should know where I’m coming from. You should realise why my reluctance is slowing this process down as much as it is.”
“Understand what exactly?” she asks heatedly. “That you’re being selfish and will never once think about anybody else’s well being other than your own?” Her words strike me harder than they should. If anyone else had said that, I wouldn’t have cared and there’d be one less bullet in the chamber of my gun, but from her… That shit stings like a motherfucker.
“I know what it’s like to be in a loveless marriage, Dario. Your sperm donor and I hated each other’s guts. The only reason you and Maze are even here was because he was a wretched man with a drinking problem who terrified me. Saying no while he was under the influence of alcohol wasn’t an option.” Her words soften and the anger in her tone slowly vanishes. “But Vincent, on the other hand, was and still is a wonderful man. He saved me from something that was slowly killing me and took you and Maze in as his own. If that doesn’t tell you how some marriages really are, I don’t know what will.”
“I already knew how much of a bastard my sperm donor was, and forcing yourself to remember that to prove a point was unnecessary.”
“I don’t relive it through words, Rio, it happens through actions. How you’re acting—your ruthless ways, hardheartedness and refusal to try anything new—that’s what makes me relive it every single day. While you do it at no fault of your own, you remind me of your father.”
I fight the urge to bite back, countering her harsh words with ones filled with hatred of her comparison. “I am not him. Antonio Bianchi is his own man, one that made his own decisions that lost him his family and stature. If he hadn’t been a fool, you wouldn’t have met Vincent, the only man worthy to be my father. I assure you, I can do this alone, Mama.”
“I’ve been more than patient over the years, Dario,” she says with a heavy sigh, “but I’m not getting any younger. Call me selfish for wanting grandchildren before I die, but if you don’t be the man I know you’re hiding under that tough exterior, you’re putting your brother in a very difficult spot.”
“Mama, don’t be so dramatic. For starters, Katerina is already pregnant. You’ll get your first grandbaby in a few months. Secondly, you know as well as I do that Maze would rather die than take on this role again. He’s not cut out to be Don.”
“He showed great discomfort being in that chair, yes, but he would have to stand in for you until we find your replacement.”
“You wouldn’t let Vincent’s legacy go to waste,” I scoff. “If this was Antonio, you wouldn’t think twice, I know that. But Dad? You know how many generations worth of blood, sweat and tears have been put into this—”
“You’re right, I do know, which means you do too. If you want to let it fall apart by going to one of your cousins, then so be it. Because I assure you, they’re ready to step up if you won’t grow up.” With that, she storms out of my office, slamming the door behind her.
With both she and Maze gone, the silence around me feels nauseating. It feels like all I’ve been doing recently is trying to right my wrongs, Natalia’s death being one of them. She was my fiancée, and her association with me made her a target, and someone took a hit out on her. She really didn’t stand a chance the moment our contract was signed. To put another woman in that position is unfair, to say the least.
Call me pathetic, call me selfish, call me whatever you want, but growing up is something I learned to do long before I ever needed to. I was trained, as soon as I could walk, to protect my family before myself. The two years that Maze led, he helped me prepare behind closed doors to take over his role, because he couldn’t face our father with the truth. He just wanted to prove himself.
Now, it’s all down to me. To save this family and our legacy, I have to suck it up and follow our wicked traditions. The same traditions that dictate our every move and how we forge alliances, business deals and the oh-so-important contracts that help us in ways that inevitably destroy us.
I’ve spent too long making a name for myself. I don’t need the people around me, the ones that fear me, whispering about me having turned soft. So yes, I’ll do this one thing for you, Mother, but don’t expect much else.