21. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
Luca
Enzo Trovoli is a looming threat. Or rather, he may have been had his father been more competent about his tactics. Enzo is smart, quick-witted, and resourceful. His desire to survive far outweighs his fear; he does whatever I say without hesitation. I can see it in him, though. For years, he’s had to survive on his own, becoming much more mature than he should be at this age. And now he has once again been forced into a position where he must do whatever it takes to survive. Eli may have planned everything out meticulously on his end, but keeping Enzo hidden and in the dark was his biggest mistake.
I keep my eyes focused on the file in my lap as he sits nervously next to me in the backseat. I can tell from the twiddling of his fingers and his constant deep breaths that he is nervous. He probably thinks I’m taking him to his death, as I’ve barely been around since my introduction. I’ve left it to Romelo to watch him. And Romelo is much less patient than I am, especially when it comes to the kid who is the cause of all of this uncertainty.
“So you were a straight-A student up until last semester. What happened?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Things got rough for a while…and school seemed like a waste of time,” he says as he continues to twiddle his fingers.
I scoff, closing the file to look at him. “As opposed to pickpocketing drunks in a nightclub you’re not even old enough to be in?” I say as I recall where I found him.
Enzo shrugs.
“Safer than robbing a store,” he says.
“Or getting a job, I guess,” I counter.
Enzo looks away, his brow furrowed as he tries to find the right words to convince me of his decisions.
“My mother…has an expensive habit. I couldn’t get a job and leave her alone for that long. She’d get into trouble,” he says.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. He’s just like his sister in that regard, sacrificing themselves for people who don’t give two shits about them—who literally use them as pawns to get ahead. And both of them have suffered dearly for it. It’s an unfortunate hazard of this world. If you aren’t on the top, you’re on the bottom. There is no in-between. And you get trampled while you’re down there unless you have someone willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that never happens, which is where I come in. Lucky for Enzo, I’ve taken a liking to his sister.
“You should forget about your mother. She never truly cared for you. If she did, you wouldn’t be here, and she wouldn’t be five million dollars richer,” I say. “This life isn’t some joke. It’s real and it’s deadly if your priorities aren’t straight. So you should decide fairly quickly how you would like to proceed with it. You can either be useful to me or join your father.”
I don’t miss the hurt on Enzo’s face from my words, but he regains his composure quickly, his eyes meeting mine.
“Why do you care what I do? From your perspective, it would be better if you killed me. Why keep me around?” he asks.
I remain silent as I study him. He has no idea his sister spoke the exact words to me only hours ago. It’s eerie how they share only half of their blood, yet they are so similar.
“Someone very influential in my life wants you alive. And that’s all you need to know for now,” I say.
I toss the folder filled with his school records into his lap.
“You’ll have to enroll in summer classes to get your grades up before the semester starts. You won’t be able to contribute anything if your record keeps looking like this,” I say.
He slowly opens it, his eyes drifting over the page.
“You will need to work harder than you ever have if you want to be useful to me, Enzo. Proving yourself on this side is only half of it. You must also be useful in the real world,” I say, just as the car slows in front of the large building.
Enzo looks out the window at the tall office building, his eyes widening slightly before looking back at me.
“What are we doing here?” he asks.
I shift my attention to him briefly before opening the door.
“Showing you what true power is. And what happens when you are on the wrong side of it.”
Arianna Trovoli. Now Anderson. She was married off to William Anderson by her father to further increase ties in their little crime family. I have no doubt Elise’s father had something to do with the arrangement. Every marriage in their grubby family is a marriage of convenience because someone is bringing a little more into a smarmy group who claws their way to any level of power. But they don’t know what true power is.
That unattainable power that comes from a name alone.
“Mr. Anderson will see you now.” I stand from my seat in the front lobby, gesturing for Enzo to follow me as we make our way through the lax security of this building. William wasn’t raised among the thugs of the Trovolis. In his eyes, they are an excellent way to launder money and fill his pockets. What he doesn’t know is just how fucked he is by being associated with them.
His secretary opens the door to his office, allowing us to step through. William lifts his gaze upon our entrance, his smile immediately falling when he sees who it is entering.
I laugh as I sit, and Enzo remains standing behind me.
“Not expecting me so soon, huh? And with your salvation alive and well behind me?” I ask as I study him. He isn’t a threat in the least. I don’t think he’s even bothered learning any form of self-defense. Arianna has manipulated her husband to the point of his life being on the line without so much as a warning.
“To what do I owe this visit?” he asks, his gaze shifting behind me to Enzo.
“I’m curious if you know the mess you married into,” I say.
William is silent for a moment, making my anger flare, but I remain calm so he can answer me.
“Of course. I know what kind of world Ari is in. And I know the depravity you are involved with—”
“Do you?” I laugh. I raise a brow, angling my head as I study him. “Really?” I add.
“I know what you did to Eli,” he says in a careful tone, forcing me to laugh aloud.
“Yes, everyone knows what I did to Eli. It wasn’t a secret, unlike the life your wife has kept hidden from you,” I say.
I hold my hand out for Enzo, and he places the folder in my hands. I then place it on William’s desk.
“Go ahead,” I say.
I wait patiently as he slowly opens the folder, his eyes widening the more he reads. I enjoy the way the color drains from his face as the walls of comfort and safety he’s created for himself come tumbling down.
I lean back in my seat, pull out a cigarette, and light it as my excitement shifts to a high.
“W-where did you get this?” he asks with a trembling voice.
I scoff, leaning forward in my seat as I take another draw of my cigarette.
“What they failed to tell you when you married into that wretched family is that they are the bottom of the heap. Me, however? I am the top. Information like this is easy to come by when you’re Luca Pasquino,” I say.
I pull my cigarette from my lips as I lean over his desk, pushing the lit end into the picture of his wife’s face.
The folder contains everything Arianna has been involved with since her marriage to William. The reason behind their marriage is for the Trovolis to have easy access to the unlimited information William unknowingly provides. He has access to all kinds of significant figures and their funds, placing her in the perfect position for the Trovolis. The information he has access to from having contacts on the inside of every legal department makes him practically untouchable by the FBI. It is how they were able to assassinate my father, using William’s contacts. And if everything in that file is true, they also have government contacts.
Unfortunately, people at the top saw Eli Trovoli as a pest, not an ally, and were extremely reluctant when deciding to work with him. Some breathing a sigh of relief after his death.
“You say you know about Eli. But did you know about Lorenzo? Did you know your wife used your contacts to make his death possible?” I ask, stepping back.
“I…”
I silently pull my gun from its hidden place under my jacket, handing it to Enzo.
“Right now, the Trovolis are a threat to me and my wife. And you are going to help me eradicate them,” I say.
William looks up, his body tense as he stares past the barrel of the gun, his eyes meeting mine.
“What do you mean, eradicate?” he asks.
“Dead. Every. Last. One,” I say.
William composes himself, his fists clenching as he glares at me.
“And why would I do that?” he says.
I shrug. “Because it’ll prove entertaining for me. And if you don’t, I have no use for you,” I say.
He releases a bitter chuckle, further pushing my irritation.
“And what about your wife? I seem to recall she is a Trovoli as well,” he says with a smug grin. I narrow my gaze but don’t react, and William laughs as Enzo tenses, using the opportunity to twist the knife.
“Oh? Did he not tell you why his vendetta against the Trovolis was so deep? How his wife had a hand in killing her own flesh and blood—”
“Shoot him,” I say.
Enzo’s eyes widen, and he looks at me in a panic.
William laughs. “He won’t shoot me. I’m not his enemy. You are. You are the reason his life has been turned upside down. The moment you pull that trigger, security will—”
“I said, shoot him,” I say, staring at Enzo.
His breathing comes out in pants as his adrenaline spikes. I note that his hand is trembling as he aims at William. I shift my attention to his face, watching him carefully as he struggles with following my order.
“Looks like I struck a nerve. Why don’t you put that weapon away, and we can discuss how you can help your family—Argh!”
The gun suddenly goes off, hitting William square in the shoulder. He clutches it in a panic as blood soaks his suit, his eyes watching both of us.
“What the fuck!” he screams.
I laugh, pulling the gun from Enzo’s trembling grip.
“Your wife has lost. The Trovolis have nothing now but the skin on their backs. It is better if I don’t have to hunt them down individually,” I say.
I make my way to the door with Enzo in tow as I speak.
“Call me when you figure out which side you’re on. We can talk about a way you get out of this alive,” I say as I open the door. The hallway is empty, with no security waiting, and Enzo notices.
“H-how—ah!” he cries out as I shove him against the wall, letting my anger show.
“When I tell you to do something, I expect it done the first time,” I growl before releasing him. He coughs, sucking in breaths as he slides to the floor, looking at me with wide eyes.
“I bought the building a week ago. Everything, including the security, is mine,” I say, kneeling to where he slouches against the wall. I enjoy the terror behind his eyes as he realizes what I meant earlier about our purpose in being here.
“ That is what the meaning of true power is. You’d better learn quickly. I only have so much patience, even if you are important to my wife.”