Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
“W ho is my father?” I ask Mary.
I feel my brothers’ eyes turn to me. All of them. I don’t look at them, though. They don’t know what I know. They don’t know that I spent years listening to the old man tell me I wasn’t his. That the woman in front of us cheated on him, and because of that, I deserved what he did to me. What he let those bastards do to me.
“What?” She has the decency to at least appear taken aback. “Giovanni is your father, Vin.”
“Really? Because he always claimed otherwise. You fucked around on him.” I narrow my glare. “So just tell me who the guy is.”
Mary shakes her head. “Giovanni was paranoid,” she insists.
“Ain’t that the fucking truth,” Santo mutters under his breath.
“I never cheated on him, Vin. Giovanni is— was your father. He accused me of cheating. He was positive that I did. But it didn’t happen. I swear,” she says.
I laugh. I can’t fucking believe this shit. I don’t know if what she’s telling me is true or if it would have even made a difference if Giovanni knew I was his biological son. The sick bastard still probably would have done what he did.
I avoid looking at my brothers. Instead, I stand from my chair. “I’m done here,” I say before walking back towards my car.
“Vin, hold up.” Santo runs after me.
“What?”
“Why didn’t you say something before? We could have given you peace of mind about this. We could have done a test or something,” he says.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does,” Santo tells me. “I can’t believe that even after all these years the asshole is still fucking with our heads.”
“Yeah,” I agree, pulling out a joint and lighting it. I probably shouldn’t. I have to drive, and Cammi hates it when I drive stoned. But, fuck, I need this right now.
“We can still do a test if you don’t believe her,” my brother offers.
“Do you believe her?” I ask him.
“I don’t know why, but I do. You are a De Bellis, Vin, blood and all. There is no getting out of it.” He points at me.
“Yeah.”
“Head to Gio’s. We’re going to meet up there.”
“Sure thing.” I salute him and jump into the car.
* * *
The dial tone rings out through my Bluetooth. I called her as soon as I sat down.
“Hello, did it go okay?” Cammi asks me.
“It was a shitshow. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. Why was it a shitshow? What happened?”
“I have a sister,” I tell her. “A smart-mouthed teenaged sister.”
“What? How? I mean what ?” she says, the shock evident in her voice.
“She just turned up. Mary didn’t bring her. Probably wasn’t ever planning on telling us about the girl. She followed them there. We found her creeping in the bushes, almost fucking shot her too,” I explain.
“You have a sister. That’s… I don’t know what that is. How do you feel about it?”
“We’re all heading back to Gio’s. You want to meet us there for dinner?” I say, instead of addressing the question about my feelings.
“Sure. Are you okay, Vin? Did you ask her?” Cammi presses.
“I’m fine. And, yeah, I asked her. She swears the old man was my father.” I sigh. “I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
“Okay, I love you,” Cammi replies and then cuts the call.
My head is reeling. I don’t know if I believe Mary. I’m not even sure it matters anymore. And now I have a fucking sister. What the hell are we meant to do with a sister?
Do I want to know her? Do I want a relationship with her? She was lied to as well. She had no idea about us. What is that doing to her head? How fucked up do our parents need to make us?
I believe Mary’s story about Giovanni beating her, about him kicking her out. I find it hard to fucking believe that he’d let her move on and start a new family, though. Did he know about Tommy and Esther?
Of course he knew. There was nothing our father didn’t know about.
I pull up to Gio’s estate and park in front of the garage. I don’t want to go inside yet. I need to see Cammi. I’ll wait until she gets here. I also have no idea when the others are headed this way. I asked her the one question I had. I don’t need anything else from that woman.
Fifteen minutes later, Cammi’s car parks next to mine. I walk around to her driver’s door and open it for her. “Hey,” she says, her voice soft. It’s exactly what I need to hear right now.
“Hey yourself.”
As soon as she’s up and out of the car, her arms wrap around my waist and her face rests against my chest. “I’m sorry,” she tells me.
“What are you sorry for?” I press a kiss to the top of her head.
“For not being there with you.”
“I don’t want you around that mess,” I remind her.
“I know, but I don’t want you to ever go through anything alone again.”
“I’m never alone. I always have you, Cammi. You’re constantly in my head and my heart.”
“Good. Now tell me about this sister of yours. Do I get to meet her?”
“I honestly have no idea,” I say.
“Well, what’s her name?”
“Esther.”
“Okay, should we go inside now?” Cammi asks.
“Nah, let’s stay out here for a bit longer. I like having you to myself.” I pull her tighter against me. This woman is my lifeline.