6. Antonio
Chapter six
Antonio
T he sun’s warmth on my skin as I lean against the pillar on the front steps of the manor is the first remotely good feeling I’ve felt in the last week—aside from that brief conversation with Theresa on my first night. There was something about the way her hot gaze travelled over my body that felt…a bit too inviting.
As much as I’ve been trying to remind myself to remain focused on the end goal of getting out of here, that moment has been playing in my head on repeat. Especially the way she felt pressed against me while she was jumping about, trying to get her book back, the way she had zero fear in holding my eye contact. Something not many people can do.
The creak of the large metal gates opening echoes through the air. Although almost everything about this house has been upgraded, it still has the look of an old French manor, especially with its cream exterior that’s covered with overgrown vines or the extremely high fencing right around the property that has guards patrolling it every second of every day.
As much as I’ve been lying low and just taking all the wedding planning that comes my way, I’ve been quite observant. Gabriel has a more relaxed exterior than I’ve seen most men in power have–Ambrose included. He does have all his staff on a tight rein. It’s clear just how loyal they are to him.
Except his eldest son. Pierre and I haven’t had many interactions beyond discussions about where I’ll be taking his sister once we’re married, but I see the way he looks at his father. Maybe it’s the fact that his younger brother, Kylian, has been declared underboss, completely undercutting him. Something even I know is unusual in the cartel.
Secrets and lies follow this family around like a depressing, grey cloud, and the little yellow sunbeam in the centre seems to have the darkest cloud after her. I can’t help but wonder when the mask she wears around her father will finally crack.
“There’s my favourite soon-to-be-married man!” Mattia exclaims as he explodes out of the black sedan they arrived in—no doubt driven by one of our men, since I know Ambrose would rather die than accept anything from Gabriel.
“Aww, don’t say that. You’ll hurt Ambrose’s feelings,” Adriano comments loud enough for everyone to hear.
Mattia jogs up the stairs to me and immediately wraps his arms around me. “I’m so tired of your brothers; they’re making me miss mine. At least he doesn’t speak to me.”
“Good to see you too, fra .” I chuckle as I pat his back.
It’s no surprise that Mattia would eventually grow tired of my brother’s constant bickering. He and Enzo barely speak, so it’s not something he’s all that used to. It’s why we gravitate towards each other. Even though I love riling my brothers up, especially Ambrose, I also get tired of it and often retreat into silence.
“Well, you’re going to be stuck with them a lot more now that Enzo is up in the air and you’re taking over Vitale Insurance.” I smirk, and he shoots me an exhausted expression.
“Good to see you again, brother.”
“Tevici is all gloomy without you.”
The twins both greet me before taking in the surroundings.
Ambrose is the last to approach, and I can feel the awkward tension rolling off him in waves. I hate it. We’ve never been the closest, but we’ve also never been this distant before.
“Glad you’re not dead, Nino.” He pats my shoulder.
Glad you’re not dead.
That’s all he has to say. After everything. After it was his idea to send me to the exact island Gabriel happens to be from, or the fact that he was a good few hours delayed to realise I was even missing thanks to the engagement party I wasn’t invited to.
“Yeah, that makes one of us,” I grumble and walk past him, catching up with Mattia.
“So, how was the engagement party?” I ask in a hushed tone as I lean in towards him.
“Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much; food was decent, though. Kind of awkward since everyone noticed you were missing.”
That strokes my ego more than it should. I’m happy to know his day wasn’t the joyous occasion he hoped for, and it’s purely out of spite. As much as I want to be happy for both of them because of the obvious, you know, she was my best friend and he’s my older brother side of things, I just can’t.
“Mamá was also pissed about him leaving you out of it,” Gus says as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. Clearly, our hushed tones weren’t hushed enough.
I grin at him. He’s just slightly below my eyeline, but still the closest brother to my height.
“This place is huge,” Adriano quips.
“Almost bigger than the villa,” I respond.
The only main difference is the layout. All of the rooms in the villa are relatively spread out, giving each of us our own area—except for the twins, who opt to be close together. Here, all the bedrooms are on the second and third floors, and are practically next to each other. I learnt that the hard way when I could hear Theresa’s younger sister, Noelle, on the phone all night with her boyfriend from Paris.
I’m convinced Gabriel has no idea what any of his daughters do behind his back. Thin walls mean I’ve heard all kinds of lies. Like how she’s heading back to ‘study’, but it’s an excuse for her to be around her boyfriend more.
“Is Mamá coming up for the wedding?” I find myself asking. Even though this wedding isn’t exactly what I envisioned, nor is it entirely real, I can’t imagine her not being here.
“Yeah, she and Ariella are flying up tomorrow night,” Mattia answers.
“How many people are coming?” I ask.
I know Gabriel said we could invite anyone, but we had to give him numbers by today to ensure we have enough catering.
“Every Vitale we could get here,” Ambrose says from behind us. I’m not sure what their plan is, whether it’s to intimidate Gabriel or to simply be an inconvenience, but they’re up to something.
“Don’t worry, only us and Mamá know it’s not real,” Adriano says, patting my back.
“And Val,” Mattia adds, which I’m so glad he did, because it opens the perfect route for my next question.
“Where is Valerie?”
I know there’s no way Ambrose would leave her unattended, so I’m surprised she’s not here.
“At the hotel. No way I was bringing her anywhere near here after what happened.”
“Oh, but you’ll let me rot here peacefully,” I fire back, and the tension bubbles up again.
“Anywaaayyyyy, show us around,” Gus says, grabbing both my shoulders and turning me away from Ambrose.
We walk through the main hall, dining room, kitchen, and large living room, which allows them to get a better glimpse of the backyard.
“It’s tight,” Adriano whispers next to me.
Don’t I know it.
It may not seem like it to the naked eye, but Gabriel has the perfect view of everything everyone does. Cameras both hidden and visible, men constantly walking around—he’s got eyes and ears everywhere.
“What do you mean you don’t have a dress yet?” a female’s voice shrieks as we take the turn to head back towards the main hall. We are in search of Gabriel since we’re all supposed to be meeting about the final negotiations.
“I don’t even want to get married why would I have a…” Her voice trails off as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and comes face to face with us. “Dress…” she finishes.
“Well, I don’t think you can walk down the aisle in Dr. Martens and a black dress,” I say as we both observe each other for a second. We both know a secret about the other that no one surrounding us knows, and a part of me wonders just how long she’ll keep mine before she decides to run to her daddy—especially since the weight of mine is a lot heavier than hers.
His daughter reading sexy romance books is probably last on the list of things Gabriel Auclair has to worry about, but my midnight trip to sneak into his office in the hopes of finding something to help me get out of this mess might raise some red flags.
“I should. It’s the death of my freedom, only fair I look the part,” she fires back as her eyes bounce between us.
Each of us easily towers over her and her little friend, who I’ve seen in glimpses around the manor this last week.
“This is Theresa, my soon-to-be wife,” I say, catching my brothers’ surprised faces out of the corner of my eye.
“Theá,” she corrects.
“Theá,” I repeat, my eyes locking onto hers. They’re dark and venomous as she glares at me.
“And Eleanor,” her friend chimes in. “You must be Antonio’s brothers, although I thought there were only four Vitale brothers.” Her eyes shift, trying to figure out what’s going on.
“This is Mattia, our cousin. That’s Ambrose, my eldest brother, and then Adriano and Augustus,” I explain.
I’m sure Adriano would be the obvious outlier with his now pink buzz cut, but since he and Augustus look practically identical for fraternal twins, I suppose trying to figure it out might’ve proved more challenging.
Mattia may have some of his mother’s attributes, such as her aquiline nose, but for the most part, Vitale’s genes are strong. So even he could pass as a brother. There’s only one undoubted brother, and that is Ambrose. We look so alike that it’s uncanny, with only my height and his as the major differentiating factor. I’ve tried everything from growing my hair out to staying leaner than he is, but without fail, everyone will always say—
“Wow, you and Ambrose look so much alike,” Eleanor voices my exact thoughts. I roll my eyes.
“She is pretty, why did you lie—” I smack Mattia up the side of his head before he can finish his sentence. I refrain from looking over at Theresa, but I can tell from Eleanor’s snickers that they did in fact hear. I’m probably slightly redder in my face than I would have liked.
I glare daggers at Mattia, but he only looks up at me with satisfaction in his eyes. He’s a shit-stirrer at heart, as much as he refuses to admit it.
“Where’s your father?” Ambrose's deep voice has all of our heads spinning in his direction.
“Wow, you’re even scarier in person,” Eleanor says.
“He’s in his study,” Theresa’s voice says. “Antonio knows the way.”
It’s the first time she’s spoken since correcting me about her name, and the sound pulls my eyes back to her as she points Ambrose in the right direction, a whisper of a smirk on her lips.
Mattia, Adriano, and Gus follow behind Ambrose, leaving me alone with my bride-to-be and Eleanor.
“Have you two been researching us?” I raise a brow. I may be speaking to both of them, but my eyes are zeroed in on her.
“Have to know what I’m up against.” She shrugs.
“And what did you find on me?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she grits her teeth. I already knew the answer when I asked the question.
No media outlet has anything on me. I’ve worked on keeping my image pristine, and with Adriano’s help, it’s been possible. Aside from a few business dealings, there’s not much on me out there.
“Because I’m the ever-perfect Vitale.” I shrug, pushing my glasses further up the bridge of my nose.
“Nobody’s perfect,” she counters.
She’s not wrong. I’m far from it. But no one outside of my family needs to know that.
“I am.”
“As much as I hate to interrupt whatever this is,” Eleanor says, “we have to go wedding dress shopping.”
I watch as Theá’s cheeks darkens a few shades and her eyes immediately drop from mine to the floor. She’s shy. Or embarrassed. It’s something that’s making her not want to hold my eye contact, which she usually does effortlessly.
“Have fun," I state plainly.
Eleanor drags her away, and I stand firmly in my spot, watching them leave before rejoining my brothers who have already entered the study with Gabriel and Kylian.
“You’re so fucked,” Mattia whispers as I stand next to him.
“Why? What did they say?” My first thought is to assume Ambrose said something stupid and we're all going to die.
“No, not this. I meant her.”
“What?” I ask.
He simply shakes his head and chuckles. “Just stay focused.”
“Great, you’re here. Let’s get started,” Kylian says.
I don’t miss the raised brows all my brothers send him before looking over at Gabriel.
“This is Kylian, my underboss. He’ll be taking over when I’m no longer fit to handle business, but until then,” he shoots Kylian a warning look for overstepping, “I’m Gabriel; it’s nice to finally meet you all in person, especially you, Ambrose. Congratulations on the recent engagement.”
Ambrose stiffens, his shoulders pulling tight.
“Leave my family business out of this.”
“Oh, but your family is my family now, remember? Hell, we’re family.” Gabriel smirks, extending his arms out. “I mean, you are engaged to my ex-sister-in-law, and your brother is marrying my daughter. We’re all just one big, interconnected family.”
The mention of Valerie leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It’s one thing for him to take a jab at Ambrose, but to throw Valerie and Mattheo’s relationship in his face is too far. And as much as I hate the motherfucker right now, he’s still my brother.
“Yeah, Ambrose. I mean, Theá and I are about to get real close, we should get to know each other better.” Gabriel’s eyes fly up to mine as I stare back at him with a smirk.
He opens his mouth, probably to bark out a threat, but Kylian beats him to it. “What did you just say?” Suddenly, it’s clear as day that the younger man in front of me is just a little brother who loves his older sister.
“What? You didn’t think I wouldn’t touch her, did you?” I raise a brow. I know I’m poking a bear right now, but I need them to understand that they don’t have the complete upper hand. “We have to consummate the marriage. Otherwise, it’s not real. And that’s what you want, right? It to be real?” Mattia lets out a snicker, and I can see the blood boil behind both Gabriel and Kylian’s eyes. “You want the bloody sheets, too? Well, that’s assuming she’s still a virgin.”
Gabriel’s eyes flash wide, and that’s when I know I have him just where I want him.
“She is.” I raise my brows. “That makes this whole thing a lot sweeter. I got to kill your brother, and now I get to be the first man to fuck your innocent little girl.”
Within a second, I’m slammed into the wall with a gun pressed between my eyes. Kylian’s wild eyes scan mine. “Speak about my sister like that again, and the only blood you see will be yours when I blow your brains out.”
“Enough,” Ambrose and Gabriel say together.
Adriano steps up next to us and glares at Kylian. “You heard your papá. Drop it.”
Kylian reluctantly drops the gun and backs away slowly.
“Consider that my warning. You may have manipulated me into doing this, but your daughter will be in my presence every day after this weekend. Do not bring Valerie up again.”
Gabriel’s eyes shift between Ambrose and me. “Interesting. You love her, but she’s marrying him. I knew something was up when I heard it was you,” he points at me, “who shot my brother instead of Ambrose.”
“Guess we both know each other’s weaknesses now,” I say.
I wouldn’t touch Theresa beyond what is necessary to keep this little fluke alive, but I’d make him believe I would if it meant keeping Valerie safe.
Ambrose clears his throat. “If you two are done. We’re here to discuss logistics.”
“Right,” Gabriel says. “I just need the total of how many people will be coming from your side.”
“Two hundred and fifty,” Ambrose says, and apparently, I’m the only person in the room who’s shocked.
“Who did you guys invite?” I whisper to Mattia.
“It’s probably easier to ask who we didn’t,” he responds, eyes staying trained on Ambrose and Gabriel as they discuss finer details.
“Who didn’t you?”
This causes his eyes to rise to mine. “My papá and Enzo.”
Both my brows shoot up in surprise. It was expected after what happened with Vitale Insurance last year, but to exclude only Mattia’s side of the family makes my heart ache for him.
“Don’t look at me like that, I’m fine. You’re getting married, even though it’s under shit circumstances. I’m just happy to be here for you. They dug their own grave.”
I bump my shoulder into his. I know this is how he deflects, especially since this isn’t the first time his side of the family is purposely unincluded from things.
“So what are you looking to gain out of this?” Ambrose asks, and the question has my ears perking up.
Gabriel stays silent for a bit, I assume to ponder his answer. “A son-in-law.”
Ambrose scoffs, looking over at me. “He’s just as much of a pain in the ass as you are. I’m sure this will work out great.”
“Watch it,” Gabriel and I say in unison.
“My turn for questions,” Gabriel picks up instantly. “Have you decided where you’ll be staying after the wedding?”
“They’re not staying here?” Kylian asks.
“No, we’re not. Unless you’d like to hear me make my previous threats a reality through these thin bedroom walls.”
“Monaco,” Adriano interjects before Kylian has a final reason to blow my brains out.
“Hmm, interesting choice,” Gabriel says.
“We have property, and it’s close to home. For both parties,” I say.
“It’s not in the borders of France, that was my condition for your freedom,” Gabriel counters.
“It’s not in Italy, either. It’s perfectly in the middle. Completely neutral,” Adriano adds.
“Our own Switzerland, if you will,” I offer.
When Adriano mentioned it as an option, I was hesitant to try it. It’s pushing the boundaries Gabriel created on the first day, but I hope it’s just enough that he won’t suspect anything funny.
“We can’t get on the bad side of the Cosa Nostra by travelling into France a few times a week. Antonio has to have meetings with clients under their control, too, and they won’t fly to France for it. It’ll cause the least problems for both of us since you can’t afford to launch a territory war with them either.”
It is also very public and very high profile, so if Gabriel does decide to pull any stunts, he’ll have all eyes on him.
“Very well, but I expect access to both you and my daughter at any time. And I will be taking care of security.”
Just as we expected, the control freak has to have his finger in the pot at any time to prove he has control.
“Of course, I would never want to keep her away from her family,” I say sarcastically, as if that isn’t the exact thing he is doing to me.
“Do we have a deal?” I ask, stepping forward.
“Yes, we do. Pleasure doing business with you all. I’m sure this is the start of something great,” he extends his hand to me.
Yeah, your fall from greatness.
I grab his hand firmly and shake. “Here’s to a fruitful marriage and partnership.”