Chapter 4 Mia
Present day
I ’m about to throw my phone against the wall by the fifth time Dante’s name pops up on my screen. His timing couldn’t be worse. My law textbook is spread out in front of me, unread pages waiting, yet my focus keeps getting yanked away. Columbia's winter break should be a chance to reset, but that’s impossible with Dante’s demands interrupting.
Finally, I give in. “What, Dante?” My voice drips with irritation.
“Mimi,” he says, my childhood nickname a mockery now. “Tomorrow. You remember what’s planned, don’t you?”
“Like I’d forget,” I mutter. “But I have two papers due, and exams right after break. I need to study.”
“You can study after the sit-down,” he says firmly. “I need you there, Mimi. This family needs you.”
I grip the phone tighter. “I just… I want a break from this, Dante. Just one holiday where I’m not on display like some kind of—”
“Enough,” he cuts me off. “You know the family motto. ‘Step in where help is needed.’” He pauses, letting it sink in. “So step up.”
I feel his words as a weight that drags me back into his orbit. “Fine,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Good. Be at the lounge at six. And wear the dress.” He hangs up.
“Yeah, love you too, bro.”
Wear the dress.
A sigh escapes and I stare at the closet. Inside, buried deep, is the dress . It’s red lace, low-cut and clinging in all the places that make men’s eyes linger. A dress that suggests the woman wearing it would willingly give a man a private lap dance. I’m told to wear it during meetings when Dante wants to clinch a deal. I’ve thought about burning this thing so many times in the past, but I know even if I did, Dante would find another outfit that would be even more revealing, demanding I wear it when he needs me to.
Dante doesn’t care about what I want or how I feel. To him, I’m a weapon, just like a gun he’d point at anyone standing in his way.
I know that no matter what I decide to do with my life, I’ll forever be bound to our Vitale family. Dante used to have a sweet side to balance the toughness that he cultivated as the heir to the Vitale family. But after the Luciana family murdered our father a couple years ago, Dante became embittered and vengeful and he’s ramped up his dealings to gain power and control over territories in Reno, Nevada where we are based, and to expand that control into this area that includes Winter Haven, Colorado where the Luciana family has gained traction into an untapped market of wealth. My brother has made it his number one priority to attack the Luciana’s at every opportunity. There is no stopping him.
Law school was supposed to be my escape. I clawed my way into Columbia, refusing to let my family’s influence get me there. In New York City, I’m Mia Vitale, the student , not the boss’s sister . But for every break, and sometimes during the school year, Dante drags me back, keeping me tethered to a life I want to leave.
For now, I shove my resentment down and reach into the closet to start packing for my flight tonight. If Dante wants a distraction for tomorrow’s meeting, I’ll give him one.