Chapter 5 #2
“Really, well what about that one?” He asks pointing to Adam. Adam’s face resembles a deer in headlights. Axl looks like he’s about to flip the table over and Felix inches his hand into his suit jacket.
“Old man you need to get your facts straight; Sergio Salvant was Felix and Adam’s biological father.” I state with a chuckle.
Giovanni nods his head up and down. “Felix’s yes, Adam’s no.
Back then I needed to make sure you stayed away from that woman so I would have you followed.
For years you did keep your distance until you got a call one night and rushed out of the house.
My men followed you to a cheap motel on the shady side of town where you met up with her.
You stayed for a few hours and then left.
I didn’t think anything about it because I figured you were getting one last taste but that was until I saw her pregnant months later.
I wondered if you might have knocked her up again so I had a nurse I knew at the time let me know when she went into labor and had the baby.
I went and saw him. You know the funny thing about newborns, sometimes you really can’t tell which parent they favor more, the mother or the father.
This baby, even though he favored his mother more and had her honey brown eyes, he had some features of a Romano.
Since I figured you had no knowledge of the first one because she was passing him off as her husband’s child, I assumed she would do the same with that one and she did.
Now, let us zoom ahead some years, not only do I find out you knew about the first one but you had him staying your house but not the second child.
I found that quite odd but then it dawned on me...
you still didn’t know. Well, let me be the bearer of bad news, you have not one but two illegitimate sons. ”
“That’s a fucking lie!” Adam seethes from his seat. If Imani didn’t have a hold on his arm, I think he would have attacked Giovanni.
“Am I lying, Andres? All this time you have been around him, have you not really looked at him? I can see it now especially with this temper of his.” Giovanni states staring me down.
I scan my father’s cold calculating face and devious smile.
He’s proud of this revelation. My mind scrambles back to the last time I saw Elena before the night I took Axl away.
I remember getting the call years before.
She called in tears about her husband putting his hands on her.
She was hiding at a motel. I went to check on her and when I got there she had bruising to her face.
I immediately turned to leave to go beat his ass but she stopped me.
Elena cried harder as she begged me not to go.
I scooped her up in my arms and took her into the small bathroom and cleaned her face.
When I was done, laid her on the bed then got in with her and held her tight as she silently cried.
I knew I should not have been comforting a married woman but this was my Elena and I just couldn’t pull myself away from her.
We didn’t utter a word as one thing led to another and we passed out from our heated love making session.
I left Elena asleep in the room vowing I would keep my distance from her because if we were to end up in that kind of situation again, I would go against my father and kill her husband.
I remove my eyes from Giovanni turning to Adam.
Studying is face, I mean really studying his face, I now see the resemblance.
His mother’s eyes stare back at me as features like my own stand out clearly now.
How could I not have noticed my own child?
My heartbreaks as I recall what he went through in the system, hell what he and Felix both went through.
I trap Adam’s gaze with mine as I mouth, “I didn’t know, son.
I’m sorry.” He slowly shakes his head from side to side.
“Tell me Andres, have the children spoken to their mother?” He asks picking up his wine glass then taking a sip with malice expression.
I frown. “For what? Anjelica hasn’t contacted them since our divorce and honestly I’m happy about that because they have positive mother figures surrounding them now.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I do not understand you, Andres. I picked the perfect wife for you and you let something small like infidelity get in the way.” Giovanni says sitting back in his chair.
Now it was my turn to chuckle. “Small, really? Because my children are sitting at the table, I won’t speak ill of their mother in front of them but know this my children and I are better off without her.”
“And why is that, Andres?” A familiar voice asks from behind me.
Anjelica strolls into the room as if she owns it.
Her bleach blonde hair hangs down her back; her face is caked with makeup and as usual her clothes are too damn tight.
“How can you sit there and say that my children are better off without me? Is it because you have turned them against me?” She comes to stand next to Giovanni.
“Andres Jr., Calla come give your mother a hug.”
Andres Jr. and Calla stare at her as if she was a stranger.
As I told Giovanni, I have never talked ill of Anjelica but my children remember how she treated them.
She never made time for them, always pushing them off on their nannies.
She would rather spend her time burning up my credit cards on her fake ass and breasts or fucking my then right-hand man behind my back.
“You see what I mean, Giovanni, he has turned my children against me.” Anjelica whines.
“What are you doing here, Anjelica?” I question with a heated tone.
“Why do you care, Andres? You threw me out of our home and kept my children from me so I did what I needed to to...I called your father and he sent for me.” She replies with a huff placing her hand on Giovanni’s right shoulder as Regilo stands on his left side.
I tilt my head to the side; something was not right with this scene. “Father, why would you help this ingrate?”
He smirks. “I always help those who are loyal to me, Andres.” A sinister smile spreads across his face. “Why do you think I picked Anjelica to be the perfect wife for you?”
The wheels begin to spin in my head. I glance at Axl who side eyes me before turning our attention back to Giovanni.
Giovanni and Anjelica begin to laugh as the truth finally hits me.
“You see, son I knew when you took over you were going to practically cut me out off from the business, so I came up with a way to keep tabs on you! What better way to use my last act as Don but to choose a wife for you who would keep me up to date with everything you had going on. She was exceptionally good at what she did too and when she and Rocco came up with the plan to take you out, I was all for it! You were getting soft, Andres. You were starting to let your emotions take over. It would have taking some time but with you out of the way, Anjelica and Rocco would have ran the family until Andres Jr. was old enough to take his rightful place as head of the Romano Empire.”
Anger fills me hearing how these two schemed against me, this admission was the ultimate act of betrayal.
“Come potete vedere il loro piano non ha funzionato perché sono ancora qui e per quanto riguarda enyone che gestisce la famiglia al mio posto, come è sempre stato, la posizione sarebbe andata al mio primo erede nato, Axl (As you can see their plan didn’t work because I am still here and as far as anyone running the family in my stead, as it has always been, the position would have went to my first born heir, Axl). ”
Giovanni’s face hardens as he bangs his fist on the table.
“Ieri ho giocato bene davanti alle altre famiglie, ma ora sei a casa mia. Non accetterò mai il bastardo della tua puttana come capo di questa famiglia (I played nice in front of the other families yesterday but you are in my house now. I will never accept the bastard of your whore as the head of this family).”
Now Axl slams his fists on the table next to me bringing our focus on him.
“Mia madre non era una puttana, pezzo di merda. A differenza di quella accanto a te, mia madre amava mio padre, ma dato che proveniva da una povera famiglia italiana, non era abbastanza brava per stare nella tua. Se fossi in te, guarderei come parlo di Elena Salvant o del mio primo atto d'affari come Don Salvant sarà tagliarti la lingua e far mangiare quella puttana connitia accanto a te (My mother was not a whore you piece of shit. Unlike the one standing next to you, my mother loved my father but because she came from a poor Italian family, she wasn’t good enough to be in yours. If I were you, I’d watch how I speak about Elena Salvant or my first act of business as Don Salvant-Romano will be to cut your tongue out and make that conniving whore next to you eat it).
Axl sneers as his eyes have darken. Everyone at the table stares at him with disbelief.
I know they are taken aback by his ability to speak Italian but no one looks more stunned than Giovanni.
“Quindi, tu parli la nostra lingua, interessante. Quindi questo significa che sapevate tutto quello che è stato detto alla riunione di ieri (So, you speak our language, interesting. So that means you knew everything that was said at the meeting yesterday).”
Axl smirks. “Sì, ed è stato molto divertente. Sembra che tu non abbia la tirata come credi, nonno (Yes, and it was quite entertaining. It seems like you don’t have as much pull as you think you do, Grandfather).”
“Guarderai com parli al Don, bastardo (You will watch how you speak to the Don, bastard)!” Regilo snarls.