Chapter 48
FORTY-EIGHT
GINO
We’re all in my office, waiting for Ryan’s father. Mateo is sitting on the couch, while Drew, Jake, and Gabe are all standing in the corner. Alonso and Ryan, though, are downstairs waiting for him, and Marco’s here too, staying downstairs to ensure the man doesn’t do anything stupid.
“Alright, who's this guy we're letting in here?” I ask.
Mateo looks down at the papers in his hand. “John Mitchell, he's a real estate broker, someone we’ve worked with over the years. Not often, but enough for him to know us.”
“Shit, does Ryan know that?” I ask.
“I’m guessing no,” he replies. “If he found out about his dad last year, he might not have any idea. I handled all of the real estate transactions. He wouldn’t have been in any of the meetings.”
“What about the sister?” Gabe asks from the corner.
“Let Ryan decide that. It seems like his sister is being hidden from the world,” I say.
Before I can continue, Marco strides into my office looking pissed. Ryan trails behind him, dragging his father with him.
“Ryan, this is unnecessary. Let me just take Sophie home,” John says to his son.
“No,” Ryan grunts as he sets his father in the chair in front of my desk.
I stand in front of him. He’s tall, almost as tall as Ryan. I can see the resemblance between the two. They both have dark hair; John's slightly graying. The only real difference between the two is the fact that Ryan wears glasses.
“John, we've known each other for a few years. Do you know why you’re here?” I ask.
“No, let me take my daughter home; she's sick,” John replies.
Ryan cuts in. “Dad, she doesn’t need to be hidden away.”
“Her immune system—” he starts.
“—is fine as long as she takes her medicine,” Ryan finishes. “You and I both know that. The doctors have been pushing you and Lisa to let her experience life, and you aren’t doing that. But all of that doesn’t explain if you were involved in the messages being sent to Juliet.”
John sighs. “I was trying to help.”
“Help?” I reply.
“I realized partway through, I wasn’t actually helping—” John admits.
“So you were sending them?” Ryan asks.
“Yes,” he whispers.
“What about the threatening ones or the flowers?” Mateo asks.
“What—I didn’t send any threatening ones or flowers,” he says.
“Sophie said someone dropped off flowers at your house that were for Juliet,” Ryan chimes in. “She drove them here a few months ago, and before you get upset with her, she thought she was helping.”
“How did she learn how to drive?” he asks.
“I taught her,” Ryan cuts in. “Did you send the flowers?”
“No,” he replies.
“Why did you try to help?” I ask.
“I’d known you all for a while,” John admits.
“I helped your dad out in the past, and he asked if there was anything I could do to help you with your business, to do that. And I thought I could help with some of my contacts, but nothing panned out; that’s why I stopped.
As far as the threatening ones, I have no clue who it would be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was someone working with Lorenzo. ”
“Why wouldn’t you say anything to Ryan? He’s your son,” I query.
I’m not surprised this man knew my father, but why wouldn’t he say something to his own son?
“I didn’t realize he was my son until after I started digging into things to help,” John says.
“So you lied when you contacted me?” Ryan questions.
John rubs his hands down his face. “Yes.”
“Is there anything that you’ve been telling the truth about?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer, which is an answer enough.
I’m pretty sure Ryan will punch him if I don’t decide on what to do quickly.
“This is what we’re going to do,” I start. “You’re going to leave my house and pretend you don’t know any of us. If Ryan wants to speak to you again, he’ll decide that. Same thing for Sophie; if she doesn’t want to go with you, you can’t force her. Got it?”
“I was trying to help; I honestly know nothing about this mafia shit. But I thought I could help with what I do know. I’m not going without Sophie; she shouldn’t be here.”
“Dad, she’s an adult; she can decide that for herself," Ryan says.
“I’m not leaving without her,” he says, adamant.
“You’re in no place to make any sort of demands,” I tell him.
“You’re going to let your friends talk to me like that?” John asks, looking at Ryan.
He looks at his father with a look of pure anger. “They were my family before you were, so yes, I will let them talk to you like this. You really should leave.”
“Fine, I’ll go, but this isn’t over,” John says, getting up.
Marco follows him to make sure he actually leaves.
“So that’s handled for now,” I say. “Drew, dig in and see if you can confirm the threatening ones were from one of Lorenzo’s men.”
“Got it.” He and Alonso leave my office.
Gabe, Jake, and Mateo quietly leave the room. So it’s just Ryan and I.
I can see the emotion on his face. Then he sits in the chair his father was just in.
“I’m sorry—” he starts.
I cut him off. “Why? You didn’t do anything.”
“He’s my dad—”
I cut him off again. “It’s not your fault your dad did that. Did he exploit your relationship with all of us to get information? Probably. He’s your dad. You were trying to build a relationship with him. And that’s not your fault.”
“And Sophie… What do I do?” he asks.
“As someone who found out they had a sister just over a year ago, just protect her. And one piece of advice: don't keep any secrets and don’t have her marry your best friend,” I say.
He snorts.
“Vanessa still won’t let either of those things go, and rightfully so,” I say.
“Got it. Thanks,” he replies.
We leave the office and walk down to the kitchen.
Once we walk in, I can see Ryan looking for Sophie.
“Your sister may be a teenager, but she's a badass,” my sister says to Ryan.
“Thanks. Is she still here?” Ryan asks her.
“Uh, yeah, she is. She told your dad to shove it, and she was staying with you,” she replies.
“Really?” he asks her.
“Yeah, it sounded like she wanted to do that for a while; she’s in the family room,” she responds.
“Thanks,” then Ryan leaves the room.
“So please tell me now. I want to hear all the juicy details,” she says to me.
I groan, “Fine.”
“Hey babe,” she calls out to Mateo.
“Yeah?” Mateo says.
“I’m going to talk with Gino,” she tells him.
“Yeah, have fun, you two.” He walks over and grabs the baby monitor and kisses her.
“Let’s go talk in here,” I say, pointing to the library.
She walks in, and the sun is starting to set; the orange sunlight is lighting the room.
“Alright, tell me everything,” she says as she plops herself down on the couch.
I snort. “Can you be any more dramatic?”
“Yes, I can be,” she says, laughing.
“God.” I groan.
“I get it from Dad, just like you get your secret-keeping and lying from him,” she says dramatically.
“You wound me,” I say, feigning upset.
“Honestly, you deserve it,” she says.
“I know.”
My sister is one of the only people outside of Juliet who can put me in my place. She’s put up with a lot of bullshit when it comes to me. From pushing her arranged marriage to hiding details about her husband’s kidnapping.
“Mateo told me the basics, but that guy was the one who was messaging Juliet?” she asks.
“One of them,” I reply.
“One of them?”
“We think there was a second one that was messaging her that worked with Lorenzo.”
“Are you going to call Anthony?” She asks.
“No, Drew will figure it out.”
“Good,” she says with a nod. “Now moving on to another topic: Juliet told me the company name you’re thinking of, and I have thoughts,” she says with a smile.
Of course she does.
“Alright, let me have it,” I say.
“Esposito Enterprises? Really? Do you love yourself so much that you’ll name the company you and all your friends are going to run after yourself?” She asks.
“What do you suggest we name it?”
“Anything else, please. I don’t know; how about something related to the school you all met at? ”she says.
“Might need to put it to a vote with everyone else,” I reply.
“You already got the name on stuff, already, huh?”
“What do you think?” I reply, raising a brow. “But it can change if needed.”
“Gino, all I’m saying is you don’t need to have your name on there. You always make it your responsibility to run things when sometimes it doesn’t need to be,” she tells me in her sisterly tone.
“I know.”