Page 98 of Cassio

“Pffft.” Arianna broke the moment and we both turned to look at her. She rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissing her uncles’ statement. “Whatever, dude.”

The room burst into laughter and somehow the atmosphere for the night had been set.

Jack, Cassio, and the men ended up talking among each other, while I hung back with Mom, Margaret, and Bianca. The twins were in their own world.

“Dinner is ready,” Mom announced.

“You should sit with us,” Margaret told Bianca. “So we can interrogate you.” Bianca gave her an odd look and I groaned inwardly. Margaret must have seen my expression so she quickly added, “What? Tell me you don’t have any questions, Áine. Like why didn’t we know you were related to Cassio?”

I looked at Bianca apologetically. “You don’t have to answer that.”

“It’s okay,” Bianca assured me then sighed deeply. “I learned when my dad-” she winced, “... ummm, when the man that raised me died.” Wow, this kind of felt like dé-jà vu. “It was a shock. And the whole thing with the belles arrangement.” My head snapped to her and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it was a lot to take in. Nico saved me from all that, otherwise Benito was going to sell me.”

The same terminology was in Cassio’s email to Jack. I was too focused on the fact that Marco and Chad were working together that the belles arrangement didn’t really seem important.

“Any chance you could expand on that whole arrangement?” I asked her. “Is it like a dating site?”

Bianca’s eyes flashed with anger. “No, it’s an auction,” she hissed. “They get women of important, rich, or influential families, and sell them like cattle to the highest bidder. Grace Vitale, Matteo’s mom, barely escaped. It’s horrific to think people could do that.” I nodded at a loss for words. There wasn’t a single thing I could possibly think to say. “My grandfather was one of those that signed that agreement with the Kings, and the women of our family were dragged into that clusterfuck.”

My eyes flickered to the men to ensure they couldn’t hear us. “And your brothers were okay with that?”

“Of course not!” Bianca almost sounded insulted on their behalf. “They had been fighting him for a long time.”

There was another confirmation.

“Sorry, I was just wondering-”

“Cassio and Luca suffered a lot under their father… our father,” she answered. “I don’t know the whole story, but they don’t agree with what their brother is doing, or when their father was responsible for it. Of course, Benito is dead now.”

A shadow crossed her face and I remembered the rumors. “Who killed him?” I couldn’t resist asking her.

Guilt passed her expression and lingered in her eyes. “Luca took the blame.”

I frowned at the odd answer. Margaret and I shared a quick glance. Before I could ask another question, Bianca’s husband came up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Ready to eat, Cara Mia?” I raised my eyebrow. “Remember, you are eating for three.”

She chuckled and I stared at her in disbelief. “You are pregnant with twins again?” I mean what were the odds! And honestly, seeing her ruthless husband that tortured and killed men acting like a big teddy bear… yeah, somehow it struck a nerve. In a good way. Was Cassio like that too?

“Yes,” she beamed. She was obviously happy about it.

“Wow.” Jesus, she’d have four kids and I was barely out of virginhood. What. The. Hell.

“I’m pregnant too,” Margaret chimed in. “Thank fuck not twins. I’m not sure what I’ll do with one kid.”

The room got uncomfortably silent. Margaret unintentionally reminded everyone that the Callahan family gypped Cassio and violated the agreement. Though after our conversation yesterday, I knew Cassio never intended to marry her. So he kind of set them up.

“I’m starving,” I broke the silence. “What’s for dinner, Mom?”

“Your favorite,” she said.

I turned to Bianca. “By the way, how is John?”

Her husband grumbled and my eyes snapped to him. Bianca took his hand, chuckling lightly.He is jealous, I realized. The big, bad mobster was jealous of good time John.

“He’s good,” Bianca answered, patting her husband’s hand. “Nico helped him kickstart his company back up.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Huh? I thought his company was doing great.”