Page 5 of Forgive Me, Father

He nodded, and I turned my gaze back to the vast ocean, its waves crashing with a rhythm that seemed to mirror my thoughts.This hotel had been my Nonna’s haven, her sanctuary.She’d always found peace in the sea’s embrace, and when my Nonno had been gifted this prime piece of land by the Delucas years ago, he’d built something that would honor her.He even named it after her, Hotel de Anna.

I always stayed here whenever I was in the States.My Nonna was my favorite person, my closest confidant.I missed her and I made a mental note to go and visit her again soon.

My phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with my father’s name.

Rico Pontisello.

A reminder of the weight our name carried.

I refused to marry her, and he was about to learn exactly what happened to defiant little girls who dared break centuries of tradition.I knew the consequences for her and her family, but I didn’t care.I was ruthless, unapologetically cruel, and I wasn’t going to back down.

An entire family engraved on my body would not make any difference.They were going to learn the hard way that if you wanted to keep your spot in our circle, play with the big guys, you had to respect the traditions and rules that had been in place for generations.No exceptions.

Her parents had failed to raise their wayward daughter in the way they should have and will share her fate.

That reminded me.

I pulled out the chair, dropped into it, and rolled forward until the edge of the table kissed my stomach.The laptop blinked awake under my fingertips.I opened a blank email, the keys clicking with a rhythm that felt like vengeance.

I attached the file.Her indiscretion, frozen in digital clarity, and cc’d every high-ranking member ofIl Volto Nero.No one was spared.

Then I hit send.

The Deluca family wouldn’t recover from this.They’d be cut off, exiled.A poison no one would dare touch.

Vengeance was sweet.And I reveled in it.

I’d never liked Simi.She was a spoiled brat, accustomed to getting everything she wanted with a snap of her fingers, as if the world would bend to her simply because Daddy’s wallet was deep.It wasn’t a mindset I was raised with, nor one I could ever respect.

My family taught me the values of time-honored traditions, and we all followed the rules that we couldn’t break.You worked for what you wanted, and that counted for menandwomen.

Simi wasn’t even my type.She had no ass, and her tits were fake and way too big for her chest.

No, I liked a round ass that I could fuck till Tuesday come, and I loved natural tits that were in proportion with a woman’s body.A handful was enough.

My phone buzzed again.This time, it was my mother.No doubt she’d already heard and was ready to plead her case.She’d ask me to reconsider.Not for love, never for that, but for the merger, for the family name, for appearances.

Simi had been prepared for this.Groomed to handle my darkness.

I didn’t give a fuck anymore.

My mother should’ve known better by now.There was no reconsidering.Whatever came next, the elders would handle it.Probably spare their lives, offer a slap on the wrist, and call it justice.Either way, they were no longer my problem.

My focus was on Nonno’s shares.

He’d left me fifty percent of his hotel empire, locked in a trust temporarily controlled by my father’s corporation.My younger brothers would each get twenty-five percent.The conditions were simple: marry, settle down, and build a family to carry the Pontisello name.

It wasn’t asking much.Legacy in exchange for control.

And if it came down to paying someone to carry my children?So be it.

In today’s day and age, people were desperate, and they would find the Don’s way of life extremely exciting.Invigorating.

Another text came through.This time it was from the slut herself.

I’m sorry Alfonso.Please reconsider.

There was no reconsidering, Simi.You picked your loyalty.Hope it buries you gently.