Page 2 of Ruthless Betrayal
Alessia felt out of place, despite the presence of both of her parents and brother at the table. She just tried to stay focused on her food, which was delicious. Whoever had cooked this had to be one of the best caterers in Misso City. The chicken breast was resting on a bed of rice and drizzled with some kind of creamy garlic sauce. At least she was getting a decent meal out of this evening.
At one end of the table, her father sat with his men while her mother chatted with one of her high society friends at the other end. She wondered how many of the people here knew exactly what kind of business her father did. He didn’t exactly try to hide it.
How could all the dinner party guests sit here and pretend that this house wasn’t paid for with dirty money? All of this felt like such a charade to her. Polite conversation with mafia men.
She wouldn’t be here at all if she could help it, but what was she going to do? Her father had certain expectations of her, and she didn’t want to piss him off. As much as she wanted to believe that he’d never do anything to hurt her, she didn’t want to test that theory. Rocco Mancini was far from being a warm and loving father. His graciousness only extended as far as her obedience went.
As the meal came to an end, she excused herself to the bathroom. The capos and several other men went into her father’s study, for after dinner drinks and to probably take advantage of his imported Cuban cigars. The rest of the party broke off into groups, chatting amongst themselves.
As Alessia returned from the bathroom, she sought out her mother, hoping that she could get away with ducking out early if she got some FaceTime with her. Unfortunately, she found her mother already engrossed in a conversation with her brother Leo.
She felt her body go rigid with every step closer she took towards the two of them. Her father was cold and controlling, but her brother was a mean son of a bitch. It was easier to handle her father. He was emotionally distant, but she actually preferred it that way. It made it easier for her to see him for who he really was.
Dealing with Leo was different. Ever since they were children, her big brother had been her number one bully in life. Even as adults, he still held that title. Belittling her was his favorite pastime.
It didn’t help that he’d been in a terrible mood lately. He’d been shot a couple of weeks ago, and even though the wound wasn’t too bad and was stitched up right away, he was constantly angry and supposedly in pain. He liked to take out his anger on the rest of the world. Especially her.
The way he acted, you would think that she was the one to pull the trigger. Instead it was a member of the rival mafia in the city. The Irish.
She wasn’t usually kept informed about her father’s business, and she liked it that way, but hedidtell her that the two mafia’s were at war. As the daughter of the don, she could be a target.
It was almost thoughtful of him to warn her, but she suspected that he was the cause of the conflict in the first place. She’d been around enough to hear her father rant about the Irish having more power than he did in the city, more territory and more money. His anger seemed ramped up in the past few years, ever since the head of the Irish mafia died and his son took his place. Rumor had it that Owen Walsh wasn’t a bad man. He ran the Irish mafia with fairness and didn’t hurt people unless he had to.
Of course, she didn’t know that personally. It was nice to think it might be true though, that not every man in power was cold and cruel.
“The damn thing still aches sometimes,” Leo said as Alessia reached his side, pulling her thought back to the present. “If I knew exactly which one of the bastards pulled the trigger, I’d gut him.”
Their mom glanced around at the dinner party guests nearby that had obviously overheard Leo’s grumbling.
“Leo, we can talk about this later,” she said through gritted teeth while she kept a forced smile in place for the others.
“Fuck these people,” Leo said, downing the rest of the whiskey in his hand. Alessia had noticed him drink at least two during dinner, so it was no surprise that his eyes were bloodshot and he seemed unsteady on his feet. “They’re just here to make themselves feel important. Walk on the wild side.”
He was coming way too close to openly talking about the mafia, which was something that they were never supposed to do in mixed company. The fact that the Mancini family ran the Italian mafia was one of the worst kept secrets in Misso City, but deniability was important.
Alessia’s mom turned to her. “Get him out of here.”
“Are you serious? What am I supposed to do with him?”
Leo wasn’t paying attention as he placed his empty glass on the end table, but she knew he wouldn’t respond well to her trying to tell him what to do.
“Take him to one of the guest rooms,” she said in a tone of voice that made it clear there was no room for argument.
Alessia sighed.
“Come on, Leo,” she said, putting a hand on his elbow and tugging gently. He yanked his arm out of her grasp.
“Piss off, princess,” he murmured. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Yes, you are,” their mom cut in, the smile finally slipping from her face. “Don’t make me get your father.”
A muscle ticked in Leo’s jaw as his eyes narrowed in anger, but he didn’t argue. If there was one thing that even a man like Leo feared, it was the wrath of their father.
“Whatever. This is boring, anyway,” he said, turning away and stomping to the stairs.
“Make sure he gets to the one of the guest rooms to sleep it off,” Alessia’s mom said to her, and she trudged along behind Leo. There wasn’t anyone on the second floor now, so no one was around to overhear them as they made their way down the hall to the guest rooms and he rambled to her in a low voice.
“I don’t why she bothers to have these stupid parties,” he said, trailing his finger along the wall and nearly knocking one of the expensive paintings right off the wall. Alessia stopped just long enough to straighten it before returning to Leo’s side. “We have more important things to worry about.”