Page 26 of Vicious Behaviors

“You heard me correctly, Father.”

“And why should I do that? Why should I break decades of tradition and stain my legacy with such blatant nepotism?”

It’s a test. Of course, it’s a test. It’s always a test with my father. He doesn’t give a damn about tradition. If he did, he wouldn’t have named me as his successor. His second-born son. Someone whom most of his men fear rather than respect. No. Vincent Romano plays by his own rules. That’s what makes him the boss.

“Traditions have been broken before. By you, in fact.”

“True,” he admits, lips curling. “But why should my past choices dictate the one before me now?”

Maybe it’s not a trap. Maybe… it’s a lifeline. Perhaps he just wants to see if I’m smart enough to see it for what it is and grab it. And for once, I believe that I am.

“Over twenty years ago, you outlawed arranged marriages and condemned any type of domestic violence. You made it clear to everycapothat anyone caught violating your laws would feel the full wrath of his syndicate brothers.”

“I did do that,” he nods, “and many other things. Your point?”

“You gave women a voice. Women who, through no fault of their own, were born into this life. You gave them power where there had been none. But here you are, trying to strip that very power away from your own daughter.”

“I am doing no such thing,” he growls, clearly unhappy with my choice of words to state my case.

“But it feels like you are,Papà,” Stella cuts in, her voice trembling with emotion, using her pain and frustration as an arsenal against our father. “Can’t you see that?”

“That isn’t fair,principessa,” Gio says quietly, catching the hurt in Vincent’s eyes.

“Life isn’t fair, Dad,” she replies, not backing down. “Especially for the women and girls born into the Outfit. We watch our fathers go to war, while our mothers have no choice but to stay home, praying for their safe return. That’s not the kind of life I want. That’s not the kind of woman I am. I’m my father’s daughter.” She points to each man in the room, ending on Vincent. “Don’t ask me to be someone I’m not. All I want is a chance.”

I can see it. He’s wavering. But not enough. Not nearly enough to change his mind.

“It wouldn’t be the first time a woman held a position of power in a crime family. The Firm’s boss is your own daughter-in-law, and we all know Mina is an exceptional leader. Even the cartels have theirsicariasandplaza bosses.”

“Thosefamigliasare not the Outfit,” he retorts, digging in his heel.

I frown at his response, sensing Stella’s hope slip away.

“You can either induct her now, set that precedent, or—”

“Or what, Marcello?” my father interrupts, his tone sharp. “And tread carefully before you answer. I don’t respond well to ultimatums.”

“Or when that seat,” I point to his throne-like chair, “is mine, I’ll induct her myself.”

Stella’s eyes go wide like saucers, stunned to hear me challenge our father so openly. But Dominic and Gio stay silent. They know the only voice that matters right now is Vincent’s.

Another tense silence drapes the room as my father considers his choices but finally asks, “How are your grades, Stella?”

“Come again?” she replies, thrown by the out-of-left-field question.

“Your grades,” he repeats, irritation creeping into his voice. “Will you or will you not be graduating from college this year? A simple yes or no will suffice.”

“I’ll graduate in May,” she answers evenly, reclaiming her usual fearless poise.

“Then, when that day arrives, you, Stella Sofia Romano, will be inducted into the Outfit.”

The joy that wants to burst from her is palpable. Everyone in the room can see it. But Stella has enough sense to know that she’s not speaking to her father right now—she’s speaking to theCapo dei Capi.

“Thank you, boss,” she says with a proud, barely restrained smile.

“Don’t thank me. Thank Marcello.” His gaze slides to me. “From here on out, you are his responsibility. Everything you do, every mistake you make, will be a direct reflection of him.”

If he thinks that worries me, it doesn’t. Stella was born for this life. Unlike me, she doesn’t have any baggage to hold her down. No. Stella will be a force to be reckoned with.