Page 4 of Danica's Revenge

I grab the switchblade from under my table.It’s always taped there for easy access.I don’t take chances.Before he even knows what’s happening, I seize the little bespectacled man by his collar, easily overpowering him with my 6’5" physique.

“Please,” he repeats, barely audible, closing his eyes as he flinches.

“Look at me, Luigi,” I demand, sliding the sharp blade over his arm, cutting through the fabric.

He looks close to tears as he tries to meet my gaze.Fucking coward.I press harder, drawing a path of blood as the blade slides over his arm.

“I’m sorry,signore.I, I…” he stutters.

“I don’t like money issues, Luigi.Don’t you know that?”I move the blade to his throat, resting it gently but firmly against his Adam’s apple.

“I do…I know…Please,signore…” The accountant holds his breath.

I lower my blade and push him away.He stammers backward, into the coffee table, and falls over.I don’t offer to help him up.Instead, I take a deep breath to try and calm the fury.

I clench my fists as I turn around, staring out the window, my back to the accountant.The silence is thick and uncomfortable but I don’t care, I need to think.I can’t think when I’m worked up like this.

I slowly take my seat behind the large oak desk that my father and his uncle before him used to sit at, conducting business with a swift, iron first.

“Two weeks, Luigi.You have two weeks to find answers.If you can’t tell me where the money is going by then…” I don’t need to finish my sentence.We both know that actions have consequences.The cut on his arm isn't deep, but it is bleeding profusely through the once-white shirt.It isn’t the first shirt of his I’ve ruined.For his sake, I hope it is the last.

The relief on the old man’s face is obvious.“Si, signore.Grazie.I won’t disappoint you,” he rambles off.

“No, you won’t.Please leave before I change my mind.Send Emilio in on your way out.”

“Sí, signore.Grazie,” he repeats, rushing out as quickly as he can, almost tripping over the thick carpet as he does.

I lean back in my chair and sigh.I've never enjoyed the business side of things.I've never enjoyed any of it really.But what choice do I have?I am the oldest son, I had to take over the business when my father died.I still can’t believe it’s been almost 25 years since I was forced into the leadership role.I was only 19…

There’s a firm knock on the door, three short raps.

“Enter.”

It’s Emilio.He’s been with the family since I was a kid, running around the garden with my brother, my grandparents watching over us.He was still very young then.When the others turned on me, I got rid of them all except Emilio.Fuck having a traditional structure; a consigliere is no good if he's just going to stab you in the back.

“Yes, sir?”Emilio asks, closing the door carefully behind him.He is an imposing figure, but his voice is soft, deceptively calm.Now in his 50s, he was still a formidable force to be reckoned with.

“Have you heard anything from Luca?He was supposed to be here for the meeting with the accountant.It really irritates me when he slacks on his responsibilities…” My brother has a way of infuriating me like no one else can.

“I haven’t heard from him, sir,” Emilio says simply.He knows me well enough not to add fuel to the fire.

“Such a little shit.Always the spoiled one.He never has to deal with any real responsibility.”

“No, sir.”

“I always protect him…But I’m getting tired of him not pulling his weight.And then he has the audacity to ask me to be more involved.”

Emilio doesn’t say anything.We both know my brother isn’t very reliable—never has been and probably never will be.

“Please send him in when you see him,” I order, checking my phone for a reply to my earlier message.It is still unread.

“Yes, sir.”

“And Emilio, nobody gets past that door, understood?I have some urgent things I need to take care of.”

“Of course, sir.Understood.”

I dismiss him with a wave of my hand and lean back in my chair, my mind overburdened.I sigh, twisting the heavy rings on my fingers out of habit.A ring for each of my deceased loved ones, always there to remind me what I've lost.My grandparents, my mother, my father, my wife… All I have left is Luca, the little shit that he is.

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