Page 13 of Dark Mafia Heir

“Play games with me, and I’ll wipe your entire family off the face of the earth,” Antonio continues. “I’ll start with your daughters first, and you’ll watch as I cut them apart, limb by limb, until there’s nothing left.”

My father’s throat moves as he swallows.

Antonio’s gaze meets mine and he grins a lopsided smile at me. “We’ll be meeting again,gattina. Take care of yourself until then.”

I want to yell that I hope we never meet again, but I don’t. He’s about to leave, and I don’t want to give him a reason to stay longer.

I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until he and his men leave. I turn to face my papa, who appears so calm, as if two of his men aren’t dead, and he didn’t have a gun pressed to his head just moments earlier.

“What the hell is happening, Papa? What do those men want?”

“When did I have to start explaining myself to you, Vivienne?” he asks in a condescending tone that makes anger swell in my guts.

“Since you put my life and Harper’s in danger. What if Harper was home and she saw all of this?” Luckily, my sister is spending the night in the college dormitory. She’d have passed out if she had come home with me to this gruesome sight.“I know those men wouldn’t have come here if you didn’t do something wrong? Who the hell is Dante, and what do you know about him?”

“Since we’re giving each other explanations,” he starts, his voice laced with annoyance. “How about you start by explaining where and how you met Antonio Mancini?”

I swallow to push down the lump in my throat.

“You can’t tell me, can you?” he sighs. “Rather than asking questions that won’t change anything, think of ways to help.”

“Help?” I scoff. “You created this mess, Papa. How is it my job to help you fix it?”

He slams his hand on the desk and shoots up to his feet. “Because our entire family depends on this, Vivienne. You, your sister, and I, all our lives are at stake here.”

The atmosphere crackles with tension.

As much as I’d like to nag him to death, he’s right. I can’t bear the thought of Harper getting hurt in the midst of all this. I have to figure a way out. Antonio is a psychopath. He’ll really hurt us if we don’t give him what he wants.

“How do I help?” I ask.

Papa draws in a breath and sits down on his chair. He steeples his fingers in front of him as he thinks. “An alliance is the only way out of this mess. We need strong allies to back us up.”

I feel a rush of urgency coursing through me. “How do we secure an alliance?”

“Through marriage.” My father gives me a sober look. “You’ll have to get married.”

I take a step back, a wry smile creeping on my face, disbelief lurking beneath the surface. “You’re joking.”

My father frowns. “I don’t have time to crack jokes with you, Vivienne.”

I shake my head as tears blur my vision. “I can’t get married. I have to finish school, get a job, and then live a normal life. That was the plan. You can’t take that away from me.”

“You don’t have a choice. Neither of us do. It’s either that or we’re food for warms and crows,” he says without a hint of remorse. “Think about yourself and your sister.”

The first streak of tears rolls down my face. Right, Harper. I can endure anything, but not Harper getting hurt. I’ll walk through fire to keep her safe if I have to. “When do I get married?”

“I’ll make plans for that,” Papa answers. “I’ll find a good match for you.”

I laugh. “Should I be grateful?”

My father lowers his head and heaves a sigh. “I’m sorry I failed you.”

“I’m not surprised, Papa. You’ve always failed me since I was a little girl. I don’t expect much from you.” I start to leave, stepping over the puddle of blood and the dead bodies I’d forgotten were still there. “Get someone to clean this mess before Harper comes home,” I say over my shoulder as I walk out of the door.

There’s so much to unpack. So much to cry and lose sleep over, but there’s only one thought that makes me down to the knees, and it’s not my sudden marriage.

It’s Antonio.

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