Page 82 of Dangerous Deception

“You’re wrong,” I say bitterly. “You see what you want to see.”

“I see things how they are, Adelina. And yourhusbandwas one step away from tearing down what I’ve been working toward fordecades.”

“Then explain, Papà,” I snap, finding myself a seat to try and stop the floor from wobbling. “Explain to me what the fuck is going on.”

“Have you ever looked around at our great city?” He casts his arm across the dinner table as if it’s a representation of the city he claims to love so much. Then he picks up the bottle of wine and tips it on his head. The red liquid immediately sloshes and soaks into the tablecloth, spreading in a wave. “Look at how disease spreads. Raffaele is that disease. And I have been working hard to clean this place up so that those with real vision, realidealscan lead us better.”

“You’re making no sense, Papà.”

“Adelina, the Irish have been funding me for decades. Did you not notice? My businesses were failing. Other families were passing me in leaps and bounds, mocking my business directions and trampling all over me when it suited them. I was tired of being looked down on, tired of my effort being overshadowed by some cocky little rat with more bullets than sense.”

“That’s why you hate him so much,” I say in a low whisper as the realization settles heavily in my heart. “Because Raffaele was struggling below you and he managed to scrape together an empire. He’s done everything you couldn’t.”

My father’s face twists in anger and he furiously throws down his fork. “That cockroach isnothingcompared to me.”

“Sure. But…” My brow tightens. “Why would the Irish Mob care? What business is it of theirs to care about a smaller Italian family struggling like we were?”

“The Irish had a problem.” His anger changes to smugness in an instant. “I discovered it accidentally, but rather than doing what most would do and use it to push myself forward for a short spurt, I invested in that problem for a long time. I gave them a solution to their unique problem and in return, they paid off my debts. Supported my business. Have kept us so far into the green for so many years that I almost have too much money. Imagine!” He laughs and picks up his glass to drink.

“But at my wedding… you told me you’d taken out another loan to tide you over until Raffaele’s money came through. That was a lie?”

“Of course! Listen, Adelina. That loan was simply payment from Hector O’Brien. I just twisted it a little because I needed you fragile enough that Raffaele was your best option. I needed you dedicated to being close to him.”

I was manipulated this severely by my own father? Tears of anger and frustration build behind my eyes. “But why?”

“Raffaele is a problem. His rampage through the smaller families would put us on his path sooner or later. And if I fell, the Irish would lose their solution to their problem. You see, I made myself invaluable to them and they recognized that Raffaele needed to be taken care of if I were to continue helping them. And you were the most perfect way to keep a constant eye on him.”

“You make me sound like I were some kind of spy.”

“You were, my dear. You just didn’t know it. Unfortunately, Raffaele’s proved to be a slippery little roach. We sent assassins after him at his clubs but their plan failed. I’m sorry you got caught up in that, by the way.”

My heart drops like a rock and the world blurs as I blink. “Wait… assassins?” Memories of that night come flooding back. “You knew about that?”

“I did.”

“So you…” I can barely speak as disbelief smothers me in waves. “You knew those men drugged me and Marie? That was all some setup to try and lure Raffaele and kill him?”

My father nods. “Shame it failed.”

“Shame it failed?” I repeat weakly. “Shame it failed?” Anger surges through me and I grab the nearest dish of vegetables and launch it directly at him. “I was attacked! I was assaulted andnearly raped, Marie fucking died, and all you can say is shame it failed?”

My father manages to avoid the dish and it shatters into a thousand pieces on the floor behind him. He looks surprised as he adjusts his shirt. “They were just playing with you, Adelina. There’s no need to be so dramatic.”

“Do you have any idea how fucking traumatizing that was for me?” I scream, grabbing the next nearest dish. Before I can throw it, one of the guards moves in and pulls it from my hands. “I was terrified for weeks.Weeks. I couldn’t sleep. I was jumping at shadows. And all this time it was because of you?”

“No, it was because of Raffaele.” My father slams one hand down onto the table, making the glasses jump. “Your little husband proved slipperier than anyone expected. You should know this, Adelina. Sometimes, we have to suck it up and move on. It’s the world we live in. And I knew if I killed Raffaele when the Irish had failed, I would get more money and power than I ever dreamed of.”

“All at the expense of your daughter.” Tears linger in my words, falling slowly down my cheeks.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get you away from him after that, and then you left the country, so I was at a bit of an impasse.”

“You never were sick, were you?”

His eyes meet mine. “No. I wasn’t. I just needed him back in the States. And then the Irish made another move and lo and behold, Raffaele was smarter once again. He took you both to a hotel.”

“What?” I wipe my cheek. “What are you talking about?”

“The night you came back? I called Hector. The renovation Raffaele is doing on the manor? It’s repairs because the Irish attacked that night. And then he butchered one of their men as revenge. They were going to openly assassinate him until youtold me you were pregnant and I realized we could kill him much easier, and exactly how we want.”

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