Page 37 of Vicious Games

“Children,” our father, Vincent, calls from the front of the row, his voice holding that warning edge that we know all too well. “Manners, please.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Stella, Enzo, and I mutter in unison.

Luckily for us, no one else in the congregation overheard our little conversation.

Our family, though?

Oh, they heard.

And judging by the look on Gio and Dom’s faces, they’re finding it hilarious that my twin is about to corrupt a priest.

Annamaria and my mother, on the other hand?

They look like they’re praying for our damned souls.

But honestly?

After the shit this family has done, fucking a priest is probably the least of our sins.

The rest of the sermon is a bore, and by the time I start coding algorithms in my head, it’s finally over.

Just another Sunday Mass checked off the list.

As soon as we stand, my mother turns to me, Stella, and Annamaria.

“Come with me,” she instructs.

I glance at Enzo. “The fuck did I do now?”

He shrugs. “Beats me.”

I follow my mother alongside my sisters, my steps slowing the second I realize where she’s headed.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

And when Stella points directly at Frankie, my stomach drops.

Please, God, if you exist, strike me down now.

But, of course, God doesn’t.

Because he’s not real.

If he were, he sure as hell wouldn’t let me suffer through the humiliation I’m about to endure.

I drag my feet, watching the trainwreck unfold in slow motion.

Frankie is in mid-conversation with one of the girls from the orphanage when my mother lightly taps her shoulder.

She turns around, her bright smile fading the second she sees my mother.

Then my sisters.

Then me.

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