Page 53 of Ruin Me With Lies
Gio nods, taking a slow sip of his wine.
“About a month before she passed,” Lorenzo continues, “she sat us down and gaveherassessment ofus.She told Stefano he had a silver tongue and a natural gift of changing faces, charming people into doing exactly what he wanted.That with his effortless abilities, he would excel in forging, curating, and maintaining important relationships.”His lips curve slightly.“But most importantly…he woulddominateas a leader.”
Gio chimes in, “She toldmeI was good at being inconspicuous—but also an equalizer in chaos.”He tilts his glass, watching the wine swirl.“Said my traits would make me the perfect ‘anchor’ in any organization.That I’d always be overlooked and underestimated.But in that silence, in that disregard…” A knowing smirk plays at his lips.“I’d see things others wouldn’t…and always be steps ahead as a result.”
“As for me,” Lorenzo picks up, “she told me I was smart, but lacked patience and tolerance.That too much power and responsibility would be my downfall.”He smiles to himself, seemingly lost in the memory.“I think her exact words were, ‘Your shoulders aren’t strong enough, Lolo.You’re a hotheaded rebel who needs guidelines, instructions, and structure.Left to your own devices, the world would burn to ashes.You can be trusted to manage, but not lead.’”
Gio laughs, heartily.“Lo’s the only one who got regular finger-waggings from her.She trusted him the least and kept him on a tight leash.”
“‘Stay where I can see you, boy!’” Lorenzo mimics, laughing.
“Through all the tests, the games, the grilling…” I muse, “she was assessing your strengths and weaknesses.”
They both nod.
“Then she cautioned us,” Gio says, “toneverchallenge each other.To trust in each other’s strengths and capabilities.To buildtogether.That we’d be a powerful, unbreakable triple-braided cord.”He pauses, his voice lowering thoughtfully as he recalls her words, “‘No man stands alone, boys.You will need each other.Only jealousy and loss of trust will unravel you.’”
“Wisdom is power,” I say.“You were lucky to have her.”
Lorenzo nods.“She passed a month later.And only then did everything start to make sense.WhyPapapushed us to get in her good graces.Why she gave us that final ‘character assessment.’”A smile stretches his lips.“Nonnawasloaded.Over a billion in real estate.Three hundred mil in the bank.And over a hundred mil in illegal funds, hidden in an underground bunker.”
“Damn,Nonna,” I mutter.
“And guess what?”
“What?”I ask eagerly, even though I already know.
“She left all of it to Stefano.”
“Ouch,” I say with a wince.“Nonna did you dirty.”
They laugh.
“It was her way of driving home her point,” Gio says.“Ofwhoshe had confidence in to lead.Who she trusted to keep us together.”
I take a sip of my drink.“And I bet the narcissistic king justlovedthat, huh?”
They exchange glances, before tucking away knowing smiles.
“We stuck together, the three of us,” Gio picks up.“Built our own team.Then one random day two years later, Stefano called us in with the family lawyer.Papers drawn up.His inheritance split equally among the three of us.”
“Seriously?”
Gio nods.“Said he only waited as long as he did to see if either of us would hold a grudge.If there’d be resentment.To see if our bond was stronger than the greed of money.”His fingers drum lightly against his glass.“Along with that, a choice—take our cut and go off to do our own thing, or keep buildingtogetheras a unit.We chose the latter, but demanded to be on equal footing, no hierarchy.”He shakes his head and chuckles heavily.“Big mistake.Big.”
A deep laugh rumbles from Lorenzo.“What a disaster that turned out to be.”His shoulders shake as he takes a moment to laugh at his past decision.“Didn’t take long for us to realizeNonnahad beenspot onwith her assessment of us.Fact is, I hate people way too much to give a shit about being the boss of them.”
“And I’m too selfish with my time,” Gio adds, chuckling.“Having free time to chase pleasure and thrills was more exciting to me than keeping others in line.”
“I can see that,” I comment with a smile.
“Stefanothrivedin everything he did,” Gio continues.“Enforcing rules.Curating partnerships.Finding lucrative opportunities.Closing deals.Manipulating people.Bringing them to heel.And while he was doing all that, we just kept getting in the way and creating messes for him to clean up.”
His smile is rueful.“Once we switched things back to the way they were, with him at the helm?Smooth sailing.In no time at all, heownedthe city.”
Gio lifts his glass slightly, as if in salute.
“There can only be one king in the castle,” Lorenzo says.“Stefano Castelloisboss.It’s in his veins.He doesn’t know how to be anything else.”He raises his glass.“The king of fucking Vegas, baby.”
