Page 51 of Tristano

He never believed I was good enough. He only appeased me by allowing me to be the bait but never truly allowing me to run a case as the lead.

Have I been blinded all these years? Stuck behind the value of family my grandfather and father hammered into me as a child?

Then I’m there. Standing outside his door. I know as soon as I step through, my life will be irrevocably changed.

I can’t tell him the whole truth. He will want to know how I got away. Who saved me. I will have to admit my ties to the mob.

I refuse to do that.

Raising my fist, I knock on the door as my heart races.

“Come in,” I hear him call out.

I imagined that when I walked through the door, Uncle Ben would be on his feet rushing to hug me and ensure I’m okay.

That’s not what happened though. He didn’t even look up from the file in front of him.

Instead, he just barked, “Take a seat.”

I try to mask the hurt I’m feeling. It’s a stab to the heart. I already knew that this place didn’t feel like the safe haven it once was, but he severed that last string of hope I had that he would make this better. That he would reassure me.

“Where have you been? I was forced to put out a BOLO on your alias. You’re burned now. We can’t send you out on stings. There’s too much heat on you.” He finally looks up, anger shining through his eyes.

“I was taken captive and held against my will,” I say with zero emotion.

“Sure you did. Just like you did when you were seventeen, right? How did you get away this time? Did they also just let you go?”

Tears prick my eyes, but I refuse to let him see them. “No. It doesn’t matter though. You obviously don’t believe me, so why don’t you tell me what you think I’ve been doing?”

He shakes his head. “I blame myself really. I let you get away with too much after your grandfather died. It’s really too bad your father died so young. He would have done a much better job of raising you. Maybe then you wouldn’t be acting out.”

“Acting out? I was kidnapped. That’s not acting out.”

He crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair. “Where were you when you were kidnapped?”

“On the corner of Jewett and West Side.”

He snorts. “So you were out there looking into shit I told you to drop. Then you got kidnapped? Do you even hear yourself? What? Did you go hide out to make me think you were kidnapped so I would let you pursue this case?”

“What? No. Of course not,” I say, completely offended.

“Enough, Serena. I should have never allowed you on the force. I thought you would be a good addition, but I obviously let you live in your delusions too long. You’re off the force. I want you to go to your desk and collect your things. You’ll find another job outside of the force and you will leave the police work to the actual police. Do you understand me?”

A child. He thinks of me as a child. The condescending way he’s speaking to me confirms it. I always thought he was being protective, but that’s not it. He truly only sees me as something he can control.

“Go on now. Ricky can drive you home. I expect to see you at Sunday dinner.”

I’ve been dismissed. Just like that, he shoos me off as he looks back to his desk. As if I’m a gnat.

Fuck him.

“No. I won’t be at family dinner. I’m starting to feel like this isn’t much of a family.”

“Fine. If that’s what you want, then I want you to move out of the apartment. I’ve let you live there cheap because we are family, but if we aren’t family anymore, move your shit out. I’ll give you until the first.”

“I’ll be out by Monday. Thanks for believing in me, Uncle Ben. I truly feel the love.”

Turning, I stride out his door ignoring his protest. Then I slam it. I slam it so hard that I make the officer walking down the hall jump.

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