Page 6 of Stolen Wife
“I’ll be fine. I’m not alone. Plus, they don’t know that I know the setup came from someone inside the family, and I doubt Diego would let slip that he ratted out Rafael.” I won’t be visiting again unless it’s to deliver my revenge.
“Okay, but remember that you’re to remain composed. Don’t let on that you know.” I smile because he’s serious, as if somehow I’m going to forget my plan. I’ve been waiting two years to strike down all those involved, and none of them know I’m coming for them.
“I won’t. I’m going to talk a little shop and see what’s going on. I do have a call with my board of directors tonight so two hours after my arrival, send a text to remind me.”
“I will. Be careful, please.” He’s afraid that my release was expedited so that they could time my death to their schedule.
I slide my tall frame into the back seat, popping the button on my suit jacket and adjusting it to get comfortable. It’s been two years since I’ve worn a nice suit. I loved a quality-cut suit. All of mine were custom made and thankfully, Martin came in and took my measurements when they learned I’d be getting out and had my tailor working overtime to get me two suits by my release day and a dozen within the next week.
I take off my sunglasses and lower the divider to talk to my driver and friend. Sitting in a sixty-thousand-dollar car with Italian leather seats should feel like heaven, but the burning rage in me made the world hard to enjoy.
“Joey, take me to my parents’ home.”
“Yes, sir.” I love being Italian and everything that it means, or at least what it used to mean, but nothing is better than loyalty, even if my right-hand muscle is Irish. He has his own code of ethics and family. I trust him with my life. Hiring Joey was an easy choice because I secured his loyalty after saving his ass, literally, from some boy-pussy-hungry inmates. They never fucked with him again.
Despite knowing Rafael and someone else in the family betrayed me, I refuse to be anyone else’s pawn. Big, hardened, and strong as fuck, I proved my street credit in prison while still remaining calm. My goal is still to return to my clean life, but I have a few bodies to drop and then it’s all clear from there. Finding those I can trust to take out the trash has been few and far between.
The drive from my home in Scarsdale, New York to Greenwich, Connecticut takes longer than I’d hoped, but I’m just in time to see my asshole brother drive away. Good. I don’t want them together. I want uncoached answers when I speak to them about my imprisonment.
We pull up to the gate after Rafael’s a good distance away. “We’re here to see Mr. and Mrs. Marchetti,” Joey says with his extremely thick Boston accent.
I roll down my window and smile at Anthony. My father’s main guard is completely surprised to see me, but he doesn’t let on whether it’s a good thing or not.
Gathering himself, he says, “Signor Marchetti, your father and mother will be so pleased to see you.” He opens the gate and lets me in. We take the quarter mile up the driveway quickly, hoping to keep him off kilter. Seconds after we put the car in park, my father comes to the door, but it’s my mother who comes running past him. She moves faster than I ever remember with a smile so wide it takes me by surprise and I smile too.
“Mi figlio mio. Mi sei mancato.” She hugs me tightly. I can sense the pleasure and fear in her eyes.
“I missed you too, Mama.” I kiss the top of her head.
“Come inside, the both of you,” my father whispers his command harshly, looking around nervously as if someone’s going to take us out. I don’t know all the details of what’s going on, but he looks scared.
“He can wait there,” my father says pointedly referring to my driver. I nod to Joey. I’ll let him have that little bit of upper hand if he thinks it’ll help. Joey can drop every single one of my father’s men in a matter of seconds.
Looking around at all the guards and then up at my father, Joey says, “Are you sure, boss?”
“Of course, Joey. I’ll be back soon.” He nods with a smirk. I know he’s not going to sit there wasting his time. I give an discreet tip of my chin to him, and then I walk up the stairs, holding on to my mother’s hand.
My father claps my face, kissing my cheeks. “I have missed you, my son. You have grown a lot in the past two years.” His words are hollow, but I don’t let on that he’s not giving an Oscar-worthy performance.
“I’m so glad they were forced to let you go. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but I won’t risk your mother’s life.” God, how I survived living here is a damn surprise.
“Thanks. It’s good to be free,” I remark with a smirk. My goal is to play the grateful son. “Have you learned who set me up?” I question the second we’re through the front doors.
“I have not. I have men looking into it, but it seems they’ve covered their tracks well. I’m not putting it past the Avanti family.” There were some things I learned in prison, and some things I learned growing up. One was when my father was lying to me, and he’s doing it right now. That pisses me off more than I thought it would. Is he covering for my brother, or does this lie directly at his feet?
After what I learned, he’s had to live with the kid he didn’t create. I look at my mother, and I doubt she could cheat on him. Hell, he would have killed her for that alone. I wish I could ask her today. My mother wasn’t allowed to visit me in prison without my father, and that visit only came once because it was a hassle to get to the prison. Her letters were always sweet but vague because I’m sure he read through them before she sent them. One thing I’m going to do is set her free if he’s had anything to do with my imprisonment.
“Please come in. There’s much you have missed,” my mother says. The warmth from her smile takes the edge off my revenge. I know her heart is good. It’s always been that way despite my father’s intentions to destroy the goodness in her. Maybe it was payback for all of his betrayals.
“Where’s Rafael?” I ask, knowing that he just left.
“He had some business to attend to, but you know he’s married. You have a sister-in-law now,” my father says with a tinge of gloating in his voice. I can’t wait to meet the whore he chose for his wife. She’ll be on my chopping block too.
“Wonderful.” I can’t contain the annoyance. I know they wanted me to meet and eventually marry one of the daughters of the Avanti family, but that was when I broke off from the family and a few days before I ended up in cuffs, so he ended up with her.
“Don’t be like that. She’s a sweet girl.” She swats my arm, scolding me like I’m a child. Something about that genuine feeling gives me the warmth that I didn’t know I was missing. It’s so wonderful to see my mother again. If she’s a good girl, then my brother has probably ruined her. If she’s sweet, she’s stupid for getting involved with Rafael to begin with.
“Excuse me.” My father briefly steps from the room and returns a moment later. “I’ve called for Giada to join us.”