Chapter 8
Victor arrived before sunrise.
He looked older than I remembered.
Of course he did.
Six years does that.
Especially six years spent hiding from your own family.
He entered the library wearing a dark coat.
No jewelry.
No capo pin.
No weapon.
Maura stared at him.
Victor stared back.
Then he laughed.
Softly.
“You're still wearing diamonds.”
Maura's face hardened.
“And you're still disappointing everyone.”
Victor smiled.
“There she is.”
Grant stood beside the fireplace.
I remained near the window.
“Tell me about my father.”
Victor looked at me.
His smile disappeared.
“Antonio knew Grant was ambitious.”
Grant frowned.
“I was thirty-five.”
Victor shrugged.
“You were ambitious at twelve.”
Maura cut in.
“Don't listen to him.”
Victor ignored her.
“Your father didn't care about ambition.”
“What did he care about?”
“Her.”
He pointed toward Maura.
She laughed.
“Obsessed.”
Victor continued.
“He thought she was moving men behind his back.”
“Was she?”
“Yes.”
Maura rolled her eyes.
Victor looked at Grant.
“Your mother had already promised three capos you'd eventually sit in Antonio's chair.”
Grant went pale.
Seven years ago.
Long before anyone had mentioned my chair.
“You told me Lorenzo was always the target.”
Maura snapped:
“Quiet.”
Victor laughed.
“You still do that?”
Grant looked at him.
“Do what?”
“Wait for permission to breathe.”
Grant's face hardened.
Maura stood.
“You have no right to speak to my son.”
Victor looked at her.
“You spent forty-two years speaking to him like a dog.”
Silence.
Grant looked away.
Victor turned back to me.
“Antonio confronted her after Christmas council.”
“What happened?”
“He planned to remove Grant from command.”
Grant's eyes widened.
“Why?”
“Because you were rerouting men without permission.”
Maura immediately said:
“He was building loyalty.”
Victor laughed.
“He was stealing it.”
Grant looked at her.
“You told me Uncle Antonio approved.”
Maura shrugged.
“You worked harder when you believed he did.”
There it was again.
Another entire piece of Grant's life rearranged in one sentence.
I looked at Victor.
“Then?”
“Your father drank.”
My stomach tightened.
“Black bottle?”
Victor's eyes sharpened.
“You found them.”
“Yes.”
He looked at Maura.
“I told you to destroy those.”
Her face changed.
“You were there?”
I asked.
Victor nodded.
“I saw her carry the bottle.”
Maura laughed.
“You saw wine.”
“I saw Antonio collapse.”
“He was sick.”
“You wouldn't let anyone call the doctor until he stopped breathing.”
Grant stared at his mother.
Maura's voice became sharp.
“Because a public ambulance at this estate would have created panic.”
Victor looked at me.
“She said exactly that.”
I felt nauseated.
My father.
On the floor.
Maura protecting appearances.
“Did she kill him?”
Victor hesitated.
That mattered.
“I don't know.”
Maura smiled triumphantly.
“There.”
She looked around.
“Finally.”
Victor continued.
“I know she planned to keep him unconscious through council.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Just like tonight.”
Silence.
“You were going to do to Lorenzo what you did to Antonio.”
Grant looked at her.
Maura said nothing.
Victor continued.
“But Antonio reacted differently.”
“Meaning?”
Victor swallowed.
“He never woke.”
My hands curled.
Maura finally spoke.
“He had a weak heart.”
Victor looked at her.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You knew enough.”
“I knew he was old.”
“He was fifty-six.”
Maura shrugged.
“Old enough to stop.”
Grant whispered:
“You did kill him.”
She turned toward her son.
“No.”
“You drugged him.”
“To rest.”
“Stop saying that.”
Grant's voice cracked.
Everyone looked at him.
He didn't care.
“Stop calling it rest.”
Maura stared.
He stepped toward her.
“You were going to do it to Lorenzo.”
“Yes.”
“You did it to Uncle Antonio.”
“Yes.”
“And if he died?”
She smiled.
“He would have died useful.”
Grant recoiled.
Even he couldn't digest that.
Maura turned toward me.
“Your father was losing control.”
“He was my father.”
“He was the boss.”
“As if that makes him less human?”
“Yes.”
She said it without hesitation.
“That's exactly what it means.”
The room went still.
Maura believed leaders weren't allowed humanity.
Not grief.
Not rest.
Not children.
Maybe that was why Mia offended her so much.
My daughter proved I had something more important than the chair.
Victor looked toward the door.
“There's more.”
Maura's face changed.
“Don't.”
Victor smiled sadly.
“You used to say that to me too.”
I stepped closer.
“What more?”
He looked at Grant.
“Antonio wasn't the reason I disappeared.”
Grant frowned.
Victor pointed at Maura.
“She was.”
Maura laughed.
Victor continued.
“She told the family I betrayed Antonio because I knew too much.”
“About his death?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“About what she planned for you.”
My chest tightened.
“What did she plan?”
Victor's voice dropped.
“To make sure you never had a child.”
Silence.
Maura smiled.
Not denial.
Something worse.
May you like
Contempt.
“Mia ruined that plan.”
