Chapter 172
“You tried to take my wife from me after you and your brothers talked shit about me and my wife. I think it’s more than enough reason to end our association. Also, you should know, Karolos Pavlidis and I shared a friendly conversation in my office. He is upset at being misled,” he looked to Alcee’s mother with a warning glance, “and given information about how Alcee needed to be rescued because I was holding her against her will. He does not like being lied to. I am sure he will be in touch, but he and I will be signing a business agreement of our own later in the week. It will be very lucrative. You burned a bridge with your lies.”
Mercurio’s nostrils flared with frustration, his cheeks flushing angrily as he rubbed the back of his neck. “How do we fix this?”
“One,” Alcee spoke up and pointed to Alfio, “you keep your baby brother in line and in check because my guards were given instructions to shoot to kill if he approaches me. You should also know, Alfio, I work for one of the best cyber security companies in the world. You are now on our radar.”
Kylen stepped forward, “to clarify for our Donna, it means Alfio, you lost your right to privacy. Since you cannot be trusted not to try to plot her murder, you should be very aware, we are watching you so closely, we’ll see the sweat on your ass crack when you sleep. If you make a single move in her direction, the Lozano family won’t hesitate to strike first. You better keep those little voices in your head silent, or we’ll do it for you.” Kylen glared at him, “and for the record, I’m in a shitty mood and I’d love to take my rage out on someone, so I’ve been digging deep to give me an excuse to use you as my punching
bag.”
“Aww, he is affected,” Alcee grinned at Kylen who rolled his eyes at her. She looked back at Mercurio, “Two, your businesses and ours will never cross again. If you even step foot into one of our businesses, our establishments or attempt to get into our territory or align with our business partners, I’ll destroy your entire business model.”
“Come on, Alcee. In this business, everything gets tangled, and you know it. I’m bound to be working with people who work with Lozano.”
“I’m doing this for your own good.” She mocked him. “You stabbed him in the back,” Alcee jerked her thumb at Torq. “Once the news trickles out that the Don of the Lozano family helped you secure the head of your family the way he did, and you turned around within a day or two and betrayed him, well,” she gave a tilt of her head, “let’s just say your trustworthiness is questionable and nobody wants to do business with a bitch. If you approach the wrong person and they’re worried about Lozano coming after them because you betrayed Lozano, you may end up dead.”
“Fuck,” Mercurio rubbed his hand over his mouth, “you’re killing me here. I did what I did to save you, Alcee.”
“As Don of this family, the Mariani family,” she sneered at the name, “you are supposed to be the smart one, the logical one. You should observe, take notice, and see the proof in front of you. Instead, you listened to a dying old woman who has guilt–tripped you into bullshit. She wants the money as bad as Dad did. She wasn’t helping me. Do you know what she really wants, Mercurio? I do.”
She met her mother’s gaze head on, “three. Karolos Pavlidis has bought out your debts, including the mortgage on Mom’s mansion. Initially, based on what you all said, he believed I’d be grateful to be rescued from Torq and to live out of the country, so he was going to let Mom live in the house. It was never about doing what was best for me, Mom. It was about you wanting to keep living in your fancy mansion. Its not going to happen. Pavlidis asked us to pass along a message. You have thirty days to get all of your possessions out of the house, and he did ask me to remind me you, anything of actual value, is not yours. The antiques, the jewelry aside from your wedding rings, and the lot are part of the sale.”
“You can’t throw mom out of her house.”
“I’m not. You made a deal with Karolos Pavlidis, but you gave him faulty information, and he’s pissed off. Consider the fact he’s evicting her instead of simply ending the entire Mariani line a blessing.”
Her mother started sobbing, “it’s mine! I am the one who suffered for this family. I deserve to die in my house.”
“You deserve fuck all. You’re a greedy bitch and the nasty voice in Dad’s ear telling him to take risks he shouldn’t have.” She saw Mercurio’s eyes widening, “you never noticed it? Dad was a shitty businessman, but she egged him on. She encouraged him. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, right Ma? You were the one who tied me to Lozano as a teenager, not Dad. You were the one who used her children as sources of income and when I fucked it all up, you were the one who whispered in Dad’s ear to do all the things he did. Beat me. Starve me. Punish me. Threaten to kill me. All because you weren’t going to be able to buy pretty things to justify having to sleep with your lover’s brother. I got thinking about what Mercurio said. Panfilo possibly being my father. We know it’s not true. Dad is my dad, but it was a fucking fluke because she and Panfilo were having an affair for decades. Did it bother you mom to be married off to the elder brother when you really only wanted the younger one? You hated Dad. I always thought you loved him, adored him as much as he did you, but it all came to light when you left him to die. It’s been sitting with me wrong since you did it. You snuck out of the house, knowing your son was going to take the family by force. No warning. A man you were so in love with by your own account and it bullshit. You’re a great actress but you’re a shitty wife and mother.”
“Mom?” Mercurio asked seriously. “Did you have an affair with Panfilo?“–
“Have? It’s still going on,” Alcee looked to Alfio, “why do you think baby boy over there is so spoiled? One of these things is not like the others,” she waved between herself and her siblings, “guess which one really wasn’t Edgardo Mariani’s child.”
