◆ Web of Lies ◆

◆ MILES ◆

Kill or be killed.

Law of their world.  Inevitable.  The very minute I decided to work for the family business, I knew it was how my life was going to be.  I just knew.

It sounded dramatic to the point of ridicule.  But it was the reality for a Falco.  It was the price to pay for being part of an influential clan trying to make it big in the trade.  No—my logic was not flawed, and it was not a matter of choice.  Being my father's only heir, it was my fate to get tangled into this web of hateful, colossal mess.

My father didn't seem the least bit bothered by it, though.  Pappa put on his coat and kept talking to the bastard on the other line, his wireless black headset stuck in his ear.

Was he leaving? Just like that?

It hadn't even been four hours since Pappa arrived with my exhausted mother.  So he just wasted the long trip to get to the estate, spent another hour torturing Niccolo for betraying his trust—albeit it was nothing new at this point—and now he was just gonna leave?  Leave his entire family behind?

Did he simply not care?  Not even for a moment?

At this point, I shouldn't be surprised at all.  Few people knew the real Stefano Falco—the one who loved making money and strengthening his influence more than he cared for his wife or his only child.  But I always knew.  I should be totally immune to the fact at this point.

Except now I couldn't stand the sight of my shell-shocked mother, who, apparently until today, had no clue just how barbaric her husband's new business partner was.   "Drink up, Mamma." I handed the cold glass of water to her.

My mother's tears had already ruined her makeup.  They left pale gray stains on her cheeks, and her unsteady breathing made me worry for her again.

"Grazie, bambino," she muttered to me, her voice almost lifeless.  Her sniffling went on but her expression remained rather blank as she drank some water.

[Thanks, my boy.]

For the past ten minutes,  Mamma Eleana quietly sat in the one-seater.  Her posture stayed stiff as I tried not to scowl at my father.  Her shock seemed to have been replaced by...utter disappointment?  Acute anxiety?  Possibly a lot of regrets, too.

Pappa went on talking to Leandro over the phone.  The forced enthusiasm in his voice...

It made my skin crawl.   I couldn't do much but make a face.  I knew it was still the psychotic bastard talking to him on the other line.  Pappa always sounded extra optimistic and pleasant whenever he spoke to that Tomassini scum.  Certifiably sucking up.

"Sì. Ne parleremo dopo." Pappa hung up and finally turned around to regard his wife.  "Ci sentiamo più tardi."

[Yes. We'll talk later.]  [Talk to you later.]

"Aspetta un minuto." Mamma got up from the chair before Pappa could rush towards the door. "Tutto qui?" Mamma hastily wiped tears off her cheeks.  For the next quiet seconds, she just stared at her husband.

[Wait a minute.]  [That's it?]

Pappa replied with a short sigh, as if simply saying he had no time for a chat.

"Va tutto bene?" Her voice faltered.

[It's all good?]

"Sì." Pappa Stefano massaged the bridge of his nose. "Mi spiace dovermene andare così presto."

[Yes.]  [Sorry I have to leave so soon.]

"Lo sa, ha quasi ucciso suo fratello."

[You know, he almost killed his brother.]

"Ha dei problemi a controllare la rabbia. Tutto qui." Pappa shrugged and propped a hand on his hip.  He said it like it was completely normal for someone to almost beat his own brother to death because of some text messages.

[He’s got anger issues. That's all.]

"You're impossible." Mamma sighed out loud.  She flumped herself back in the chair.  Silence prolonged the tension in the room before I saw her shaking her head weakly.  Disappointed beyond words, from the looks of it.

I felt my chest constrict again.  I hated seeing my mother being treated like trash.  Besides the longtime infidelity, my father mistreated her in other ways.  Nothing new.  Still,  I pretty much shook in ire seeing my mother this hurt and out of sorts.

"Va bene. Maxim, sai cosa fare." Pappa stared at me now while he fixed his collar.

[All right.]  [Maxim, you know what to do.]

Just like that, the selfish bastard was going to bolt and purposefully get himself into more trouble.  All for some ridiculous turf war?

"Maximiliano."

"Sì, Pappa. Il denaro è pìu importante della morale, dopo tutto."

[Sure, Pappa. Money's more important, after all.]

Surprisingly, my insulting retort convinced my father to stay put another second or two.  He pulled a face and stared back at me.  Outside the study room, the guards waited, but now the boss seemed he had a minute for some family drama.  Very un-Stefano Falco.

"Power, money, control. That's all you know."  Mamma scoffed and crossed her arms.  Her gaze centered on the expensive furry rug,  eyes still swollen from all the crying. "You don't even talk to your own son. Much less make time for us."

"Dolcezza, ti prego. Possiamo discuterne quando torno a casa?"  Pappa sighed while he regarded his wife.

[Sweetheart, please. Can we discuss this when I come home?]

"Home?" She forced a laugh. "You're never home."

"Fine." Pappa scoffed. "Wallow in misery."

"Don't talk to her like that." I took a step forward, unable to get a grip.  I knew better than to stir up another argument, but I couldn't care less, really.  The selfishness and criminality needed to end.

"Or what?"  My father squinted, his lips compressed into a thin line.

"I know you don't give a shit about what I think, but that criminal you call your business partner will get all of us killed or imprisoned one way or another."

"Attento a cosa dici, bambino."  Pappa faked a grin this time.  The smile didn't reach his cold, vacuous eyes.

[Watch your mouth, boy.]

"You don't even care about what he did. To his own brother. Mamma saw all of it, too. In case you think you can lie to her face again."

"Maxim, stop," Mamma muttered with a faint shake of her head as she reclined in the one-seater. "You're wasting your breath."

"No, Mamma. This shitshow has got to stop. Done acting like everything's all normal."  I looked to my father who stood by the door. "You wanna tell her what you just did to Niccolo in the basement?"

"Quello che gli è..."  Mamma turned to look at Pappa now, her eyes widening with concern.

[What happened to him....]

"I'm done here. See you this weekend."

"You almost killed him again. Tell her why." I kept my voice steady.  To be honest, I was ready to use my gun just to hear my father come clean.  Once and for all.  Enough with all the pretense.

"What did you do?"  Mamma stood up from her seat.  Her steps were timid, hesitant, but she got close to my father before he could reach for the doorknob.  "What did you do?" Her dainty manicured hands compressed into clenched fists. "You liar!"

Pappa remained tight-lipped while she shoved him repeatedly.

I watched. I waited. Would my father tell her the truth?  Unlikely.  But with how upset my mother was right now, my father's almost non-existent conscience might spring up.

"You promised!"  Mamma Eleana started sobbing again, and she kept hitting Pappa's chest with her fists until his back hit the door.  "You selfish liar!"

"I was only teaching him a lesson." Pappa kept up a poker face.  Like he couldn't care less about her outburst. Again, nothing new.

"You're just as heartless as that criminal!"  Mamma curbed the urge to shriek and shoved him again. "You think I don't know? You think I know nothing about your plans with them? You really want to get killed?"

"Stop it."

"You're willing to die for money? Are you that selfish?"

"Interpol and the cops are sniffing around, Pappa." I resisted the urge to grab my gun. Perhaps the news would put the fear of God into my father's stubborn head.  But I highly doubted it.  "Probably tailing you every day. Planted some rats."

"Tell me news I don't already know, Maximiliano."  My father merely watched his wife bawl her eyes out in front of him.

Wow.  He definitely didn't give a rat's ass.  "She's scared, Pappa. We all are. Stay away from that bastard. You're gonna get all of us killed."

"I understand why you're overreacting. But trust me when I say I'm in control."  He sighed and stepped closer to kiss Mamma's forehead, but she turned her face away before he could hold her face.

"That family's gonna get you killed. Or leave you to rot in prison."

"I know what I'm doing. I'm only using him and his connections." Pappa sounded quite somber now. "We need their resources."

"Don't touch me."  Mamma trudged away from him to sit by the desk again.

"It's all gonna fall apart if you don't stop this now, Pappa."

Maybe he thought he could keep tricking Leandro, then eventually one-up the bastard someday.  Such a risky plot.  The entire clan could get screwed over before we could think of who else to bribe and how to tie up loose ends.

"You think we won't run out of luck?" I scoffed. "By all means, keep talking that psychotic criminal into signing paperwork but you're being stupid if you expect he's gonna stick to it.  Not exactly a man of his word, that son of a bitch."

Pappa frowned but proceeded to turn the knob. "Thanks for the concern. I have to go. Take care of your Mamma."

I glared at the shiny wooden door.  He just left us in the room.  Of course he would.  Why did I even expect I could reason with him?  He never valued my opinion.  Not once.  He didn't even trust me to do the right thing.  Whatever "right" meant to him...

Of course he would keep working with Leandro even if it could cost his own family's safety.  Of course he would just leave the estate even as his own wife looked like she was suffering from a nervous breakdown.

Quality family time, like always.

Fuck my life.

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