Francesco

Shaun's POV

I sighed in frustration as I leaned back on the couch, staring at Luca like he was the cause of my problems when in real sense, he wasn't.

“How does buying a school benefit me?"

“To think of it, your father is right. It will get the police off your back. The Marco family has had a clean record with the police until the act you pulled off recently"

"So buying a damn school takes them off my back?“

“It gives them the impression that your motive is clean"

“And buying a school doesn't mean you have to be the owner" I turned to look at my brother, Pablo as he walked down the stairs to the sitting room.

"I feel exhausted by even thinking about it”

"see it as Dad's way of saving your ass,” he said, walking towards the wine stand to get a drink.

"I don't fucking need that”

"You are so impossible”

"For all I know, Francesco should be the one heading all this"

“You want to quit?"

“I didn't say that"

“Anyway" Pablo filled his cup halfway with wine and turned to look at me. “Francesco is no longer here. There is no need to wish for that"

“That asshole. I bet he is not dead"

“Of course, he isn't. Who would dare wipe out Francesco?"

I didn't say anything. I was boiling in anger so much for me to even speak properly.

Pablo walked towards me. He handed me the drink before speaking."Maybe if you hadn't killed Flavio, you wouldn't be caught up in all this mess. Do you know how powerful the Alfonso's family is?"

“That boy had a lot of nerve. I hate nerve"

“Well good luck with your new school " he smirked as he walked away.

I turned to look at Luca who had been standing in front of me.

"What are you waiting for!“ I yelled at him and he flinched."Get the fuck out of my face”

I leaned back on my seat, letting out a distressed air. I was exasperated and at the same time angry. I took out my phone from my pocket. There was an unread message.

“I'll be late"

The message was from Lindsay. Did it have anything to do with the meeting? Speaking of the meeting, I kept asking myself what she was doing there. The only thing I could deduce was her being a staff there. But that assumption didn't sit right with me

“You are still here" I heard an old gravelly voice and I turned to look at my father.

I was at the family house. Having a moment of silence to think was something I never got.

“I should be home resting after the amazing conference meeting I had to attend,” I said in sarcasm, not failing to hide the anger my voice held.

"Son, you have no right to get angry. See this as a way of cleaning up your mess. Next time you should keep your anger in check”

"I'm glad I got to deal with that lunatic”

"You can't say Flavio was responsible for the sins of his father"

“Yeah, that's right. He had his own sins and I fucking fixed them. Why is everyone making a big deal out of it? You have shot countless people in my presence"

“Those were commoners. Flavio is the son of one of the most dangerous Capos in Italy. You just proclaimed war. Do you realize this isn't good for any of us?”

"They declared us an enemy, didn't they?“

"Of course they did. We are like a competition. Dromos doesn't like competition”

"Well I don't like competition either” Shaun stood up."The same way I ate Flavio like a snack. That's the same way his father is going down. I don't care how powerful he thinks he is” I grabbed my car keys and walked out through the front door.

I took his phone and texted Lindsay.

"You are running a little bit late”

*****

Lindsay POV

" You are running a little bit late" I stared at the text on my phone and my anxiety doubled. I wasn't going to show up until I thought of a good reason I could tell Shaun about what I might be doing at a parent- teacher meeting. But now he wanted her and I didn't have the heart to say no to him.

I slipped off my bed and went straight to my closet to get dressed. A smile crept into my cheeks as I stared at the black dress that was hung exempted from the rest of my clothes. I had gotten it recently. For the first time in a long time, I went to the mall to shop for myself, and not for Leia.

I slipped on the dress. It wasn't an over-the-top dress, but it was more decent than the thousand pleated skirts I had. It was what a regular well-to-do woman would wear.

I applied more makeup than usual. I had to hide the bruises on my face. I didn't want Shaun asking questions. I wasn't very good at lying on the spot. And there was something about his eyes that made it seem like he was scanning everything in me. There was a chance he would sense if I tried to lie to him.

I grabbed my purse and left the room. I knew Asher wasn't home. I knew if he was, he would frown in disapproval of the dress I was putting on. He would surely suspect something. I didn't want that to happen. What I wanted, was to please Shaun even though he never really complained about my clothes

“I'm on my way" I texted him and dug my phone back into my purse.

I was already out of the main house and was about to flag down a cab when I saw a car approaching. My heart skipped a beat. It was Asher's car.

Why was he coming home by this time? I was screwed. I was dressed too well. The dress I wore was too tight and my cleavages were practically out. I had too much makeup on and my hair was spruced up more than normal. He was surely going to suspect something.

My life was officially over!