Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
My knees buckled. Ivan held me back against him.
I hated him so much.
I hated him more than I’ve ever hated.
Something was very wrong.
Something that would affect me for my entire life.
Something I would never come back from.
My breaths came in short gasps, too short. Ivan moved his hand from my neck down to my chest and pressed down like he was trying to help me breathe.
I wanted to bat him away, but I had no strength, because I knew that look in King’s eyes, I’d seen it before. I knew him; he was my cousin, he was the Capo.
And he had just been dealt a blow that would affect this Family forever.
Sometimes you just know.
I braced myself.
“Serena, please tell your father to come here immediately to make preparations, invite Phoenix, Sergio, Chase, Dante, Tank, Andrei, and my father, then let them know that they will need to bring the med kits. Sergio will need to bring heavy sedation, can you do that?”
“W-why are we needing heavy sedation?”
“Because…” King locked eyes with Ivan over my sister’s head… “we’re preparing first for a funeral, second—for a war.”
“Funeral.” She looked around the room.
She did the math I’d already rejected.
The only new boss that wasn’t in that room.
Was her husband.
My brother-in-law.
Former boss of the De Lange Family.
“I’m sorry to tell you this way, but Junior is dead.” King could barely say the word dead.
I would never forget her scream.
I would never forget the way she covered her own mouth, biting at her fingers to keep the sound in, in front of my nephew, or the murder in her eyes as she looked over at Ivan and said. “You?”
“It is my birthright, after all,” Ivan said hoarsely. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to take your sister back to campus, please let Nixon know that I’ll be stealing one more thing from the Abandonato dynasty. Their youngest daughter. I do hope you’re willing to cooperate.”
At that moment, when I didn’t think it could get worse, honking sounded from outside of the house.
At least twenty black sedans pulled up and at least seventy armed men stepped out and stood at attention.
For their new boss.
My brother-in-law’s killer.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Sometimes things are lost, and oftentimes people are lost causes.” —King Campisi
Ivan
I walked past them.
They had no choice but to let me. It would be a bloodbath and I’d just taken over the De Lange Family with its own blood.
Junior was the rightful heir to a Family that never tried to save anyone, let alone themselves. Knowing what I knew now.
It finally clicked into place.
Everything.
The secrets, the lies, the desperation, and the need to be cautious if I was going to actually stay alive and make sure I did the same for Bella in the process.
She would hate me even more for this.
And I knew, as we stepped outside of that house, that I’d left what innocent parts of me I had left with the blood—Junior had played me so perfectly with every moment, the stabbing, the killing, he’d basically groomed me beneath him with this in mind. And he’d told nobody.
I lifted my chin toward Tank—he’d just started working with Junior on making sure the De Lange Family and the rest of the orphans, myself included, were up to par as soldiers within the ranks—just stared at me, face impassive.
“What?” With a shaking hand, I pulled the De Lange ring from my pocket, covered in Junior’s blood, and held it in the air and put it on my right hand. “Any questions?”
Tank paled, his eyes flickered to the other bosses standing at the door. “None, sir.”
I knew the men were nervous, concerned, but a few of them smirked. I made a mental note which ones and got into the first SUV. “Let’s go, Bella.”
“You’re taking her?” Tank asked.
“You’re questioning me?” I laughed. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I take her? I already stole her virginity and claimed my throne, shouldn’t I at least get to keep my prize?”
Tank clenched his fists.
I saluted him with my middle finger. “Relax, she’s just an Abandonato, I think I can handle her. Besides, if you ever want to see this pathetic Family rise to their former glory, you’re going to need one of the most powerful bosses on your side and they would do absolutely…” I gripped Bella’s chin between my thumb and forefinger. “And I do mean absolutely anything, for his cousin, including marry her to the very monster who killed his best friend. After all, isn’t that kind of how it happened so many years ago? Phoenix nearly stole her mom from Nixon. or wait, did he just take what wasn’t his to take? I get confused, and then Phoenix rose from the ashes, pathetic really, even if he is related, and then the De Langes were weakened, you know why? Fear. You fear what you don’t understand and what you can’t control. So get this right.” I turned and faced the men. “Fear me. Because I have no loyalty and no shits to give. I took this position in cold blood, and I’ll kill anyone who stands in my way. Soon, our name won’t be whispered like a curse, no, the De Lange name will drop from every mouth with respect, admiration, and fear.”