Chapter 4 - MY FATHER CHOSE POWER
My father arrived the next morning.
Uninvited.
Six men with him.
Elio met him in the study.
I walked in before anyone could stop me.
Victoriao looked at me.
“Leave.”
“No.”
His eyebrows rose.
Interesting.
Apparently marriage had taught me one useful skill.
Disobedience.
He turned to Elio.
“Control your wife.”
I answered:
“He can’t.”
Elio’s mouth almost moved.
Do not smile.
Not now.
---
I placed the copied ownership record on the desk.
My father read it.
Nothing.
No surprise.
That was the surprise.
“You knew.”
He looked at me.
“About what?”
“Daario.”
Silence.
“Elio is being framed using a vendor Daario secretly owns.”
My father sat.
Then poured himself water.
Too calm.
“Your mother had a bad habit of keeping obsolete records.”
There.
Confirmation.
Elio’s voice became lethal.
“You knew.”
Victoriao sighed.
“This is bigger than Janevra understands.”
“Then explain it to me,” I said.
My father looked annoyed.
As though his adult daughter asking for truth was rude.
“The alliance accomplished what it needed to accomplish.”
My stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?”
He looked toward Elio.
“The Vieiras were becoming too powerful.”
Silence.
“The marriage stabilized the South Side long enough for us to restructure.”
Elio stood.
“Restructure what?”
“Control.”
There.
My father had used my marriage twice.
First to join families.
Then to weaken one.
“Daario came to you.”
My father said nothing.
Elio understood anyway.
“He offered to replace me.”
“Yes.”
I whispered:
“And you agreed?”
Victoriao looked at me.
“It was business.”
The same phrase men had used to explain my entire life.
Business.
My dreams.
My marriage.
My body.
My future.
Business.
I felt something inside me finally detach from him.
“You sent me into Elio’s house knowing you planned to betray him?”
“I sent you into a marriage that protected you.”
“From what?”
“Reality.”
I laughed.
“Father, you are reality.”
He frowned.
I continued:
“You sold me to one man because it strengthened you.”
Then I pointed toward the document.
“And prepared to make me a widow because that strengthened you more.”
His face hardened.
“Enough.”
“No.”
Elio stepped slightly toward me.
Not in front.
Beside.
Important.
My father noticed.
So did I.
---
Victoriao looked at Elio.
“If you are smart, you will step aside.”
“From my own organization?”
“From leadership.”
“And Daario takes over?”
“He has support.”
“From you.”
“Yes.”
Then my father made his mistake.
He looked at me.
“You will come home.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Your marriage will be handled.”
Handled.
Like paperwork.
“You will return to the Moretti estate until we decide what comes next.”
Elio became completely still.
I answered before he could.
“No.”
My father’s eyes narrowed.
“Janevra.”
“No.”
“You do not understand your position.”
I looked at him.
“For twenty-two years, I understood exactly the position you gave me.”
Daughter.
Asset.
Bride.
Alliance.
“I’m changing it.”
He stood.
“You are a Moretti.”
“Yes.”
Then I reached for Elio’s hand.
His fingers went still beneath mine.
“And I’m also Janevra.”
My father looked down at our joined hands.
Something like disgust crossed his face.
“Do not confuse attachment with power.”
I smiled.
“You should take your own advice.”
Then he left.
And for the first time in my life, I did not feel like his daughter after the door closed.
I felt free.
Terrified.
May you like
But free.
---
