Chapter 18

It"s notunusual for one of the Bianucci clan to call for a meeting. What is unusual is for me to call it here at the sex club.

Christine isn"t known for meeting outside the family home.

I wanted to call it here where I knew that she didn"t have the high ground.

Diego already knew what I knew so I made him stay in the room with Marie so she wouldn"t do something silly and hurt herself more than I"d already have.

I wait in the main office of the club sipping on some of the house wine. This might just be the first time in a long while that I"ve felt confident in what I was about to do. Christine has no idea of the monster she and our father made when he took my choices away.

Christine bursts into the door, her heels clicking on the floor and a look of disgust on her face. "What the hell is the meaning of this? Since when do you not come to the house if you have something to discuss?" She barks at me.

"You"re a little high-strung don"t you think, sister?" I tilt my head and gesture with my glass to the seat on the other side.

Her eyebrows furrow together. She"s not used to being told what to do. It must be a confusing moment for her.

"What do you want Giancarlo? I"m very busy."

"Of course you are. We all are. I can appreciate that." I nod and lean forward in my chair. I"ve only been head of a family for a few hours but the power is already getting to me. I like the feel of it.

"Then what do you want?" Christine crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. An intimidation technique that might have worked on me any other time but not today.

"I want to renegotiate our terms. You know in order to keep the allegiance between the Bianucci"s and the Caprini family in tact." I take another sip of the wine before I put the glass down. Any other time I might have deferred to her but today I"m speaking for myself.

"What the hell are you talking about? The contract is already set between Babbo and Luke Caprini. There"s no changing it now. Really, Giancarlo, if this is some ploy to get out of your marraiage to Marie just so you can-"

I cut her off before she has a chance to finish her statement, "That was before! If you want the Caprini family to back you, you"re going to agree to a new deal."

Christine pops out of her chair and gets into my face, "Who the hell do you think you are! You don"t speak for the Caprini family. Only Luke can speak for them and he has. The deal is done."

"I say it"s not." I stand out of my seat and stare my sister down, "Luke Caprini is dead as is Peter Caprini. I"m the head of the Caprini family now and what I say goes."

For the first time in my life, Christine looks genuinely surprised. Her eyes go wide and she drops down into her seat looking up at me.

"Are you certain... I mean how do you know?" Her voice is much more contrite now.

"I killed them Christine. I"m not dumb enough to claim a throne if I didn"t know for sure that I"d completed the job." I shake my head and drop into my seat as well.

"Gian, do you know what this means? It means that both the families will merge into one. We could be a fucking powerhouse!" She claps her hands together once, clearly excited.

"We could be, but like I said I"m not here to talk about that. I"m here to renegotiate."

Christine tilts her head and purses her lips, "You can"t seriously think you"d go up against your own family."

"I do think that. After all it was my own family who stuck me in a marriage I didn"t want. It was my own family who took away my one chance at happiness. It was my own family who made me feel like I was fucking crazy. If that"s who I have to go up against to get what I want then so be it."

"You"ll lose."

I lean forward in my chair making sure to hold Christine"s gaze, " You and I both know that"s not for sure. After all the Caprini crew have been waiting to take out Babbo and the rest of us for a long time. There"s just as many of them as us. It"ll be a hell of a fight."

My sister doesn"t say anything for a few moments. "It was the best option." Christine looks away from me.

"Was it? Both you and Babbo know that I"m in love with Rosie. I had a good life."

"You didn"t need us! You didn"t want to be part of the family. Babbo"s hold on you was waning by the day, and it was all because of fucking Rosie."

"That"s bullshit and you know it! Rosie never caused any problems!" I slam my hand on the desk in front of me. Knick-knacks and papers fly to the floor.

"No, she never caused any problems, but you would"ve. The same way you"re doing now. You would"ve gone up against Babbo if it meant keeping her safe."

She wasn"t wrong. I"ll do anything for Rosie.

"Well now that you know that, how about we get down to business?"

With a sigh, Christine slouches further in her chair. "What did you have in mind?"

"I want Rosie. I"ll stay married to Marie long enough to validate my claim as the head of the Caprini family and then I"ll divorce her and take Rosie as my wife." The words come out quickly and my heart picks up in pace. This is the solution I"d been looking for this entire time.

"And what do we get out of this?" Christine asks even though I"m sure she knows what I"m willing to offer.

"In exchange, I will swear my allegiance to the Bianucci family. Using all my force to make sure that your will be done."

Christine nods her head, "And if we don"t agree?"

"Then it"ll be the opposite. I won"t rest until I"ve destroyed the entire Bianucci family. Everything that you"ve worked for, everything that you want, will go up in smoke. Then once the family is in shambles, I take my place as head of the Bianucci family. This is a man"s world, Christine. After the shit show that this disagreement will bring to the family, I doubt there would be anyone willing to stand in my way. "

Christine gets up from her seat and adjusts her clothing. "I"ll have to speak to Babbo about this, but I"m sure he"ll find the new terms agreeable." She turns and takes a step toward the door, "We"ve been waiting all our lives for you to step up and take your place as a leader."

"What are you talking about? You always wanted to lead."

"No, there was just no one else there willing to do what needed to be done." She says with a quick smile before she walks out of the office, leaving me to my own thoughts.

Just like my sister, to have me questioning everything I thought I knew. There"s no way for her to have known it would end up like this. According to Marie it was the Caprini and Di Santi family working together to take us down. A secret that no one knew. At least that"s what I thought.

Could it be that Christine knew all along that they were behind this and would eventually try and take me out? Did she really chance that I"d be able to take them out before they took me out?

With a deep groan, I drape a hand over my face. Either everything is going to my plan or hers. I may never know.