Rivals

CHAPTER 42:

Dante

"Let's begin then," I told everyone as calmly as I could, but I could hear my voice shake.

Suddenly, I felt hotter. I tugged at my collar and loosened my tie slightly.

Vincent even felt my nerves from where he stood across the room.

Little did he know I already had three before I even called this little meeting.

"As all of you know, I lived in Italy my entire childhood. But I never told you how rough it was. My mother died when I was young and my father was a drunk. I practically raised my sister."

"You never told us you had a sister," Reese whispers as I sighed.

"She was beautiful and had the kindest heart. She always saw the good in any situation and brought out the good in me," I admitted. "When I turned twenty-two and her sixteen, I took all my savings and took her with me to America. Living here at first was the worst struggle we had ever faced, but I refused to let my sister know how bad it was. I never wanted her to worry. For three years she had always asked if we were allowed to stay at the places we were staying, and I said yes, but in reality we were trespassing and I was praying we wouldn't get caught. One day, we did get caught. And we were both scared out of our minds, but I shielded my sister and I begged the men who found us not to hurt her. They took us to their headquarters and we were face to face with a gang leader."

As I told the truth, I felt like I was reliving my past over again.

The men pushed my sister and I into a small room, and while my sister was clinging to my chest, her heartbeat quickened and her breath hitched. She was terrified, but I showed no sign of weakness.

I was being brave for her.

The man in front of us was younger than I, probably only eighteen. His blonde hair was striking and he looked confident, even with his back facing us.

He wore a gray shirt and jeans, each had holes and were dirty. He seemed like a normal person, but I knew he wasn't.

From the men who brought us in here, to the real estate, something wasn't adding up and this guy seemed to be at the helm of it all.

I shielded my sister from him, placing her behind me as he turned around slowly.

His green eyes met my blue ones and they were cold, anger filling them the more he locked eyes with my own.

His features were sharp, and the anger wrinkled on his face left my sister clutching my side.

I heard a squeal behind me, my sister terrified of the man in front of us.

I felt her move around me to look at him, her blue eyes wide.

As soon as the man saw her, his expression softened and he let himself become loose.

He nodded to his men and they left the room, leaving us alone with him.

He casually grabbed a drink and walked over to me, stretching his hand out and offering me a drink.

"I'm sorry, this is all just a misunderstanding. My men saw you on my grounds and their natural instinct is to respond," he said casually, his voice pouring like honey.

"I don't drink," I said softly as he pulled his hand back and set the glass on his desk.

"What were you both doing on my grounds?" He asked as I tensed slightly, feeling my sister squeeze my arm.

My eyes never left the man in front of me. I didn't want to tell him why because then my sister would be faced with the reality of how bad our situation actually is.