Rule #2: The family business is everything. Protect the legacy at all costs.
Ava Centofanti knows the ins and outs of the Mafia like the back of her hand - after all, she is nicknamed the "Mafia Princess" for a reason. Next in line to inherit the Ca...
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The ride to the warehouse district was a stunned one, with Dad's truth bomb lingering heavily on our minds. Mine was racing in a panicked state of flurry, trying to figure out what this exactly meant for me and for the gang if Ramsey was alive after all these years. Did he still want revenge for what my parents did to him? Would he try to come after me again, finish me off instead of letting me live?
Did Eli know his father was possibly alive? Did he know anything about what the others were planning to do since they didn't leave town?
Each question that flashed in my mind made my stomach churn with an acid aftertaste. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the truth.... Or what that meant for Eli and me, if there was even an "us" to mean something to.
Taylor parked the SUV a few meters away from the checkpoint Uncle Leo had set up, the same one my mother used twenty-something years ago. A chill involuntarily shot down my spine as my boots met the dirt, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
"You don't have to go in, you know." Dad said quietly as he stood next to me, both of us staring at the old warehouse.
"I know." I gave him a weak smile. "But I also know what Dr. Hamilton would say right now. I should face my biggest fear and fight back."
"I'm so proud of you, Bug." Dad kissed the top of my head and we waited for Uncle Leo's next command.
"Let's move." Uncle Leo motioned the men forward with two fingers, nodding to Dad and Alpo. They shifted so that Lucy and I were behind them as we slowly stalked toward the building, everyone on high alert.
As we entered the eerily dark hallway, an involuntary shiver burst down my spine, lining my arms with goosebumps. Hazy flashbacks flipped through my mind, like someone was channel surfing too fast to see what was actually playing on the screen. Lucy glanced at me when she heard the sharp intake of breath, her eyes shifting to the men in front of us.
"You okay, Ava?"
"All good." I nodded briefly.
"I got you."
"I know."
Uncle Leo stopped just outside the large double doors at the end of the hallway, his shoulders hunched as he held a finger to his lips. Nobody dared to move, all of our ears straining to hear sound from the other side. The door creaked as it swung open on its own, causing each man to jump slightly, guns cautiously drawn.
"I see you got my note." A voice boomed from inside the poorly lit room, laughter lining the venomous tone. "Come on in, old friends!"
"No fucking way," Alpo muttered under his breath. "We all saw Jade shoot him... he was dead!"
"We're about to find out what happened," Dad replied back, sharing a grim look with Uncle Leo.
Silently, the three men stepped forward through the doorway, the rest of the men following in groups of three before fanning out on either side of us. Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders back and lifted my chin, strutting in on an air of pseudo-confidence.
