A/N:
Worked on this past few days when I had the chance.
Who's ready for another Mic Drop moment?
-B. 😉😉😉😉
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(Juliet's POV)
My grip on Vince's shirt tightened to the point where it almost hurt. Ottavio stood feet away with a grin on his face that made me uncomfortable.
"How about the three of us make our way upstairs to have a proper talk? It's hard for an old man like me to stand for long." He said.
Vince looked around the room before talking.
"Not until my guys regain full consciousness and my wife makes a phone a call." Vince said.
His grandfather stared at us for a minute or so before agreeing.
"Amadeo, escort them upstairs once they are finished." Ottavio ordered one of the men before leaving.
Once he was gone, I called Stefano and Vince checked on the others.
"Jules! Are you okay?" Stefano asked.
"I'm fine. We're all fine."
"What's going on?"
"We'll explain everything later. Just tell the others that we're all okay. Tell the boys and Nikolay as well."
"Yes, ma'am." He sighed.
As Vince checked on the others, a slightly dizzy Gio and I went to get their things. I had remembered seeing them in one of the rooms I'd checked before finding Vince.
We retrieved all their personal items and clothes. Ottavio or someone had changed them all into a plain white t-shirt and hospital type pants.
I kept my eyes on Vince the whole time they guys changed because Vince refused to let me wait outside the room.
"Gio, I want you guys to head on back to the safe house. Stefano and the others are waiting." Vince ordered.
"But Boss,"
"No buts. Juliet and I will be fine."
"Yes, Sir."
Amadeo then took Vince and I upstairs to where his grandfather was waiting.
"Tea? Maybe some coffee?" Ottavio offered.
"No, we want an explanation." Vince said, refusing to sit down.
His grandfather sighed. "Where do I start?"
"How about the night Nikolay Vasiliev's father supposedly killed you?" I suggested.
"We knew he was coming for us. We knew about what was going on between our two families. We were aware about what my son was doing and how things went after he....died."
"So what? You hid?"
"We knew when Vasiliev was coming and we found others who could be....substitutes for us. Vasiliev was too arrogant and pissed off to actually check to see if it was us he was killing."
"So you had an innocent family murdered?" I asked.
Ottavio smiled at me. "That worse than anything your husband has ever done?"
"Why stay hidden?" Vince asked.
"At that time, your aunt has just given birth to her son. Your grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer. It was too much of a risk for us to announce that we were still alive. It was safer to hide. Plus, when people think you're dead, you can't go on living as you did."
"Why the recent attacks on families here?" I asked.
"We've kept an eye on you all these years," he said looking at Vince. "The amount of power you have...it's...it's unimaginable. Your father was a force to be reckoned with but you...."
Ottavio had a look in his eyes. He seemed proud of Vince.
"Your name will go down in history in our world. Along with all that power, you get enemies."
"I'm well aware." Vince said.
"Greco and Dente were talking and whispering in people's ears about how if a lot of them band together then they can take you down. You control 92% of organized crime in the USA. You control/own 85% of the businesses in the USA. You own/control 95% of this country. A lot of people would benefit from your downfall."
"So you attacked those meetings because they were plotting my downfall?"
He nodded. "Family protects family."
"You are aware that I killed your son, right? I did nothing when Vasiliev supposedly killed you all."
Ottavio chuckled. "You're notorious for not caring about anything or anyone besides the blonde behind you. None of us were surprised when we got the call about your father."
At that moment, one of Ottavio's guys walked in.
"They've returned home, Sir." He said.
Ottavio smiled and looked at us. "The rest of the family is here and ready to meet you."
"Who exactly has been hiding with you all these years?" Vince asked.
"Your grandmother, aunt, four cousins, uncle, and a few others."
"They know we're here?"
"You, yes. Your wife, no." He asked as a noise came from the doorway.
We both turned to see an about eight people staring at us. A few of them started to tear up and the others smiled.
Then all at once, they started to rush forward. Vince being the anti-social person he is and me being the anxiety filled person I am, we both took several steps back. I clutched the back of his shirt and his grip on the gun tightened. They couldn't see that I was there because I was hidden behind Vince.
Ottavio saw these things and stopped his wife and the others from getting any closer.
"Careful there." He said, making them all stop.
That's when they noticed the gun in his hand.
Vince didn't trust anyone in that room besides me and I didn't trust anyone except him. His whole body was tense.
"What's wrong?" Ottavio's wife asked, oblivious.
"He's in a house at a location he's not sure of with people he's never met and his wife, who is scared and uncomfortable, is with him. You've all heard the stories, I'm sure you can figure out the rest." Ottavio said, seemingly amused with the whole thing.
"His wife?" One man asked, leaning over to the side so he could see me.
As he did so, Vince tightened his grip more.
At that point, everyone actually took a few steps back.
Vince's grandmother was the first who took cautious steps towards us.
"My name is Beatrice. I'm so happy to finally meet you." She said, approaching slowly.
To anyone else, she was clearly not a threat. She was just a 90 year-old grandmother.
But to Vince, she was neither friend nor family. She was a possible threat. To Vince, anyone can be a threat.
Vince remained silent.
Dying to remove all the tension and awkwardness, I partially stepped in front of Vince.
"It's nice to meet you." I smiled softly.
His grandmother got a look of admiration, love, and joy on her face as she looked at me.
"So the stories are true. You really do sound and look like an angel." She smiled.
She went to hug me, but Vince pulled me back against him. A look of disappointment and sadness came over her face.
"He's very cautious." I explained.
"So we see." A man said.
"He will calm down eventually."
"Anything we can do to speed that up?" His grandmother whispered to me.
"Sadly not. Sitting down may help a little though."
So they all sat down, meaning Vince and I were the only ones standing.
I had begun making small talk with everyone when we heard the door open. Even Ottavio looked confused at the sound and that made Vince impossibly more tense. Ottavio's expression made Vince push my behind him and widen his stance so he seemed even more threatening.
Seconds later, a man appeared in the doorway.
"F*cking hell." Ottavio muttered to himself.
Vince cocked his head at the man and studied him. The man in the doorway did the same to Vince. That's when the man in doorway looked at Ottavio.
"Is this him?" He asked.
"You weren't supposed to come until I called you."
"I was getting impatient." The man said, coming our way.
He got about five feet away and when he showed no signs of stopping, Vince cocked the gun. That made the guy stop.
"Vito," Ottavio warned.
"He doesn't know? You didn't tell him?" The man, Vito, asked.
"I didn't get the chance yet. He was just starting to cool down from everyone else arriving." Ottavio.
"How could you not tell him that he has an older brother?"
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A/N:
Mic Drop #7 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤