Page 9 of Legacy of Deception

“Carmine?” he asked with a mocking tone. Pushing off the desk, he shook his head. “Please. He wouldn’t marry you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked with an acerbic bite.

“There’s no hidden meaning. Just exactly as I said it. He’s not the type to settle down, and no amount of paperwork is going to change that.”

I couldn’t speak on him being a misogamist, but I could think of several situations that backed the belief he was a confirmed bachelor apart from the fact that Marco just clarified it. “I suppose you’re not wrong,” I muttered. Being with someone who preferred the unattached lifestyle would have been miserable with a forced arrangement like this.

“I’m glad we can agree on something.” His lips curled into a sardonic smirk. “Now, if you don’t mind, like I was saying earlier, I have someplace to be.”

“Where are you going?” I sputtered as he breezed past me, his shoulder grazing mine in the faintest of ways. Still, my cheeks blossomed with a deep pink I hoped he wouldn’t see as I turned to follow him.

“Keeping tabs on me already, and we’re not even married.”

I wondered if he could feel the heat from my gaze searing his back as he showed me the way out.

Chapter 4

play with fire

MARCO

I leaned back in the wing chair in Lorenzo’s living room and sighed. “I’m sorry to drop in like this.” It wasn’t like I knew I couldn’t, but I liked to respect my brother’s time and space. He was big on doing his own thing, favoring adventure and romance over the things that made our family tick, like meddling and manipulation.

He clacked his tongue and leaned forward, his hands clasped and fingers interlaced. “It’s not a problem. I want you to be happy, brother, so I’m here for you.”

“Yeah, well, our father doesn’t seem to share the sentiment. I’m so done with him, he could jump off a cliff for all I care.” And that was putting it mildly. In truth, red crept into my vision whenever I gave thought to the way Santo acted so cavalier about what I wanted.

“Expecting you to marry for the business… It’s even too far for him,” Lorenzo said, and I knew that was where he and I diverged. This was our father we were talking about. In Santo’s quest for power, for building a legacy, nothing was off-limits and everything was fair game.

“He’ll get his,” I said, meaning every word of it. In fact, I planned to see to it personally. “That’s why I’m here. I have a plan, but I need some help.”

It was fascinating how Lorenzo made his space fit him, instead of him fitting the space like the rest of society tended to do. As I waited for him to say whatever was clearly on his mind, I looked around the room I’d seen thousands of times but never really appreciated. Warm hues, soft lights, and plush fabrics. He also had the latest technology and gadgets galore, but not in an ostentatious way. Indeed, he chose to lean into that side of himself with a little more subtlety. On a whole, the space embodied the visionary, the technophile he was.

“What’d you have in mind?” Lorenzo finally asked before standing and walking toward the dry bar, making a beeline for the built-in, high-tech wine refrigerator. He bent down and retrieved a bottle of champagne, his signature drink. Whether he was celebrating or plotting, Lorenzo preferred bubbly straight from France.

“I want to take the company from the old man,” I declared as he poured two glasses.

Returning to the living room, he extended an arm and passed me a glass. “A coup?”

“Sure,” I said, my eyes watching the bubbles float to the surface.

Sitting down, he nodded before taking a sip. “Never did I think I’d see the day where the great Santo wasn’t lording over all of us. Although I have to ask, don’t you think Vito is more suited for this kind of plan?”

His question pissed me off for reasons I couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Vito?” The disdain in my tone was obvious even to my own ears. I took a sip from my glass to try to rid the contempt from my next words. “No, he’s far too selfish. If I involved him, he’d do it himself and keep the position of CEO. I want to be CEO, and I want to watch our father’s expression morph as he hears the news.”

“Is that why you didn’t call all of our brothers here?”

I nodded. “Right now, I don’t need this to be a family affair, Enzo.” It was bad enough that I was aware of the possibility that he’d want to be my moral compass and talk me out of this, but I had to set that aside because I needed him. I wasn’t ready to take this to our brothers. Not yet.

Setting his glass down on the cherry wood coffee table, he rubbed his hands together. “Where do I come in?”

“Finally asking the right question. You’re in IT,” I said, stating the obvious. When he nodded, I continued, “You can help me get information. Be one step ahead of Santo.”

Lorenzo’s too-expressive eyes widened as he took in what I just said, but at least he waited a beat before responding. For that, I’d hand it to him. “No one’s one step ahead of Santo,” he said, clearly choosing to keep his words measured.

I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. “Until now.”

“Fine. I’ll help you, but if you become CEO—”