Alberto doesn’t reply; he flies toward me with rapid speed, and I cower just before his body catapults mine against the nearest wall. This isn’t the first time – nor will it be the last – that my family executes power by making me feel defenseless and weak trapped by them.
“I cannot wait to ship you back,” he spits at me, leering closer to me. “Maybe when you get back there you’ll see how lucky you had it here, Amelia. I taught you right and treated you well, but you don’t appreciate any of this. Being an Abbiati is a privilege, not a fucking punishment. You’ll do good to remind yourself of the riches put at your feet. Yet you don’t. You’re this detached, defying little bitch. Your father used to always gush how alike to your mother you are, but you are nothing like her. You might look like her, but she was never as cold as you are. Even after years of marriage to your father, she was still very much innocent. Which is something that can never be said about you.” He slams his hands against the wall on either side of my head, his breathing elevated by his irritation as he locks his gaze with mine. “You should use your flight to think about what loving a man like Maverick did for you. He made you so stupid that he got away without even a mark on him. You lost more because of him than you’ll ever gain back. Remember that when you have to go back and repent for your sins. The Dio Lavoro should have thrown you out with nothing but the clothes you’re wearing, but apparently, there is something about you that we keep clinging to. We all know you’ll destroy us.”
“Now, that isn’t true, is it,” I ground out, putrid anger seeping from me. “I gained some valuable life lessons while I was here. Like how sick and twisted the old mafia generation are in comparison to the new. You think I’ll destroy the family, but you seem to have forgotten that I’m not the only loose cannon in this family.”
“You’re the only one I see,” he declares venomously. “Do you think you can go back to Manhattan and lose the heartbroken look you carry around? It’s seriously pissing me off, Amelia. We all know you can kill people and we all know you can do as you’re told, so I expect you to go home with the same manner of living.”
“Whatever,” I say and feel his gaze intensify upon me. He closes in, ready to use more threatening behavior to make me crack, but I dig my heels in. "We've been over this time and time again, you pompous, nit witted imbecile! Fat chance!" I say, launching a hand up to strike him away. "Now, do me the favor of getting out of my face. You've seen what I'm capable of here, and like you, I don't mind showing you how little you mean to me."
"No wonder your father had enough of you in the end. You drawing that gun on him was the finale he never expected. You were spiraling before. Now, you know never to go against family, Amelia." Alberto watches me for a second, scrutinizing me while he awaits my response. "Whatever awaits you back home, you had coming a long time before you shot that gun."
"Ah, but here's the difference," I begin to say, stepping forward to push him backwards so I'm no longer pinned against a wall. "I'm not the same Amelia they're all expecting back. I'm the new and improved Abbiati version you wanted me to be and I don't give a fuck if they curse me out of that damn house. I've become what was expected of me – a cold, heartless bitch who will do just about anything for her cut of the inheritance. Family’s a business, after all. Isn’t that your teaching, Uncle Al? I need my paycheck for all this bullshit."
I know it's not all entirely true. I don't care about inheritances, but I also don't care for others as much. At first, I thought my brothers’ separation was to give me a cooling off period, but after a while, I realized that they weren't even trying. I'm at the Abbiati mansion – the headquarters, if you will – they're welcome any day, any time. They could have busted the doors down and rescued me, but there wasn't even news that they were trying.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do than deal with the likes of you,” I hiss, really testing my uncle.
“You’re a defiant brat, Amelia!” Alberto bellows at me, and I can see that I have him right where I need him.
For all this time, I have done his bidding, but now I’m rebelling. My freedom from his life is my ultimate undoing. If I’m leaving the Amalfi Coast, I’m giving him everything I have to rile him up. Consequences be damned. Doing the right thing never worked for me, so why would doing the wrong thing grant me some more sanctum?
He shakes his head in dismay at me. “There is no salvation for a girl like you. The sooner you’re out of this family, the better.”
“But I make one hell of a hot killer, Alberto!” I tell him, continuing to tease him. “Or did the body count I left behind not tell you that already? Are you sure you want me against you?”