Page 24 of Heir of Corruption

I wonder if I'll ever experience love. My parents’ love is like no other, and even Rebecca acknowledges this. Most people neverfeel that in their lifetime. At this moment, I long to know what it's like.

“Your father spent many years looking for you, Antonio.”

Her words jolt me into focus.

“He was looking for me?”

“Yes. He made a promise to your mother while she was alive that he would never ask about you or search for you. But after she passed away, I think he was so alone, so heartbroken. You were all he had. You were part of her, too, and he wanted to meet you. He hunted for years and could find nothing out. It tore me apart knowing he was looking, but I also made a promise to your mother, just before we lost her, never to tell him anything. It was too dangerous. He has so many enemies. I could not put you at risk like that.”

Her confession makes me feel even more connected to my father. I thought he had just abandoned me, never wanting to meet me. Yet he wanted to meet me as much as I wanted to meet him. Regrets pulls at my heart.

“I'm sure you know that since his passing, seeing as you are his only son, you are the heir to his fortune - and his position in the family business.”

“I thought there was a possibility that it might be the case.” I ponder over what that might mean, not for the first time.

“I want you to come to New York. Not yet; It's still too dangerous, but soon before reading his last will and testament. I believe it's important for you to be there. I also think it's important for you to meet your family.”

I nod. It's important to meet my family, and I want to do that. I worry, though, about the massive complications that can arise from me being the heir to my father’s empire. A power struggle of unimaginable proportions. A position like that would attract many people, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I'll go to New York.

If I took over his role, I would be unstoppable. Untouchable.

When Rebecca leaves the restaurant, I wait a while longer, giving her a head start and just being cautious. I think about everything she has spoken to me about, about my parents. Going to New York will be the best way for me to learn more about them, understand their lives, and be close to them in the last way that is available to me. Talking to my aunt has made me even more determined to know my family in New York. I'm sure this hard process will have many challenges, but I have faced difficult situations before and I'm confident that I'll handle this one as efficiently as I have handled everything else that life has thrown at me.

If I'm the heir to my father’s empire, I want to know. I want to face down anyone who disputes it. I have often thought about what it might be like to work alongside my father, to havelearned from him and grown up under his protection instead of hiding from him.

Perhaps now I can find out.

I can find out who he was, not just the stories that were told about him, but who he was as a person.

9

Seraphina

Iplace the phonedown on the table in front of me and bite at my bottom lip. He has canceled. I feel upset as I have a plan, a mission, to find out everything he knows.

I sigh in frustration and pace around my apartment. The paint on my hands is still wet, so I go to the bathroom to wash it off.

I walk back into the living room and stare at the easel. I don’t feel like painting anymore.

I may as well clean my brushes for now.

As I work over the kitchen sink, I run through my reaction on the phone. I think I sounded carefree and unbothered. I had to biteback my disappointment before I answered, as I don’t want to come across as too eager, too demanding or suspicious.

I think it went well.

We have rescheduled for tomorrow night, but now, I can’t get this single thought out of my mind.

What was so important to him he had to cancel his dinner plans with me?

Who has flown in to meet him? Where did they fly from?

I try to brush off the thought, but I can’t. It might just be business, a client, something simple and obvious. But I can’t let it go. I have to know.

I give in. As stupid and dangerous as it may sound, I decide I have to stalk him. What’s wrong with a little secret mission, anyway? It might be fun.

I don't know where he is going or when, so I have to hurry.

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