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"You have a problem with that?" I smirk.
He scowls at Michael. "Take a number, triple it, and I guarantee, the three of us will come into enough money to increase our sphere of influence on a global scale," he snaps.
"I believe those were my words and I stick by them," Michael replies.
JJ strokes his chin. "So you are bringing in your brother, but you continue to split the profits three ways?"
Michael nods.
"Still, your family would effectively double its representation, which doesn't seem fair."
"I am not part of the family," I say in a hard voice.
Both Nikolai and JJ turn to me.
"Are you not a Sovrano?" Nikolai scowls at me.
I open my mouth to protest, and he raises his hand, "Like it or not, you are Xander’s triplet. The Sovrano blood runs in your veins. You may have disputes with the rest of the family, but for the purposes of this discussion, you are one of them."
I squeeze my fingers into fists. He’s right. It’s something I have known since my mother revealed my background to me, and yet, it’s also something I have refused to accept. Not when I have made it my life’s ambition to destroy this family.
I glare at Nikolai, who glowers back at me.
Behind me, I sense Luca shift his stance. Seb takes a step forward, when one of Nikolai’s brother’s jerks his chin in his direction. Seb pauses. The tension in the room ratchets up. One of Nikolai's brothers locks his gaze on me; the other continues to watch my brothers carefully.
JJ stiffens.
Nikolai’s jaw tics.
Next to me, Michael stays relaxed. "Down boys," he says in a casual voice, "we can't afford to fight amongst ourselves."
JJ watches us warily.
Nikolai continues to glare at me.
Then JJ shakes his head, "You’re right, we need to find an amenable solution."
"Nikolai?" Michael asks, and there’s a tone of warning in his voice.
Nikolai holds my gaze for a few seconds more, then he turns to Michael, "I agree, we need to find a peaceful solution. When you agreed to splitting the profits three ways, the tacit agreement was that all three partners would have equal representation on the board, one from each of us."
Michael stays quiet for a few seconds, "That's true."
"What are you trying to say?" Nikolai asks.
"I am saying that I’ll take a step back from the enterprise."
"What?" Luca exclaims. "You’d give your place on the board over to him?"
Michael blows out a breath, "That’s exactly what I am saying."
Nikolai glances between us before he leans back in his chair.
JJ whistles under his breath, "You are giving up your seat on the board to him, ol’ chap?"
Behind me, Seb moves restlessly, but unlike Luca, he doesn’t express his opinion. Likely, it will be at a meeting with the brothers only, where he lets rip. If I had a brother, I’d want him to be like Seb. Or perhaps, like Adrian, who seems the calmest of all of them. Michael’s the Don, Massimo takes too long to make decisions, Luca is the opposite, being too hot-headed, and Christian… Well, Christian hates me, and rightly so, after what I did to him and his family and…
What the fuck am I doing, thinking about my brothers instead of celebrating my victory? I should feel happy, right? The first step in my plan to destabilize the Sovranos is underway. I should move in quickly, take over the meeting, and set plans in motion to reap the benefits of the work done by the company so far.
