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I back away from her and watch her smile fade, same way it always does when she’s reminded of the life I’m from. Her father dying hit her and her mom hard. They know what my family does, they’ve paid the ultimate price for it.
“Be safe, Raoul.” Evelyn offers me a sad smile in replacement of her bright one, and I feel it cut through me like a knife as I turn my back on her, and run back to the house.
***
“You know why you're here, son. Tonight, you become a man.” Father places the gun in my hand and I do everything in my power to prevent it from shaking. For a long time, I’ve known this day was coming. I’ve prepared myself for it. But now that I’m actually here, I’m nervous. I can't let my father down, our family's reputation is everything to him.
“Ya good, lad?” Quinn asks, squeezing my shoulder in his heavy hand.
“I’m good,” I assure them both before nodding at my father's consigliere, Ludo, to open the door into the basement.
The ranch is the place where all the Burlusconi dirty work happens, and this is the first time Father’s ever brought me here. For years, I’ve only ever known of its existence. Me and Rhett have talked about what it would be like, and now that I’ve finally made it here, it’s time for me to be the man my father wants me to be.
Suddenly, I know how football players must feel when they step out into the stadium. Only difference is I’m not being watched by thousands, just by my father and the man he wants to impress.
I slowly follow Ludo down the stairs, with my father and Quinn close behind. The sound of dripping water echoes off the cold, damp walls and I see my target a few meters in front of me. He looks around the same age as my father, and is tied to a chair that’s surrounded by plastic sheets in the middle of the basement floor.
I thought they only did that kinda shit in movies.
The man is gagged, and I can see the fear straining in his eyes as he muffles against the rag that’s stuffed inside his mouth.
“Aim right between the eyes,” Father instructs me. “You know how to use the weapon, son, Ludo tells me your aim is exceptional.” He encourages me and uses the opportunity to boast to Quinn. He’s all about that two birds and one stone shit.
I take a breath and hold the gun out in front of me. Eying my target down the barrel just like I’ve been taught.
“What did he do?” I ask, looking back at my father, it feels like the kind of thing I should know before I pull the trigger and end the man’s life.
“He threatened to fuck your mother in her ass while you and your brother watched,” he explains, looking at the man over my shoulder with hate in his eyes and venom in his tone. “And then he said he would do the same to your sister.”
It’s all I need to hear, and when I turn back around to face the piece of shit, I don’t hesitate in firing off the shot. The bullet slices into the man’s throat, blood sprays onto the plastic, and splatters the shirt I’m wearing. It feels warm against my skin, and his cries of agony rattle my chest.
“Take another shot, lad, it’s normal to miss with ya first. Nerves can get the best of all of us,” Quinn encourages me, but I ignore him, dropping the gun to the floor then stepping closer to the man who thought he could threaten my family.
“I didn’t miss,” I respond to Quinn, while staring the dying asshole right through his terrified pupils. “I shot him in his jugular, a bullet in the brain was too kind for this bastard. I want to watch him choke on his own blood.”
I stand and watch the blood drain from his body, and the life flicker out of his eyes. I feel no remorse, I hold no empathy, and that’s when I realize that I am a true Burlusconi.
I was chosen to be born first for this very reason. And I must carry on my family name, no matter how great the sacrifice.
“Good job, son,” Father pats the back of my head proudly. “You see, my friend, one day my boy will rule the world, and your daughter will be his queen,” he promises Quinn. “His training will begin tomorrow when he leaves for Sicily with Ludo.”
It’s something I knew was coming, I just didn’t realize it would happen so soon. I still have two years left in high school. I thought my training would start after I graduated, but as Father constantly reminds me, with great power comes great responsibility.
This is mine.
When we get home later that night, Father and Quinn head straight to his study for a drink. I have no idea what time Ludo plans on leaving in the morning, so instead of going for a shower like Father told me to, I sneak out the back door and run toward Evelyn's cottage
The place is in darkness when I get there, and I slowly creep to stand beside Evelyn’s bedroom window. It’s open just enough to let in some breeze, and, carefully, I reach through the gap and unhook it from the latch so I can climb inside.
She’s sleeping so soundly, and I admire the way her chest rises and falls while her delicate breaths slip through her lips
Looking down at myself, I notice my hands are still bloody, and my shirt is stained. If she woke up and saw me like this, she’d be petrified of what I’ve become.
She deserves better. She’s everything good with the world, while I’ve become everything that’s corrupted in it.
Evelyn Lane deserves a life that won’t be threatened just because I am the man who loves her.
She stirs, and when her eyes open and she sees me watching her in the darkness, instead of being scared, she smiles. The dark must shelter her from the blood on my hands because she looks happy to see me. This will be the last time I get to see her for a while, and for that reason, I don’t fight against the urge to be closer to her.
