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The Family
A PROMISE IS A PROMISE
The director tilts his head to the side. His eyes find mine, and instead of looking at me the way a father does his son, in this moment, I am very much his employee. Lifting my chin slightly, I look down my nose at him and await my fate.
“What did you think was going to happen?” he asks, his tone stern.
Instead of answering him, I continue to stare into his eyes, pressing my lips together and clenching my jaw tightly so that I do not speak. As much as I want to say something, this is not the time.
The family is the family. You do not question, you do not say a fucking word unless asked, and this one question my father is asking is, without a doubt, rhetorical.
“Do you want to be an executive one day?”
“I do,” I reply, jerking my chin upward.
He hums. “Do you promise to uphold our rules, Coleman? I know you took your vows, but it is clear that they can waver.”
“A promise is a promise,” I say. “I will always do as I vow. Always.”
He hums. “Because you are the family,” he murmurs.
“And the family is me,” I state.
He stands from his chair and moves around the desk until he’s directly in front of me. Shifting to face him, I tilt my head back to look up at him. I made my vow to the family when I was fifteen years old. I’ve been working since then, proving myself and my dedication to the organization. Never wavering, not once.
My loyalty and life will always belong to the director, my father, and my family.
He dips his chin, his gaze never leaving mine, then he lifts his hand and wraps his fingers around the side of my throat, squeezing gently before releasing me.
“You know what you must do, Coleman. This earns you an executive position. Everything you have ever wanted. It is in the palm of your hand, just waiting for you to take it.”
“Then it is what I will do,” I rasp.
His lips curve up into a grin as he releases my throat and pats the middle of my back hard. “You’re a good boy,” he murmurs. “A good boy.”
As I leave my father’s office, I wonder if this is going to ruin the family as I know it. It very well could. My cousins have shown no anger, no remorse, no reaction at all to their father’s death. My aunt is nothing except an innocent caught in the crosshairs, but a promise is a promise, and a job is a job that must be completed.
My cousins are being watched, but my aunt must be dealt with. She must be taken care of, and since I am taking Uncle Dean’s now-vacated position, it is up to me to be the one to take care of her.
He had a child produced from an affair while he was married to my aunt and already had at least one of my cousins with her. He hid that child. He even ensured that the man who married the mother of that offspring was connected to the family as an associate.
Then he pushed for a marriage between me and that child.
My first cousin.
I was inside of my first cousin.
I still feel ill over that, completely and totally sick over it all.
That all being said, he’s gone now, the mother of that child is gone, the product of their affair and the adopted father are as well.
All gone.
All except my aunt by marriage. And the legitimate cousins, all of whom have vowed their loyalty to the family and cannot be exterminated unless they betray the family in some way. But my aunt only declared her loyalty to my uncle. She knows too much. She has been betrayed and, therefore, cannot be fully trusted.
Logically, I understand it, as will my cousins, but that doesn’t mean they will emotionally be able to accept it. Because I’m not sure I would if someone decided my mother needed to be taken care of.
My phone rings, and I wince at the sight of my own mother’s name on the display as I sink into the front seat of my car. Sliding my thumb across the screen, I clear my throat before I greet her with my hello.
