Page 86 of When She Falls (The Fallen)
The waiter swallows and pulls the bottle back. “Of course, Mr. Messero.”
“Hey,stronzo, why are you listening to him?” Cleo snaps. “I said more wine.”
The waiter’s expression turns panicked and uncertain, and beads of sweat appear on his forehead.
“Cleo, settle down,” Mamma says through gritted teeth while Papà observes my sister with a dark look in his eyes.
I reach over to place a hand on Cleo’s arm, but she jerks it away and leans over the table to glare at Rafaele. “Who the hell gave you permission to control how much I drink?”
“You arrived smelling of booze, and you’ve already downed one overfilled glass since we sat down five minutes ago,” Rafaele says, his voice low. “You’re embarrassing your family.”
“You’re embarrassing yourself by having such a stick up your ass.”
Nero snorts.
I snatch Cleo’s arm and dig my nails in. My sister’s fearlessness borders on stupidity.
“That’s enough,” Papà barks. “We’re having this dinner because there’s something important for us to discuss. Save your tantrum for afterwards, Cleo.”
Cleo opens her mouth to argue, but I hiss, “Stop it.”
She huffs, slumps in her seat, and stuffs a piece of bread into her mouth, her furious gaze still fixed on Rafaele.
My fiancé lifts his glass of wine and takes a slow sip. Is he taunting her? It’s saying something that Cleo can get under Rafaele’s skin.
“What did you want to talk about, Papà?” I ask, trying to dissipate the lingering tension.
Papà wipes his lips with a napkin and sends the waiters out of the room with a single glance.
“What I’m about to say is extremely confidential, and it’s not to leave this room,” he says once the door shuts.
A trickle of unease slides down my spine.
I glance at Cleo, wondering if she knows what this is about, but she gives me a small shake of her head.
“I am naming Rafaele as my successor. When I retire, he will take over as the head of our clan.”
My silverware tumbles out of my hands.
What?I can’t believe what I’m hearing. This is coming out of nowhere.
“Is this a joke?” Cleo sputters. “Vince is your successor.”
“Vince has made it abundantly clear he has no interest in running the business in New York.”
No, that’s not true. Everyone knows that when the time comes, Vince will come back. That’s a given. He might be enjoying his time in Europe, but it was never meant to be a permanent thing.
He won’t let Papà take away his birthright just like that.
The room spins.
“Does Vince know about this?” I force past my dry throat.
Papà straightens his cuffs. “He’s aware.”
“And what was his reaction?”
Papà’s hard gaze lands on me. “Like I already said, he’s shown no interest in this job. Your brother has done nothing to prove to me that he can lead our people.”
