Chapter 23 No More Secrets
It's morning already, and as usual, I'm already at the dining table, eating breakfast with my father and Dante. As I stare at the food in front of me, I can't help but ponder what my father and Dante are up to. I think it's quite strange that my father has been getting closer and closer to Dante. Lately, he's been letting Dante get more involved in our business affairs since the meeting with Giovanni. Other than watching over me, Dante has been accompanying my father to meetings a few times now, and while they're outside, my father assigned someone else to guard me.
What is he planning? Or what are they planning? I wonder if he knows something I don't know about Dante, or if they're hiding something from me. Whenever I told my father I wanted to go with him, he never let me go with him. He used to want me to be more involved in the family's business, but now he's pushing me away again. I never asked questions before, but I think now's the perfect time for it.
"Is Dante going to go with you again today?" I ask. A glance at Dante's appearance at this exact moment is enough proof that he's already prepared to leave for the day. He only styles his hair in slick-back style when he's going out, whether to guard me while I'm on a date with Antonio or go to a meeting with my father outside.
"Yes. I'll leave you with Carlo again for today," my father says.
They're leaving me at home again? Why? My father was the one who insisted on me being more involved in our family business. Now, he's the one who pushes me away instead. What's with the change of mind? Does he think I'm not capable enough to actually be running the business in the future? It's not like I want to do it anyway, but still, why the cold feet?
"Why can't I go with you and let Dante leave with you instead? Don't you want me to work with you?" I ask.
"I do, Sandra. I do, but not now. What we're doing is dangerous," my father says.
Dangerous? Not too long ago, he was praising me about how I've improved in my self-defense skills, which also mean he was acknowledging my capabiliy. Now why does he think I'm not strong enough to be involved in something dangerous? This overprotectiveness from him has to stop right now.
"How long are you going to keep treating me like a child? You know I'm more than capable of protecting myself. What's so dangerous about it anyway that you won't let me go with you?" I ask.
"I know, but this is for your own good. For now, please be a good girl for me and stay home, okay? You're safer here," my father says.
"And what? Let you die and live the rest of my life alone if something dangerous happens? I hate you, but you're the only person I have left in this family. You can't just leave me," I say.
"Oh, tesoro, come here," my father says, pulling me into a gentle embrace. I let him do it while frowning into his chest.
"Don't worry your little head about me, okay? I have Dante and the others. I'll be safe. awe'll all be safe. If you come with me, I'm afraid I might lose you. Not because I'm afraid I have no one to continue our legacy, but because I'm scared of losing my one and only daughter," I say.
"You're basically saying you'd rather me lose you than you lose me. That's not fair," I say, pushing him away with a scowl. My father sighs, frowning as he stares back at me.
"I know, but I still would rather have you alive than dead. You're still young. You still have so much more to live for. Just stay here. I'll be fine. I mean, I always come back home, right?" my father says.
I guess there's no point in trying to change his mind. If he won't let me go with him and Dante, then the least he can do is telling me what he's been doing with Dante lately.
"Fine. At least tell me what you're doing out there," I say.
"We're working to find the Romanos. We just got a hit that they're somewhere near the French border, so we'll be holding a quick meeting for a plan to catch them," my father says.
Just a meeting? Then it's not dangerous at all. There must be something more than that. I hate it when he's keeping secrets for me, especially now when I'm actually interested in our family's business.
"If it's only a meeting, why are you not letting me go with you?" I ask.
"His men tried to kill us a couple of times, so I'm not going to risk your life," my father says.
Okay. That's a fair reason to not let me go with him. However, they should still keep me updated about the Romanos. I'll do anything I've ever think of and torture all of them and let them have a painful death. Way more painful than the torture they've done to all of their victimes.
"Alright. I'll stay home, but just let me know about the updates on the Romanos, okay? No more secrets. I won't do anything as long as you let me know about everything," I say.
"I will, Sandra. We won't take long today. Just a couple of hours or so. We'll be back before dusk," my father says with a smile. I keep my gaze on him, not believing his words. I'll just let it slide for now. I'm too tired to argue with him.
"Okay," I say.
If they're not back after that, I'll go out and find them myself. I don't care about what his men going to do to hold me back from finding him and Dante.
"We're leaving now. Don't go anywhere," my father warns. I roll my eyes at him. I will definitely leave this damn house if you're not actually back by dusk, father. Don't fucking test my patience.
"Okay."
Once Dante and my father left the house, I went back to my room, sulking at the thought of my father and Dante leaving me. I have no other choice right now but to wait for them to come back from their so-called meeting. Hopefully, my father won't turn back against his own words and will be back home early instead.