DANTE'S POV
I should've known when Matteo came bustling through the house, his eyes wide anger and the first thing he did was to grab me by the neck and punch me in the face, I should've known really there was a possibility he'd find out especially when they were people like Gianna who had a secret vendetta against me.
"You knew – you've known all these fucking while and you didn't say anything" he roared angrily.
Yes I've know he's been my brother, my blood brother born of the same father but different mothers. I was no different than him right now when my father had brought him as a little kid to the house and called him my cousin.
"He's your Uncle Felix's son" he said that cold morning, strapping a gun to his waist
"Who's Uncle Felix?" I knew all my uncles but had never had met an Uncle Felix. '
"He's dead son, stay focused. You gotta take care of your little cousin while I'm out of the house, you hear me or I'm gonna shove my foot far up your ass and it's going to hurt" my father never requested anything, he laid threats and you better be scared.
It wasn't until a year later, I was ten and Matteo was well about six years, my father had gotten shot in a shoot out with a rival gang. He had at least made it to the hospital – just to die at least but he had grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me close to his strained breathing.
"He's actually your brother – take care of him like your own. Take care of your Matteo, he doesn't have to know shit, just take care of him. You're taking over son, you're the king now – act like one"
I was only ten years old.
I treated Matteo like my goddamn brother but I never told him he was actually one.
"You knew I was your brother, all these while and you never said a goddamn word about it. You fucking knew" he fumed still while Helena watched silently.'
"Telling you wasn't going to change anything, what does it even matter? I took care of you didn't I? I stuck my neck out for you, what does a fucking title change?"
"Everything Dante – what about my inheritance?"
I smirked, this is what this is about.
"What inheritance?" I decided to play coy but before he began to speak, I stopped him, I didn't want to involve Helena in any of this, she had enough on her plate and I wasn't going to add sibling chivalry to it.
"How about you go on ahead and I'll meet you in the car" I turned to her and she held my stare for a brief second, hesitation dancing in her eyes but finally she sighed and walked out the door.
Then I turned back to Matteo
"What inheritance Matteo?"
"Don't bullshit me Dante, Gianna told me everything" he started "This house, the company, the cartel of course I had a share in it and you greedy bastard took it all away"
"I didn't take anything away, I took care of you. I loaded your accounts so you could throw money on cars you were never going to drive, I made it so you didn't have to work a day in your life and what now I'm greedy?"
"Fuck!" Matteo yelled, running his hands through his hair and he began pacing the room. I could hear his hard breathing, I could see the flickering anger and betrayal in his eyes.
"I wanted to work Dante, I begged you for years to give me a spot in the cartel but you refused, why? Because you were scared I was going to find out?"
"I refused because you're an uncontrollable bastard who doesn't know how to use a gun"
"Bullshit" he countered "I know you Dante but you're greedy and I want what rightfully belongs to me, I want a share of my father's properties, I want what rightfully belongs to me"
"Or else what?" I countered back and it was turn to smirk.
"Don't make me fight you Dante, that's the last thing I want to do" he said, throwing me one last dirty look before he stalked out of the room leaving me now to brew in the heat of my own anger.
"Shit, shit shit" I kicked at an helpless stool that sat quietly in the corner and massaged my jaw, I don't know what it was but I am so damn fed up of people punching me out of the blue. But I would accept Matteo's but he was well in his right to be angry but I wasn't sure I could give up any percentage of the company or the cartel to him. I had grown the company with my own blood sweat and tears, I had gotten shot at, punched and nearly killed trying to hold the cartel down and keep the goods coming in and just like that I was supposed to give half of it to him, someone who had never worked a day in his life.
Hell no.
HELENA'S POV
I wasn't entirely sure of the whole story between Dante and Matteo but from what I gathered, it seemed like they had been brothers all these while and Dante kept it a secret solely for the reason that he didn't want to share the inheritance with anyone. But Dante wasn't saying anything, he had his jaw set in stone throughout the ride to the company, his neck as stiff as a stick and his eyes set on the road without even as much as a blink. Meanwhile I shuffled restlessly on my seat and at that point I didn't even want to go to the company anymore.
"How about you drop me off on the street here, I could take a taxi and go shopping" I said and he shot me a brief glance, his brows raised in confusion.
"Well I don't want to ride with your angry ass right now, and I really need some new boots, winter is coming" I said.
He sighed but he had to agree with me, he parked on the side of the road and I got down.
Immediately I stepped out of the car, I took out my phone and dialed Matteo's number, I wasn't expecting him to pick up but I just needed a bit of drama in my life to steer away the emptiness that was eating at me already, Matteo picked on the fifth ring.
"What do you want Helena? Your husband sent you to me?" he said into the phone and I sighed.
"Yea you wish, don't you? Let's go shopping for coats what do you think?"
"I don't wear coats" he shot back
"Well then come shop for mine with me" I said back "I'm on 24th street, meet me here in ten minutes" I clicked off the call