Chapter 201 The Man they tried to Bury
Gabriel's POV
The room is still in chaos when I slide in through the door. No one notices that someone has entered at first because their attention is on her . My daughter,who stands gloriously powerful and defiant on the podium . UNAFRAID , HANDS ON HER HIPS , UNYIELDING!
Just as a princess should be. Their loud whispers fill the room questions coming from all angles shock and disbelief written on every face in the room .That's truth for you, if it's served in a rush you may almost choke on it. I move forward my steps unhurried, time spent in the dungeon has taught me how to move silently and patience
But you see today?
Today I am not going to be silent any longer. I look around the sea of faces, some of them I recognise and some I do not until I find the one I am looking for-
My nephew
Thomas Sirrano .
His eyes meet mine and it widens with recognition as all his blood drains from his face once more.
“It can’t be” He whispers softly . He looks like he has seen the dead come back to life. I walk towards the podium and climb it.I feel a few gazes on me but I ignore them. As silence falls in the conference room again. All eyes are on me now, some faces show confusion .Some show disbelief and for some like Anto something darker flickers in their midst
Fear….
I let out a deep breath adjusting my tie, as my gaze returned to Thomas once more . He shifts uneasily in his seat , just a slight move but I notice it. I can see everything from up here. .
The way he clenches his jaw tight.The way he holds his cane as if it's his lifeline . My lips twitch not in a full blown smile but I am amused by his reaction.
“It's not possible.” one of his cronies Marco Vitelli whispers from the far right
“Ah yes Marco”
He was probably one of the people that helped spread the lies about my so called death.
I step closer to the edge of the podium, the room seems to be in suspense as everyone holds his breath waiting to hear what I have to say and I do not disappointment after all I have been waiting for this chance for sixteen years.
“There is something I find very interesting.” I finally say breaking the ice ..
No one answers, not even Thomas he can't speak . Seems to still be in shock.
“You all spread the rumours about me being gone …”I pause adjusting my cufflinks for a moment.
“That I was dead at sea.” I tilt my face towards Thomas studying him the way a hunter studies his prey before taking the deadly shot .
“And you eagerly believed them.’
He swallows hard ..
I smirk “After everything you did to my wife and daughter..that assumption was your greatest mistake.”
The room is as silent as a burial ground now
\-Which is apt since we are burying lies ain't it ?
I walk down the podium taking calculated steps to Thomas who is seated in the second aisle , close enough to see his forehead is full of sweat. Close enough to notice his Adams apple bobbing up and down nervously , close enough to notice just how tightly he is holding his cane .
“You see my nephew.”I continue raising my voice so that every single person in the room can hear me
“You tried to erase my family.” My eyes harden as I have a flash of what I endured in he dungeons.I watch as guilt flickers against his features for a moment before it disappears .I lean in close enough for my words to land as a sucker punch
“Unfortunately you miscalculated.”
I pause , just long enough for the entire room to be hooked on every word “You wanted to bury me.” and I lower my voice to almost a whisper then I straighten suddenly.
"But you did not know that I was seed"
I watch him.squirming in his chair and satisfaction fills my heart .
Let him squirm .
For nearly two decades ( sixteen years) I was shut in a dungeon with barely enough food and water. Only my will to escape one day kept me digging the hole under my bed.Anybody else would have wallowed in pity while you all ,My so called family treated my wife and daughter as scum and lived comfortably.
I scowl at him "Why didn't you for a second look into it Thomas ? Did you really want me gone so badly?”
“Did you forget how resilient we are ? Didn't you know I would never go down easily without putting up the fight of my life ? Or were you all too busy enjoying our wealth to bother?”
He gulps hard, opening and closing his mouth like a fish with no words coming out .
“I had properties, lands ,you kept my family from it all. You swallowed everything and you watched my Wife and daughter work themselves to the ground until she gave up.”
I shake my head in disgust , “You all were just eating what you did not sow and tonight.”
I pause straightening my shoulders for a moment letting the tension raise as every single person in the room feels the power shift.
“Your time has run out, You all do not get to decide what happens to my family- My daughter any longer”
“You can no longer twist the narrative.” I add slowly
“Butt- .” he stammers unable to form a defence
I don't allow him to continue waving my tight fists at him “Everything you have now Thomas , was probably my own first And I have come back to take what is rightfully mine !”
He flinches as he shifts his chair back closer to Andre, his right hand man. Behind me the attention seems to be returning to Alessia and Alex and I turn around to face her.
My greatest accomplishment
Alessia Molano
She is a picture of survival, the real picture of a seed that not only survived but yielded the strongest fruit! I give her a nod, then I face the room once more . So they can understand the dynamics. My family tried to erase my existence and now I stand with my Daughter and The Ferrini’s.
This time around ?We will not be crushed . Rather we will do the crushing if need be.