The Man Behind the Smile

006

​The question hung in the air like a sharp knife.

​"Tell me, my dear," Don Vincenzo Valerius asked softly, tilting his head with a cold, terrifying curiosity. "How did your parents die, and where?"

​The dining room went completely quiet. Even the sound of dishes from the kitchen stopped. Toffa, the big scar-faced guard sitting in the corner, kept his massive hands flat on the table, his cold eyes watching me like a hawk. Across the table, Vinny Jr. stopped playing with his knife, grinning like a madman as he waited to see me fall apart.

​My heart beat so hard against my ribs I thought it would break out of my chest. I could feel Dante growing stiff beside me. His shoulder turned hard like steel. I knew he was ready to pull out a gun and shoot the whole room up right then and there.

​I couldn't let him do that. If he started a fight now, we would both die before we even reached the front door.

​I took a slow, deep breath. I made my face look sad instead of scared. A smart person doesn't show panic when a wolf corners them. You act weak until you find a stone to hit him with.

​"A car accident, Mr. Valerius," I answered. I let my voice break a little bit so I sounded weak and broken, playing the part of the helpless girlfriend Dante said I was. "It happened on the old road outside the north district. A big storm hit, the car slipped on the ice, and we fell over the bridge into the river."

​I looked down at the heavy silver ring on my finger the ring that belonged to Dante's mother, Elena.

​"They never found their bodies," I whispered. That part was true, and it made the lie hurt even more. "Just the wrecked car. I was fourteen years old. That was the day my whole world ended."

​Nobody spoke for three long seconds.

​Don Vincenzo didn't even blink. He leaned back slowly in his big leather chair, putting his hands together under his chin. His dark eyes looked at every part of my face, searching for a twitch or a drop of sweat to prove I was lying.

​"A sad story," Vincenzo said, but his voice was cold and empty. It sounded like a doctor looking at a bug under a glass. "Ice and water take everything if you aren't strong enough. Right, Dante?"

​Dante didn't look at his father. His jaw was locked tight. He turned his head toward me and put his warm hand over mine, holding my fingers tight to calm me down.

​"Leave it, Father," Dante said. His voice was low and dangerous, making even Vinny Jr. stop smiling. "You brought us here for dinner, not to question my personal life like a judge. Lyra’s past has nothing to do with your business."

​"Everything in this city has to do with my business, my boy," Vincenzo answered smoothly, a dark, ugly smile in his dead eyes. "I just wanted to know what kind of girl my son brought home. A man like Dante cannot afford weak links. A fragile flower from a broken home... it is so easy for a flower like that to break under our world's pressure."

​"She is not fragile," Dante snapped back. He squeezed my hand so hard the silver ring pressed into my skin. "And she belongs to me. If anyone tries her, they will try me."

​The air in the room got so hot and heavy it felt like stone.

​Toffa shifted in his seat, his scarred face staying blank, but his hand moved closer to his jacket pocket. Vinny Jr. couldn't keep his mouth shut. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, looking between Dante and me with a sick, laughing look.

​"Relax, Cousin," Vinny Jr. laughed, his voice loud and annoying. "The old man is just checking on you. We wouldn't want another... accident... happening to someone close to the heir, right? Especially after what happened to your mother all those years ago."

​The moment Vinny said those words, the room turned ice cold.

​Dante didn't yell. In a flash, he stood up so fast his heavy chair fell backward onto the marble floor with a loud crash. Before Vinny could blink, Dante jumped across the corner of the table, grabbed Vinny by the silk collar, and slammed his face down hard onto the wood. Silver plates and wine glasses went flying everywhere.

​"Say one more word about my mother, you piece of trash," Dante growled. His voice shook with pure rage as he pressed the sharp stem of a broken wine glass right against Vinny’s neck. "And I will cut your tongue out right here on this table."

​"Dante! Stop!" Don Vincenzo shouted, but he didn't even stand up. His voice had the power of an absolute king. "Enough of this childish anger. Let him up. He is family."

​"He is an idiot," Dante hissed. He held Vinny down for one more second before shoving him hard back into his chair. Vinny crashed backward, gasping for air and holding his bruised throat.

​Dante turned around, breathing hard, his dark eyes burning like fire. He grabbed my arm gently and pulled me up from my seat.

​"We are leaving," Dante announced, staring down the long table at his father. "Your house stinks, Father. We aren't staying for dessert."

​Don Vincenzo didn't look mad at all. A slow, bad smile spread across his face as he watched his son get so angry over a girl he supposedly met in a bookstore.

​"Very well, Dante," Vincenzo said softly, shaking the wine in his glass. "Take her home. Cool your hot head."

​As Dante pulled me away from the table, walking me fast toward the big front doors past Toffa and the shaking Vinny Jr., Don Vincenzo’s raspy voice called out one last time, stopping us right at the door.

​"Dante!"

​We stopped. Dante's back went stiff as wood.

​"Bring her back next week," Vincenzo called out, his voice sweet like poison. "We are having a family dinner. I want my future daughter-in-law to meet the rest of the family. Don't let me down."

​Dante didn't answer. He shoved the heavy oak doors open, pulling me out into the cold rain and the black SUV waiting outside, running away from the monster's house. But as the car sped away into the dark night, I knew one thing for sure:

​Don Vincenzo didn't believe our lies at all. He was setting a trap, and next week, we were walking right back into the Lion's den.