Anya’s pov

                                  

    Three days had passed and the articles about  our family business were still very much alive and trending on the internet.

    We woke up to hungry journalists and bloggers churning the defamatory articles into new stories and spun webs of innuendo about my father each morning.

    A massive social media campaign had erupted,demanding that all Moretti industries be closed and my father investigated.

    Our mansion which used to be a haven now sat like a time bomb ready to explode.The frustration in the house was palpable.

    Dad paced the length of his office like a caged animal.

    His usual air of quiet power was fractured,replaced by a raw desperation.

    His tailored suit hung loosely on his broad frame ,a stark contrast to his usual impeccable appearance.

    Father had always been a man of power and seeing him reduced to this state gnawed at my insides.

    “Useless.”,dad roared sending the items on his desk skittering across the room.

    Stan flinched at his tone.

    “We will find them boss.Every stone will be overturned.”

    “That’s the only thing I have heard for three fucking days Stan.The commissioner is on my neck.He says we have until noon before the official announcement of the investigation goes viral.”dad spat out.

    “I need results Stan.And a freaking solution to this mess.This slander is crippling our business.Our rival companies are circling our investors like hyenas.We need to do something.Pay money to anyone.Offer them anything!”

    “Do what you must Stan or else we will go down!”

    Stan nodded and left.

    *****************************

    I watched the hands of the clock like my life depended on it.

    Well at this point it really depended on it.

    It was twenty minutes to noon and still there was no sign of Stan.

    Father was holed up in his office and his occasional outbursts and sounds of his fists on his desk indicated his presence in the house.

    Noise of commotion reached my ears making me stand abruptly from where I was seated.

    A guard pushed the door to the living room and stepped in.

    “Where’s the boss?”,he asked.

    “In his office.”,I replied.

    “What is the problem?”

    “He has a visitor.”

    Without a glance he made his way to fathers office.

    As I made my way back to my seat , the door creaked open to reveal the figure of an old man.

    His movements were swift despite the cane he held and I figured he didn’t really need it.

    His eyes swept across the room until they settled on me.

    They were the most piercing eyes to have ever held my gaze.

    Slowly a smile spread on his face.

    “ Anya Moretti”,he voiced out my name and it sent chills down my spine.

    There was something about the way it fell off his lips and the way his eyes roamed over my body.

    “Don Silva!”,my father’s voice rung from the stairs.

    We both turned in his direction and father’s face was void of the fury I had seen in the last couple of days.

    In its stead was the cold and calculating stare I was used to.

    “Salvatore Moretti.” Don Silva greeted,his voice a smooth baritone.

    “I apologise for the unorthodox visit.”

    I wondered at how he managed to switch voices so effortlessly.

    “Nice house and a very beautiful daughter I must say.The rumours didn’t lie.”he said with amusement dripping from his tone.

    The hairs on my neck rose as father turned to me.

    The air cackled with tension so thick that it felt almost tangible.

    “Anya to your room!”,father ordered .

    My legs obeyed automatically as I raced to my room.

    In my room,I quickly grabbed my phone and searched the name Don Silva.

    I gasped in surprise as I read.

    I had just survived an encounter with a mafia boss who wasn’t my father.

    He was the founder of the Silver Empire ,a rival company of ours and was also alleged to be a mafia don.

    What was he doing here then?

    Was he here to gloat because of dad’s predicament?, I thought to myself.

    There was only one way to find out.

    I snuck out of my room to the living room only to meet it empty.

    I turned and almost hit my mum in the process.

    “Why is Don Silva here?”,mum asked in a panicked voice.

    “I don’t know.Dad sent me out before 

  I could find out.”, I replied.

    “Listen to your father and stay in your room Anya.”

    “Okay “,I replied and headed back to my room unable to shake off the panic in mother’s voice.

    A knock sounded on my door startling me.

    “Miss Moretti,your dad wants you at the table for dinner.”,Varya our housekeeper said.

    “Dinner?”,I asked puzzled.

    “Yes miss.You slept through lunch.”,she responded.

    “Thanks Varya.I’ll be down in a minute.”

    “Shit!”,I cursed.

    I missed the afternoon news bulletin that was going to determine our fate.

    There was no time to find out from my phone.

    I knew better than to keep father at the table when he had sent for me.

    Brushing a comb through my ruffled hair I made my way down stairs to the table.

    “Anya ,sit!”,dad clipped.

    An odd feeling settled in my chest as I sat across my mother,beside my brother.

    “Hey.”,I whispered trying to get him to say something.

    He didn’t respond and continued to pick at his food.

    Something was off with the way mother avoided my eyes as she served my plate.

    And dad kept staring at me as if he was on the verge of saying something but never did.

    Dinner continued quietly at the table till Varya picked up the last dish.

    I waited for dad to excuse me so I could find out what the news bulletin had said about the investigation.

    Dad cleared his throat. “We need to talk to you.”

    “Okay.”, I said slowly.

    “You are getting married.”

    I gasped in surprise. Given the situation at hand I wondered why dad was announcing my marriage.I didn’t know a search for suitors for me had even started.

    Dad had other pressing matters to focus on and my marriage was definitely not a solution to any one of them.

    Unless it had to be……

    I stared at my father as the realisation hit me.