After Bleeding Me for Two Million, My Brother Dragged Me to the Family Council
The first thing my brother did after returning from his studies in Europe was drag me before the family council.
I ran the rundown bar our Capo father left me, stocking shelves at dawn and scrubbing counters past midnight. I even took on debt from loan sharks to keep him afloat.
"Just one last time," he always promised over the phone. "I'll pay you back once I marry rich."
But today, a summons from the family arrived at his request. It demanded I be stripped of my birthright and forced to hand over the bar and our territory.
My phone pinged. A photo flashed on the screen: my brother in a silk shirt, sitting close to a woman, her hand digging into his thigh. The message followed: Meet my fiancée, the daughter of the Valenti family boss and their Chief Legal Counsel. She says you don't stand a chance.
I stared at that hand for a long, long time. Then I crouched down and pried open the hidden compartment beneath the bar.