Chapter 17 - Severing Ties
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Richard laughed, a harsh, condescending sound.
“Queen of the pack? Don’t be ridiculous, Nora. You’re a placeholder. Once Arthur is dead, his lieutenants will tear you apart for the assets. You need us. You need my connections to secure your position.”
“Your connections?” Nora mocked softly. “The same connections that put you three million dollars in debt to a man who tried to kill my stepchildren yesterday?”
Diane crossed her arms, dropping the affectionate mother act entirely.
“Don’t be stupid, Nora. We know about the trust. Sign over thirty percent of the Costa liquid assets to us, and we will protect you when Arthur falls.”
Nora looked at the two people who had raised her. She felt absolutely nothing for them. No loyalty. No love. No fear.
“Silvio,” Nora called out without turning her head.
The burly underboss stepped out of the shadows, his hand resting casually on the butt of his pistol. “Yes, Mrs. Costa?”
“My father seems to have forgotten the terms of his contract. If he and my mother are ever seen within five miles of this estate, or if they ever utter my name again in public...”
Nora turned her cold, dead eyes back to Richard.
“You have my permission to put them in the ground.”
Richard paled, stumbling backward. “Nora, you wouldn’t dare. We are your blood!”
“My blood was spilled yesterday protecting my real family,” Nora said, tapping the bandage on her arm. “You are nothing to me. Get out of my house.”
Silvio stepped forward, gesturing to the door. “You heard the Boss’s wife. Walk.”
Richard and Diane looked at the armed guards, realizing they had horribly miscalculated. They turned and practically ran out of the front doors.
Nora stood perfectly still until the heavy oak doors slammed shut.
“You handled that well,” a small voice said.
Nora turned around. Leo was standing in the doorway, wearing his school uniform, having watched the entire confrontation.
“They were bad people,” Leo noted, walking into the room.
“Yes, they were,” Nora admitted softly.
May you like
Leo looked at the bandage on her arm, then up at her face. He reached out and awkwardly patted her uninjured shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Leo said. “You’re a Costa now anyway.”
