Revenge Is Mine

11: The Crumbling Castle

Marco Mancini

I walked into my penthouse, feeling like a king. The door clicked shut behind me, blocking out the noise of the city. I loosened my tie and let out a long, satisfied breath. Viviana Marino was exactly what I needed. She was beautiful, incredibly rich, and, best of all, interested in me. I could see it in her eyes across the restaurant table.

"Where have you been?"

The angry voice cut through the quiet luxury of the penthouse. I stopped taking off my jacket and looked toward the living room.

Alesia was sitting on the sofa. She was wearing a short robe and holding a half-empty glass of wine. Her makeup was slightly smeared, and her eyes were glaring at me with pure venom.

"I was at a business dinner, Alesia," I said walking over to the bar to pour myself a drink. "I told you this morning."

"A business dinner that lasted until midnight?" she snapped, standing up. She walked over to me, her bare feet slapping against the floor. "I called you six times, Marco! Six times! You ignored every single one of my calls. Were you really just talking about business, or were you sleeping with that woman?"

I rolled my eyes, feeling a sudden wave of annoyance. When we first got together behind Chiara's back, Alesia was fun and exciting. Now, she was just becoming a headache.

"Stop being so clingy," I sighed, taking a sip of my whiskey. "I am trying to secure a fifty-million-euro investment to keep our lifestyle afloat. The last thing I need is my phone ringing off the hook because my girlfriend is feeling insecure. I was handling important business. Act like a grown woman and let me work."

Alesia's face turned bright red. She opened her mouth to scream at me, but I just held up my hand, cutting her off.

"I am tired, Alesia," I warned her, my voice dropping to a low, commanding tone. "I am going to sleep. Do not ruin my good mood."

I walked past her, leaving her standing alone in the living room. I didn't care that she was angry.

My good mood did not last.

The very next afternoon, I was sitting in my office, going over the final drafts of the investment contract, when the doors to my penthouse suite slammed open.

I jumped out of my chair. Alesia stormed into the room, she looked like a complete disaster."She is a b***h!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, throwing her expensive purse across the room. It hit the wall and crashed to the floor. "She is a stuck-up, arrogant b***h!"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, walking around my desk. "Who?"

"Viviana Marino!" Alesia shrieked, her hands shaking with rage. "I went to her office to tell her to stay away from you. I told her exactly who this company belongs to. And do you know what she did? She insulted me! She called security and had me dragged out of the building like a common criminal!"

The blood completely drained from my face, and my heart stopped beating for a full second. The room suddenly felt cold.

"You did what?" I whispered.

"I put her in her place!" Alesia yelled, tears streaming down her face. "She thinks she can just come in here and take you away from me? I am permanently banned from the building, Marco! You have to call her right now and…"

"Are you insane?!" I exploded. The volume of my voice made Alesia take a step back in fear. I grabbed the edge of my desk, trying to stop the room from spinning. "Do you know what you have done?!"

"I was protecting us!"

"You just attacked the woman who is about to give me fifty million euros!" I screamed, feeling panic clawing at my throat. "I got her to agree, and you go to her office and throw a jealous tantrum? Are you trying to destroy me?"

Alesia crossed her arms. "She is using the business to get to you!"

"I don't care if she wants to marry me!" I yelled back. "I need her money! If she pulls out of this deal because of you, we are both completely dead!"

I didn't have time to deal with her stupidity. I grabbed my car keys off the desk, I had to go to Viviana's office right now. I had to apologize, buy her flowers, buy her diamonds… whatever it took to fix this mess. I ran out of the penthouse, leaving Alesia crying, completely unaware of the absolute disaster she had just caused.

I failed.

The morning after my desperate, panicked attempts to reach Viviana, I finally got an audience with her and it was the worst meeting of my entire life.

I burst back into my penthouse, my hands trembling uncontrollably. I ripped my tie off my neck and threw it on the floor. I was sweating so much that my shirt was sticking to my back. I walked straight to the bar and poured a massive glass of vodka, drinking it down in one burning swallow.

"Marco?" Alesia walked into the living room.

I turned around and glared at her. My chest was heaving, I wanted to strangle her. "The deal is paused!" I screamed, throwing my empty glass at the wall. It shattered into a hundred pieces, making Alesia scream and cover her face.

I paced across the room, my mind racing a million miles an hour." You are part of the reason this deal is messed up, I need that money for something, Alesia!" I yelled, "That money was to clear the debts of the mafia. Our lifestyle... the penthouse, your diamonds, the yacht rentals in Monaco... it was too expensive. The company wasn't making enough legitimate profit. So, I used some of the money I was supposed to be cleaning."

"You stole from the mafia?" Alesia asked, her voice dropping to a terrified whisper.

"I borrowed it!" I shouted defensively. "I just needed a little bit to keep up appearances! I was going to put it back! That is why I needed Viviana's fifty million euros! I was going to take her money, invest it, make a massive gain on a new property development, and use the profits to quietly replace the missing mafia money before they noticed!"

I fell onto the sofa, dropping my head into my hands. My whole body was shaking. "But now Viviana has paused the investment," I groaned, feeling sick to my stomach. "She is demanding I explain those exact accounts."

I looked up at her, my fear turning into pure, blind rage. "And this is all your fault!" I pointed a shaking finger at her. "Viviana had the money ready! But you had to go and act like a crazy, jealous b***h! You made her look closer! You ruined my life!"

Alesia's face hardened. "Don't you dare put this all on me," Alesia spat, pointing her own finger right back at my chest. "You are the one who stole from the mafia. You are the one who is too weak to manage your own money. Do not treat me like I am just some stupid girl you can push around."

"You are stupid!" I yelled.

"I helped you!" she screamed back, "Have you forgotten how you got this company in the first place, Marco? Have you forgotten whose idea it was to cut the brakes on Chiara's car? I helped you get rid of your wife! I stood by you while she burned so that we could have this empire together! We have equal rights to this life!"

"You promised me we were partners but the second Viviana Marino walked into town with her fancy suits and her millions, you pushed me away like trash. You brought this on yourself!"

"I am trying to keep us alive!" I roared, standing up so I was towering over her. "You have messed up everything! What part of 'the mafia is going to kill us' do you not understand? If Viviana does not give me that money, we are dead!"

We stood there, glaring at each other, both of us breathing heavily."Then she has to give us the money," Alesia said quietly.

"Are you deaf?" I threw my hands up in frustration. "She froze the accounts! She won't do the deal!"

"Marco," Alesia said, her voice turning completely flat and serious. "If she is the only thing standing between us and getting killed, then we don't ask nicely anymore. If you are so sure you only want to do business with Viviana, then I can help you."

I frowned, my anger pausing for a second. "Help me do what?"

"I will help you ruin her," Alesia said."

I stopped pacing. "What?" I asked.