Corrupted Values

Chapter Twelve - Sergio

A small gasp escapes my lips. I feel my heart thumping in my chest listening to his words.

“... What?” I ask as if I didn’t hear what he said.

“I’m your father.” He says, taking another step towards me “I'm sorry that it’s taken so long for me to say anything, but would you believe me if I said I got nervous?” He says, slightly smiling. I stand frozen taking in his words.

“Why now?” I ask without thinking.

“I’ll tell you everything, but not right now. Come to twenty-seven seventy-five Caldrew Drive. There’s a warehouse there we can talk at. Be there at eleven o’clock tomorrow morning.” He says, turning around and walking away before I could say anything else. I stand there for a few minutes taking in everything. Slowly, I walk inside and go up to the apartment. I walk in and see Remi sitting at the counter in the kitchen.

“Oh hey, I was wondering when you’ll be back… Are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” She says in a worried voice. She gets up and walks over to me.

“I guess in a way I did.” I say staring at the floor.

“What do you mean?” She asks. Just as I go to answer, I hear a knock at the door. Remi walks around me to open it. Standing in the doorway is a girl holding a few bags. She has make-up running down her face like she's been crying for hours.

“Avery? Wh-what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in months.” Remi asks, pulling her inside and closing the door. Avery breaks down into Remi’s arms and they fall to the floor together. After calming down a little, she looks up at me through teary eyes and her brows furrow in confusion.

“...Who are you?” She asks in a stern but sad tone.

“I’m Azzy. Remi’s friend and roommate. Who are you?” I ask curiously.

“Avery. Remi’s friend and old roommate.” She answers coldly, wiping away her tears with a sniffle. They both stand up and Remi puts her hand on Avery’s shoulder.

“Why are you here? You don’t live in New York anymore. It must have taken a while for you to come all this way.” Remi states, looking down at her.

“Taylor and I got into another argument and he completely over-reacted over nothing!” She frustratingly exclaims.

“I always said that you should leave him. I just don’t think he’s right for you," Remi says while crossing her arms.

“But I love him!” She harshly responds.

“So what are you going to do then?” Remi asks in a concerned voice as she lets out a sigh.

“I was thinking I could stay with you for a couple of days or so… I want to piss him off and show that I don’t need him all the time, y’know?” She says as she walks around me and sits on the couch, making herself right at home.

“... Would you mind Azzy?” Remi whispers to me. I look at Avery before looking back at Remi.

“I guess not.” I quietly say back and smile. I turn and walk down the hall to my room. I haven’t slept in my own bed in days and I miss it. I wash all my bedding quickly before I change into blue shorts and a white tank top. I flop down into my freshly cleaned pillows and blanket. I lay in bed thinking about what my father will have to say to me after all these years. Part of me is nervous but the other part of me is excited. Soon I let the darkness take over me and I fall deeply asleep.

I slowly wake up and stretch out my arms. I look at the clock and see it’s only eight thirty. I roll onto my back and stare up to the ceiling. Thoughts of my father flood my mind. Should I go see him? Why now? I ask myself. I get up and walk out to the kitchen, seeing that Remi is asleep on the couch. I laugh thinking about how just the night before it was me in the same position. I look in the kitchen for what to make, deciding to make french toast. I get the eggs and bread out and start cooking. Soon the apartment fills with the smell of freshly cooked french toast. I start to wash up at the sink facing the living room.

“Mmm. I do love the smell of your cooking in the morning.” Remi says as she gets off the couch and takes a seat at the counter across from me.

“You don’t miss cold pizza?” I ask, laughing quietly.

“Always trying to put down the pizza, huh?” She says, crossing her arms and pouting.

“I always prefer a hot and fresh breakfast. That's all I’m saying.” I say putting my hands up in surrender. We both laugh.

“Where’s Avery?” I ask turning to flip over another piece of french toast before turning back to Remi.

“She’s still sleeping. Not everyone gets up before nine.” She says, rolling her eyes.

“True, and hey, I gotta go somewhere this morning by the way. I’ll be back later.” I say placing a plate of french toast with strawberries and syrup in front of her. She cuts a big piece and takes a bite.

“You better! Who else would make breakfast if not you?” She says, taking another bite. I bring my plate and sit next to her.

“Oh… Well I just thought you could go back to cold pizza if I’m not back tonight.” I say, taking a bite of french toast and smirking at her. She drops her fork from her mouth and whips her head to face me, furrowing her eyebrows at me in annoyance.

“I’m just kidding.” I say laughing and nudging her shoulder playfully with my hand.

“You better be.” She says, digging into her plate again. We eat and talk till it’s ten. I clean up a bit before going to the bathroom to start getting ready. I brush my hair and teeth before going to my room to change. I pull on some ripped blue jeans and a black crop top. Before I walk out to the front door, I put on some socks and runners. I quickly grab my keys and head out the door. On my way down the stairs, thoughts run through my mind about what it's going to be like talking to Sergio after all this time. I walk outside the building to see a black car and a man standing out front.

“Miss Selvera?” The man asks emotionlessly.

“... Yes?” I answer hesitantly.

“Your father sent me to pick you up. Get in.” He says as he opens the door. I look around before reluctantly getting in. I pull on the seat belt and watch out the window, watching all the tall buildings go by. We drive around just taking random turns and driving in circles before driving for forty minutes and pulling up to a big white warehouse. I get out and look around. It looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere, which is surprising since we live in New York.

“Ahh, Azaliah.” His voice speaks. I look up to see him walking towards me. Now seeing him in more light, I can see he’s decently tall and has a muscular build for an older man. He has light brown eyes and black hair with grey strands mixed in. He’s wearing a dark dress coat and pants with a grey undershirt and black shoes.

“Hi…” I say, not really knowing what to call him.

“I wasn’t sure you would come, but I'm glad you have.” He says happily.

“The warehouse is in the middle of nowhere, and there's only forest for as far as I can see. Why did I have to come all the way out here?” I ask looking around.

“I had to be sure no one would know we met up. No one can know I’ve come out of hiding.” He says, walking towards a big metal door and sliding it open.

“Oh okay. Makes sense why the driver took so many random turns.” I say, following behind him. I walk through the big door and see metal heavy duty pallet racks full of crates.

“What do you do?” I ask curiously, looking up at him.

“I import and export weapons.” He answers, walking up the metal stairs while I follow closely behind. We come to a stop at the top of the stairs and go to the railing.

“This will all be yours,” He says. I look around and furrow my eyebrows in confusion by what he means.

“What do you mean?” I ask looking up at him again.

“You're the heiress to the Selvera Mafia and it’s about time you find out what it means to be a part of this.” He says, smiling down at me.

“I’ve never asked to be a part of this world,” I say nervously.

“I’m going to teach you how to be strong. You will be highly trained by the best I have. You'll learn to shoot, hand-to-hand combat, and how to run the mafia. It’s your birthright, and you could become queen of the underworld with your own mafia standing behind you.” He says, walking away and sitting on a black leather couch.

“But you kill people. You import and export illegally… I’d become a criminal.” I say in a worried voice. I turn and sit on the couch opposite to him.

“I know this is a big change from the life you’ve lived. I know it’s not going to be easy, but being a part of this world is in your blood… And you won’t be alone. I'll be there every step of the way." He reassures me with a confident smile.

"We could finally be together, and I will teach you everything I know.” He finishes in an eager voice, leaning forwards.

“Was mom a part of this world?” I ask anxiously.