“There’s a reason I could never kill him, but I’m pretty sure he was building up every reason to kill me. I’m surprised that he wasn’t thankful you tried to sort his every problem with the delinquent in the family. I mean, what you did, Giovanni, really, really proved how expendable we all are.”
“I could never have done that to you,” my father argues, sidestepping Enzo to face me wholly. "There’s a reason I never killed you either, bambina! I never could."
"Well, aren't you an honorable fucking man!" I exclaim, my tone weighted with a flood of sarcasm. "Should I be grateful you’d rather throw me to the dogs instead of killing me? Because, if I'm honest, at time killing me would have done me a world of good!"
“Amelia,” he responds, wounded by my words. “Don’t ever say that.”
“This life, the one you forced upon me, isn’t made for me, Sal. You never saw it before, but I hope to God you see it now. You stole my innocence from me, you tried to steal my happiness too, and it’s now because of you that my brother was stolen from me.”
“I didn’t kill him,” my father defends him.
“But you might as well have,” I respond, spitefully lashing at him once more. I feel my body sway, my adrenaline dwindling, absolving down from its climatic fight. I’m now left with my own persistence to not give up.
“Lia, I think it’s time you stepped down,” Enzo says, coming toward me. “You don’t have the strength for this.”
“I don’t care. This needs to be said,” I snap, pushing him away from me. I can feel that Zane has stepped closer; my body reacts to the protection he offers by being closer. “He needs to learn how he has no hope in hell in keeping this family intact anymore. We will never be that again and he needs to see how he managed to help make that so.”
“If I’m honest,” Giovanni pipes up, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s now gotten over his sniveling self and is trying in vain to bring back his old persona. “Someone’s kept well out of this.” He turns to face us all, but his gaze continues until he lands on the one person he wants to hear from most. “Carlo, you’ve been awfully quiet during this moment of total Abbiati defamation. Why not have your say?”
“It’s not needed,” Carlo gruffly replies.
“Oh yes, it is!” Giovanni announces, admonishing Carlo’s claim. “The quiet ones usually have the best to say. Manuel always did, so why not you?”
That final comment riles Carlo. He steels his emotions, trying to gravitate his anger away from the surface, but it doesn’t appear to be an easy feat and he quickly gives up.
“Fine,” he sighs, stepping forward to make sure Giovanni and our father get a good look at him as he prepares to speak. “I’m just disappointed in the family I kept myself a part of. Not for Enzo or Amelia or even Bruno, but for sticking around to watch us reach such a horrific turning point.” Carlo’s voice is rugged and dense with harsh emotion that he never usually shows easily. He narrows his firm gaze upon our father and I see a change in Carlo. It’s remarkably like the one I had when I came home. “Look around, Sal. Look what you had a hand in doing to your daughter. Costello loved his daughter to the point he'd kill for her. Rossi does everything to keep his daughters away from the horrors he grew up in. Everyone adored their daughters, but you got power hungry. You sold yours out and never wanted to bring her back. You just wanted to extort her and think she’ll always be here. Now that she’s cutting loose, you still can’t see what’s causing her to run.” Carlo’s face reddens as he speaks, his gaze fixed on our father.
“Real Italian fathers protect their own, Sal, and while you were exploiting yours all around Manhattan and the Amalfi Coast, Enzo was playing the role you were always meant to fucking assume! So I’m with Amelia on this one. Don’t think that, for one second, I’ll allow you to stand there and mourn for a son you were more than happy to lead down the same beaten track you made Amelia. You don’t deserve to feel bereavement like we do. Hell, you do not get to feel that heart stopping moment like I did when I found three of my family members mercilessly attacked by one of our own! That is a feeling you have no right to feel. Until you truly love that’s not something you get to share.”