Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“When my grandfather was growing up, Harbor Point was overrun by violence and corruption and poverty. Little by little, my grandfather, along with his friends, Antonio Russo and Joseph Rothschild Senior started cleaning up the city. They provided protection to businesses so they could run without fear of being pushed out or robbed. They swept the streets of the shady drug dealers and pimps, and my grandfather bought the port so he could control all import and export. Then, they started buying the run-down buildings and renovating them.”
“Rothschild and Russo?” I question, having heard those names before. “You mean Lorenzo and Anthony’s—”
“Grandfathers,” she finishes. “Though Antonio and Joseph Senior died at an early age from a heart attack and car accident, my grandfather didn’t die until he was in his eighties. By the time my grandfather was set to retire, he and his friends had transformed this city. North Harbor Point was thriving, and South Harbor Point was ten times safer.” She smiles thoughtfully, and it’s clear she was fond of her grandfather. “But my grandfather made the mistake of allowing Andrey to take over.”
I know from listening to Dominick that Andrey was their father, but they all refer to him by his name and not title.
“Most of his life, my father had been raised poor because it took years for my grandfather’s efforts to make a difference. But when he was older and my grandfather was making a good living, he got a taste of what money could do. He became greedy, thrived on power and control, and despite my grandfather warning him not to, he took the business to the next level, dragging Giuseppe and Joseph along with him. He allowed illegal importation, welcomed the drug dealers onto the streets, and gave the pimps the green light because it meant more money in his pocket.
“My grandfather couldn’t watch what Andrey was doing to the city that he and his friends had turned around, so he left for Russia …”
“That’s where you were,” I say, remembering Dominick went there and then came back with her.
“Yes, I lived there for a little over four years, until my grandparents passed away and Dominick made me come home.” She smiles sadly. “I missed my brothers and my mother, but I hate it here. I hate this house, even though it’s been renovated. I hate everything it represents. I hate this city. Everywhere I go, it reminds me of Andrey, and I hate him.”
“If you’re trying to convince me to stay, you’re not exactly painting the best picture,” I point out, and Brielle laughs.
It’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh, and when she looks at me with sparkling blue eyes filled with mirth, she’s even more beautiful, reminding me of Dominick during the rare moments when he lets his guard down.
“From the time Dominick was born, he was groomed to run Antonov Enterprises. Andrey hoped to create a carbon copy of himself, but when he realized that, despite his best efforts, his son actually had a heart and a conscience, he refused to give up his control. Matteo was too much of a wild card, and he hated that, even though Dominick and Matteo were vastly different, they were inseparable.”
She chuckles humorously and shakes her head. “Dominick and Matteo planned to take our father out, but he must’ve caught wind of it because he told them that if he died, the business would be left to his best friend and business partner, Giuseppe. He used the excuse that he wasn’t handing over the reins until Dominick married Daniella Russo, but everyone knew it was just his way of prolonging giving up his precious control.
“So, my brothers had to come up with another plan. For years, Dominick pretended to kiss his ass, and it paid off. About a year before Andrey died, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and updated his will so that Dominick would get everything should something happen to him.”
“The guy sounds like a real gem,” I mutter.
“However you’re imagining Andrey, he was ten times worse.” She swallows thickly and then locks eyes with me. “The reason I left was because he had forced me to have an abortion after finding out I was pregnant.”
Before I can hold back my reaction, I gasp and then cover my mouth.
“I was in love,” she admits, her gaze now faraway, like she’s somewhere else. “But I was promised to another man—Anthony Rothschild,” she says, “the asshole who tried to kidnap Damien. When he found out I was no longer a virgin, he raped me, and then a month later, I found out I was pregnant.
“When I told Andrey, rather than him be pissed that the son of his business partner had raped me, he told me I shouldn’t have been spreading my legs and then forced me to have an abortion. I didn’t know it at the time, but he must’ve told Anthony and his father because his father ended up killing mine.