I can tell that I’ve angered him by the way his eyes flash and a hard look enters his eyes. Mr Bellini looks as if he may pass out and even his assistant appears to shrink in her seat.
Tobias also leans forward and snarls. “Do you take me for a fool, Angel?”
“Not at all, if anything, I think you are an extremely shrewd man.”
“Then do not insult my intelligence in this way.”
I make to speak but he silences me with one look. “Firstly, I repeat, my shares are not for sale. They never will be. Secondly, I do not agree that this company is in danger, if anything, you are poised on the edge of a very exciting new beginning.”
He laughs at the alarm on my face, as he says in a low voice. “You see, I have also been doing some digging and had a very interesting conversation with somebody very dear to you only this morning.”
The tension in the room is suffocating as he adds, “Your own mother, in fact.”
The alarm bells ring but I keep it to myself and face him with a cool expression. “I’m sure that was very um...nice for you both.”
“As a matter of fact, it was. You see, Angel, I believe in the importance of family. I believe you should look after your own and treat your parents with the respect they deserve. I believe in the power of family above everything and yet it appears it’s a sentiment you don’t share.”
“You know nothing about me.”
He laughs, but it’s cold and sinister and the hairs on my neck stand to attention.
“I know everything about you, Angel. I know the deal your father made to remove your lover from your life. I know he arranged for him to marry your sister to break your spirit. I also know that he was working on something that would move this company forward like a rocket launched into space. Yes, Angel, my shares will be worth billions by the time we have finished because this company is entering a brave new world and you want to leave me behind. Well, I don’t take kindly to be treated like a fool, Angel and you have just made your first mistake.”
My heart thumps inside me at an alarming rate but I don’t show how affected I am by his words. Instead, I shrug and say coolly, “Then your information should also have told you that I am undecided about my inheritance. You are right about my father wanting to break me, Tobias and for a while back there he did. However, like you, I place great value on family and believe loyalty is earned not inherited. I now have a new family who I would die for and it is them I owe my allegiance to. I believe you understand what I’m saying because I’m guessing your family is much the same. It’s my new family who will support me through this testing time and my birth family mean nothing to me. So, the decision is yours, sell to my new family and walk away with no hard feelings and the hand of friendship, or stay and deal with the fact that my family controls the majority of this company and do not need the money it brings. I’m in an emotional state, Tobias and am liable to sell up and take off and you may not like your new partners. My advice would be that you get out now while things are amicable because you won’t like me, or my family, when they are not.”
I grab my glass and take a sip of the cool water to try and extinguish the fire within me. I need to do this. I need to regain total control of this company because the thought of being in business with a crime family is not worth thinking of. I am doing this in Sebastian’s father’s memory because all the time Tobias Moretti sits across the boardroom table, it’s a reminder of why my father did what he did to both of us. Ryder has already offered to buy the shares and I know I have the Reapers full support with whatever decision I make.
However, Tobias is not a man who lets go so easily and says in a cold voice laced with steel and veiled threats, “I repeat, my shares are not for sale. You see, Angel, my conversation with your mother was extremely enlightening. She revealed that your father was determined to keep this as a family business. He was so disappointed not to have a son and heir to leave it to and had to make do with his daughters. He did not value you and so why should I? She also told me that there was a clause in the will that you couldn’t sell your share to anyone but family.”
He laughs as he sees the alarm in my eyes because this was something I did not know. “It appears that I’ve caught you off guard, Angel. Maybe you should have stayed and listened to the rest of the will that day, instead of leaving like the petulant child you are. You see, it’s all in the small print, my dear and so, when you have tired of playing with the big boys, you will be the one selling your shares and the only one who can afford them will be me.”
“You, I’m sorry, Tobias but by your own admission, you just said they can only be sold to family. How does that make you suitable?”
He stands and I watch as his companions do the same and move toward the door. Tobias smiles and I see the spark of victory in his eyes as he says in a hard voice, “Because I am to marry your sister.”
He says nothing else and just walks to the door and leaves without a backward glance. As the door closes behind him, it leaves nothing but shock and despair in the room behind it.
26
Sebastian
The silence left behind is deafening. Angel just stares at the closed door and then says in a trembling voice, “So, that’s it then.”
I stand and make my way toward her and hate the defeat in her eyes, mixed with hurt and pain and something else - resignation. I hate that look on her, so I say roughly, “He may think he holds all the cards but you are still the majority shareholder here. Your word goes and nothing will change. Tobias is just a minority shareholder and has no say in the running of this company.”
“For now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Think about it, Sebastian. Why would he want to marry Anastasia? It’s the company he wants, it’s obvious. Once he becomes family, as he puts it, the road is open to him taking control if I’m out of the way.”
“Out of the way?”
Her voice trembles and she looks scared. “Tobias is the mafia, Sebastian. It would be easy for him to arrange an accident or remove me from the situation, then he would gain overall control. This is a disaster and I can’t think why my mother and sister agreed to this.”
My head hurts as I see the truth in her words and say roughly, “I won’t let that happen, we will think of a way out of this.”
She drums her fingers on the desk and I watch her thoughts pass across her face. The fear is being overtaken by something else and as I watch in fascination, I see why I love her so much. When she raises her eyes, I see a different look in them as she says in a cold voice, “Maybe it’s time to pay my mom that visit I spoke about.”
“You, or us.”
“Us. It always was us and will be in the future. We’ll go and find out what the hell is going on and find a way to stop that wedding from ever happening.”
As I follow her out of the building, I wonder about Anastasia. I know she’s pissed that things never worked out between us but this… it doesn’t make sense. Why would she agree to such a marriage unless...?
“Do you think Anastasia is out for revenge?”
Angel voices the exact same words that run through my mind and I nod. “It appears so.”
“Does she hate us that much to sacrifice herself in this way?”
The sadness in her voice makes me stop in my tracks and pull her roughly against me. Angel is fighting her feelings in every way possible because despite the distance between them, they are still her family and it must hurt they are conspiring against her.
I pull her face to mine and say gently, “Whatever her reasons, she can be persuaded. I know you have a painful past with the people who should love you the most but now is not the time for recriminations. You need to build those bridges before they burn forever and whatever they say, you must consider the bigger picture.”
I kiss her gently on the lips and for a moment she clings to me like the vulnerable woman she is right now. As my arms fold around her in a ring of steel, I make a vow to prote
ct her at all costs. I may be up against a formidable adversary but I will die for this woman in my arms and do whatever it takes to make her happy.
She snuggles into me and I know she’s hurting badly. However, Angel has reinvented herself into a stronger woman and as she pulls back, I am happy to see the fire flashing in her eyes.
“They won’t beat us; I’ll make sure of it.”
Nodding, I return her expression with one of my own and say roughly, “After you, darlin’, it’s time to make a stand.”
We make the journey to her home and for once we are silent. There is no music playing and no gentle teasing between us. Angel is working out her battle plan and so am I. It will be interesting to see what the afternoon brings because there is too much at stake for us to fail.
As I bring the car to a stop outside Angel’s childhood home, she grins. “Well, here we are again but two very different people than were here last.”
Nodding, I reach across and grip her hand tightly. “You know I have your back, don’t you?”
“You always have, Seb.”
I look at her in surprise and note the mist in her eyes as she says softly, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For believing that you willingly chose my sister over me. I can see now that you did it to protect your father and buy us some time. Maybe if I had stayed, things would be very different now, so I just wanted to say, I don’t need to forgive you, Seb because there is nothing to forgive.”
I stare at her in shock and she smiles sweetly. “I love you Sebastian Stone, I always have and always will, for however long our lives will be.”
I almost can’t speak and fight the emotion inside me to bring her lips to mine and whisper, “I’ve always loved you, Angel. You and me were written in the stars. It was always going to be us and it always will be. Whatever happens with the company is irrelevant to me because as long as I have you, I have the world.”
As we share the sweetest kiss, my heart settles. We were always good together and now we will be a formidable team.
After one of the longest kisses we have ever shared, Angel pulls back and I note the brightness in her eyes and the flush to her cheeks. Laughing, she whispers, “Let’s get this over with because I’m kind of hoping you can show me how good we are together back at the cabin.”
Grinning like schoolkids, we exit the car and head toward the large imposing wooden door. It begins.
27
Angel
As always, Martha answers the door and I pull her in for a hug. “It’s good to see you, Martha.”
As she clings to me, I feel a surge of love for the woman I consider a much better mother to me than my own. “It’s good to see you too, Angelica.”
“Well, well, how touching, I wondered when you’d show up again.”
We pull apart and I see my mother’s icy glare stabbing me in the heart as she watches our public show of affection.
Gathering myself, I stare at her coolly, “Hi mom.”
She looks at Sebastian and sneers. “I’m surprised you’ve got the nerve to show your face around here. How could you dump the woman you were engaged to marry for five years and take up with her sister again?”
“That’s rich judgment coming from the woman who pulled us apart in the first place. What’s the matter Mrs. Johnson, are you such a sore loser you can’t even be happy for your daughter?”
“Loser?” She laughs bitterly. “I think you’ll find I’m looking at a couple of losers. So, what is it, did your meeting throw up a few surprises you want to check out? Well, maybe I will enlighten you, then again, maybe I’ll just leave you to figure it out on your own.”
She turns to Martha and barks angrily, “Martha, bring some refreshments to the living room, and don’t dawdle because they won’t be staying long.”
I feel angry at the way my mom speaks to Martha and make to defend her but Martha shakes her head and throws me an anguished look, so I bite my tongue and follow my hated mother into the living room.
As soon as we are seated, she snaps, “I take it you’ve had your meeting and now probably want answers, well, the fact is, he’s right about everything. When you implied you were leaving us with nothing, I took steps to protect our inheritance. Any sane person would do the same thing.”
“You think you’re sane?”
“Cut the smart replies, Angelica, remember who you are talking to. Well, to cut a long story short, I arranged my own meeting with Mr. Moretti because as the third shareholder, I knew he was my best option.”
She looks across at Sebastian and sneers. “Obviously the only other proposition had already changed sides and made his own decision, so you left me no choice. The only way we could buy you out of the company was for Anastasia to marry somebody with a vested interest in securing the shares. Mr. Moretti was our only hope, so I laid it on the line for him. I told him of your father’s plans to take the company into the future and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
I stare at her in shock and say disbelievingly, “You traded in your own daughter, for money!?”
Shrugging, she stops as Martha brings the refreshment into the room and waits until she leaves. It gives me time to let the news sink in and I look at Sebastian and see he has come to the same conclusion.
Mom hands us both a cup of coffee and says triumphantly. “Anastasia has always been a model daughter. She has always been willing to do what’s best for the family and so I knew she would agree. When I explained to Mr. Moretti what was at stake, he agreed to take her off my hands for the right to buy the company when the need arose.”
“The need?”
Her eyes flash and she sneers, “Yes, the need, Angelica. We both know at the first sign of trouble you’ll run right back to wherever you’ve been hiding. You have no understanding of the business you now own and no passion for it. You will soon get bored and then where will we be? No, I did the right thing for all our futures, not to mention the many workers you now employ. So, grow up and understand that I did this for us—the Johnson family and you should be thanking me.”
I stare at her in utter disbelief as she takes a sip of her coffee, looking extremely pleased with herself. Sebastian’s face is like thunder and from the looks of it, he could cut her dead with one look from the fire flashing in his eyes. For a moment words fail me and then I say in utter disbelief, “Do you know who you are dealing with, mom? Do you know that Tobias Moretti is the head of a mafia network that has crime running through their veins rather than blood? Do you realize what you’ve done, you stupid woman?”
My voice raises in decibels until I’m almost screaming at her. “You have just signed our death warrants because if you think Tobias Moretti will just sit back and let us run the show, you’re delusional. That man is wicked to the core and you have just given your daughter to him. Way to go mom, a job well done because dad will surely be turning in his grave. For your information, I made Tobias an offer to buy him out of the business. I was going to make a go of it for all of us and realize daddy’s dream of building the business into a billion dollar one. Both you and Anastasia would have been the beneficiary’s because I no longer care about the grudge I hold against you. However, in your mad scheming way, you’ve brought the whole thing crashing down you stupid, vain, egocentric, vapid, shallow bitch.”
Standing up, I feel myself shaking with anger and don’t miss the fear that now masks my mother’s face as I shout, “Where is Anastasia?”
“In her room but why?”
“Because I am going to try and talk her out of making the worst decision she will ever make. Somebody’s got to try and diffuse this situation because obviously you can’t be trusted.”
Without waiting for her reply, or even looking at Sebastian, I storm from the room and go in search of the sister I hate with all my heart but love in equal measures. I will not let her sacrifice herself to that... monster, if it’s the last thing I ever do.
28
Sebastian
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Mrs. Johnson looks as if she’s about to pass out, so I stand and pour her a glass of water and hold it out to her shaking fingers. “Drink this, you look in shock.”
She nods and for the first time in my life, I see that she’s a broken woman. I watch her with derision and she shakes her head. “Don’t judge me.”
“Why not, you’ve never done anything to make me think any better of you?”
I’m shocked to see the tears welling in her eyes as she whispers, “Mafia, is that really true?”
“Yes.”
I offer no other words of encouragement because Angel was right to tear her off a strip. She is wicked and was prepared to sacrifice the happiness of both her daughters for her own ends.
“How do you know?”
“How do you not know? It’s common knowledge. You obviously just see the successful, attractive business man that the press portrays. Obviously, you don’t read the harder press who often cast doubt on his business practices and throw a light on his more dubious activities. Your husband knew what he was, as did my father. Why do you think my father sold him those shares all those years ago?”
“Harvey told me he was weak and greedy and wanted the money.”
My voice is encased in ice as I hiss, “He was a good man. He may have had a problem, but he was never greedy. If anyone’s to blame, it’s you and your husband. You exploited his position and used it for your own gain. You wanted Angelica and me to break up but I never really understood why.”
Mrs. Johnson shrugs. “Because you took her virginity under this roof despite the trust we always showed you.”
I laugh bitterly. “Do you really expect me to believe that was the reason?”
I watch as she regains some of her fire and hisses, “We needed Angelica to be pure. If she fell in love it was going to be with a man we chose for her. Somebody worthy, with status and standing. Somebody who Harvey would be proud to call his son-in-law and somebody who would take the company to great heights. Not you. Not the son of a weak man with health issues. Not a scrap of a boy who couldn’t drag his mind from between our daughter’s thighs. No, you just weren’t good enough, so we intervened. We needed Angelica to hate you because ultimately that would make her stronger. That would make her receptive to our plans because all the time you were around filling her head with youthful, fanciful nonsense, she wasn’t becoming the daughter the company needed. Anastasia is and always was the spare. She was never as strong as Angelica and therefore the only way she could serve this family was to take you off our hands. She is the sacrifice we need to make to ensure all our futures. The fact she’s so dim-witted makes it easy.”
Breaking Beauty: A Second Chance Romance Page 13