Inceptive

by M. D. Melai

  “I know who you are,” I said politely as I took a seat across the long, rectangular table. I was thankful for the much need space between us. It made me feel more comfortable and a smidge safer.

  “I see,” he said as he raised his eyebrow. “You know my son and daughter as well, so no introductions needed there. How about my men? This is—”

  “Mr. Heinrich, with all due respect, I didn’t come here to be introduced to your entourage. I came here, because you asked for this meeting, and I want to know why exactly that is. So if you don’t mind, can we skip the introductions?” I replied slightly aggressive.

  “Very interesting. You’ve got the Dapprima fire in your blood. I shouldn’t be surprised—you’re father had the same spirit.”

  “Which father would that be exactly? Massimo or Benito?” I taunted.

  His eyes became smaller as he was trying to process what I had just said. Then he slowly nodded as he realized that I knew the truth.

  “So, you know the truth now? It took them a while to tell you I presume.”

  “They didn’t tell me. I figured it out,” I replied. “But they did tell me something very interesting about you.”

  “Do tell,” he egged me on.

  “I just have one question for you.” I paused and dragged out the moment. Viktor was starting to get impatient the more I made him wait. “How do you live with yourself knowing that you killed your own daughter?” I asked slowly enough so that he could grab onto my every word.

  His lips shifted to the side before they curled up into a devious grin.

  I took my eyes off him to look at both Nikolas and Faith. Both of them looked confused. Nikolas was the first one to make the recognition—it took Faith a little longer to process the information.

  As Viktor’s lips stayed in a perfect grin, both Faith and Nikolas had their answer. Their own father had killed their sister.

  “Papa, please say it’s not true,” Faith spoke for the first time. “Tell me that she’s lying.”

  “I can’t do that,” Viktor said as he turned to Faith. I expected him to be more endearing toward her, but he was still as cold as stone.

  He turned back in my direction and glared at me in a way I had never seen anyone do before. He didn’t glare with his eyes, he glared with his soul.

  “So, I guess you’re wondering why?” he asked me.

  “I’m curious to hear your answer,” I replied.

  “It’s the same answer as to why I wanted to meet you. I didn’t expect to kill two birds with one stone today, but I guess with the turn of events, I will.”

  He paused for a moment, just like I had a few minutes ago. I could tell that he was going to drag this out as much as he could. The more impatient I got, the more his smile widened. Faith and Nikolas both sat there in shock, anticipating the next words from their father.

  “It’s quite simple actually,” Viktor began. “When Adela was born, my father and mother set up a trust fund in her name that wouldn’t mature until she was eighteen. So, when the time came that she could access her fund, I told her that some of the money needed to go into the family business, but she refused. She didn’t believe in the type of things we did, which is odd because she married into your family.”

  “Wait,” I said, stopping him in the middle of his story. “You killed your own daughter, because she wouldn’t give you the money that was rightfully hers?”

  “More or less,” he responded. “See the trust fund was originally supposed to be in my name, but my parents felt that I didn’t deserve such an amount, so they put it in Adela’s name instead.”

  “I can understand that after what your mother has told me about you,” I replied spicily.

  For the first time since our meeting, I saw a hint of shock on Viktor’s face. I could tell that statement had hit a nerve.

  “So,” he started, “you’ve met my mother?”

  I gave him my own devious grin. “I met her when I was in Europe. She’s a lovely woman. How she was cursed with such a greedy son, I’ll never know.”

  I saw one of the guys in the corner step forward, and Lorenzo shifted to move forward, before Viktor put up one of his hands to stop his man. Lorenzo stood steady by my side.

  “We’re fine,” he spoke before his man retreated. “I’m sure she had many lovely things to say about me,” he said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

  “She said all you care about is money and family be damned,” I responded.

  “Wrong,” he said forcefully. “All I care about is power, and your family has a lot of the power in this city right now. What is the number one resource for taking something so powerful over?”

  “Apparently killing anyone who might get in your way,” I said sternly.

  “Money,” he said as if it was obvious. “That along with information are the greatest assets anyone can use to gain control.”

  “All you just said to me was exactly what I just said—who cares about your family as long as you have what you want?” I asked.

  “Precisely,” he admitted.

  I was sure my face mirrored Nikolas’s and Faith’s as they took one long confusing look at their father. They knew exactly what I knew—that from now on their own lives were at risk if they got in Viktor Heinrich’s way.

  “So what does this have to do with me?” I asked.

  “I knew that if Adela was dead, the money would be handed back over to me. But the one thing I didn’t take in to account was you. She had transferred the money in to your name. I didn’t even find out until after her death. You’re the sole person who can access that account, now,” he said before he paused. “I’m sure you can figure out where I’m going with this.”

  “You want me to turn all the money over to you?” I asked. “Why would I do that?”

  “Because, I’ve already taken away Adela, Roman, and Massimo. Shall we play Russian Roulette to see who’s next?” he asked. “I’m thinking one of your lovers...Emilio first, perhaps? But then again, killing Lucas would mean one less person on my list.”

  I tried not to show any fear, but Viktor was starting to wear me down.

  “Struck a nerve, huh?” he laughed. “I thought so. Emilio did a number on Nikolas, and a couple of my men a few weeks ago. And Lucas turned his back on me, which is something no one does.

  “You know what, I changed my mind. Since neither Emilio nor Lucas is here, I will just take one of your friends instead.”

  In that instant, all three of his men stepped forward and aimed their guns at Lorenzo, Paolo, and me.

  “You wouldn’t dare!” I said as I stared him down.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t?” he said as his lips grew into the sliest smile I had ever seen as he put his right hand in the air, ready to give the signal.

  I didn’t even have time to think about what was going on, when Paolo grabbed and threw me on the ground and laid on top of me.

  I heard the first gunshot go off as Lorenzo flipped the table and took cover. Paolo rolled off of me and pulled my arm to make me look up at him.

  “Go!” he yelled as he motioned towards the door. “We’ll cover you.”

  “Go now!” Lorenzo yelled.

  I jumped up as fast as I could. The sounds of gunshots going off was deafening as I pushed myself faster toward the door. I crashed into the door so hard I knocked the wind out of myself. The door flew open and Dex, one of our men, collided with me.

  Not having time to react, he grabbed me and instantly threw me over his shoulder, taking off towards the SUV. The car was idling as we approached it, and Dex wasted no time as he flung me into the backseat, before jumping in the front and taking off without even looking back.

  “What are you doing? We can’t leave them!”

  “I’m sorry, Lily, I’m just following orders. Lorenzo said no matter what, my top priority was you and to get you out of here if things got out of hand.”

  “But, how will we know they’re okay?” I asked.

  He tapped his ear, and that w
as when I realized I didn’t have my earpiece anymore.

  “We won’t know for sure. Radio communication will be down in a couple more blocks. We will have to wait until everyone meets back up,” he responded, before slamming on the accelerator and speeding down the highway.

  ***

  Dex and I waited at the house for the arrival of the guys. I had called Elle and filled her in on everything that had happened and asked if she could hold off Emilio for a while. She reassured me that he was in meetings for the rest of the day, and that she would bring me my necklace as soon as she locked up the office for the day. I was praying Emilio wouldn’t find out about this. He might already know—especially if something bad happened.

  My stomach was in knots as we waited. Hopefully no one was hurt, or worse. I would never forgive myself if something happened to any one of those men. Neither would Emilio.

  I was opening the door for Elle when I watched Lorenzo’s black SUV pull up to the gate. The alarm beeped, and then the gates opened.

  Dex joined us as we stood on the porch and waited for Lorenzo to pull up.

  Relief flooded me as I watched Lorenzo and Paolo emerge from the car. They were okay, and that was a good sign.

  Lorenzo and Paolo both gave me a hug as they passed by me into the house. Dex, Elle, and I followed them into the dining room.

  “Is everyone okay?” I finally asked.

  Lorenzo nodded his head as we all took a seat at the dining room table. He explained that Vinny was grazed on his arm, but he was good, and that the shooting stopped just as soon as it started. Paolo added that the Heinrich clan had escaped out the back door, and as far as they knew, all were still alive. Unharmed was another thing, though.

  “I’m just relieved everyone is okay,” I said as I hung my head. “If anything would have happened, then I don’t know what I’d do.”

  “Everyone is fine. I promise,” Paolo said as he lifted my head. “But we do need to heed Viktor’s warning carefully. Someone could be in serious danger of losing their life. I know that you are not going to sign off on the trust fund, and we are not going to lose anyone else at the hands of a Heinrich.”

  “So, what are you going to tell Emilio?” I asked.

  “We’re going to explain to him that we got a tip that the Heinrichs are going to stop at nothing to get you or anyone else, and that everyone needs to be careful.”

  “So you’re not going to tell him what happened today?”

  “Hell no! We’d be in such deep shit—more than you could ever imagine. I’ve already had enough for one day. We’ll just give him the warning and proceed with caution,” Paolo finished explaining.

  “Thank you both for doing this today. At least we know what he’s after. But for now, I think we all need some rest. It’s been a very stressful day,” I said.

  Elle and I hugged each one of the guys goodbye and sent them on their way. They wanted to stay, but since Elle was with me, all three of them left me willingly.

  We were both exhausted. All we wanted to do was eat and relax. Today had been rough on her as well. Emilio had checked in several times, and the idea of lying to him was taking a toll on her.

  “Hey, Lil, I think your phone is ringing,” Elle said as she was draining the pasta, and I was stirring the sauce.

  I sat down the wooden spoon and headed towards the dining room. It was the last place I remembered seeing it.

  A number I didn’t recognize was on the caller ID. Normally I wouldn’t have answered it, but for some reason, I had a feeling I should.

  “Hello?” I said—then nothing. “Hello,” I said again.

  “Lily,” the female voice stated.

  “Yes, this is Lily,” I replied.

  “It’s Faith.”

  I was taken aback—I never expected it to be her.

  “What do you want?” I asked immediately.

  “I just don’t know what to think right now. I’m scared and not sure what to do. My father killed my sister, Lily. Nikolas and I aren’t safe anymore,” she said it so fast that I couldn’t keep up with her. “Is there any way that you would consider meeting Nikolas and me for lunch tomorrow? We have some information we thought you would like to know.”

  “Uh,” I said a little unsure.

  “You can have backup there if you want, but just know that it will only be Nikolas and me. I promise,” she pleaded.

  This was the first time, in all the years I had known her, that I had actually heard Faith be legitimately scared. It frightened me to even hear her speak like this. I could hear it in her voice that she was truly terrified, and that she was telling the truth.

  “Yes, I can meet you,” I finally responded. “When and where?”

  Chapter 12

  Why did I agree to this?

  I kept asking myself as I sat at the table in the middle of the restaurant I had picked for my meeting with Nikolas and Faith.

  Lorenzo sat beside me as we faced toward the door.

  “Do you think they will show?” he asked.

  “I hope so,” I said, trying not to sound nervous. They were already twenty minutes late.

  What if this is a trap?

  I quickly pushed that thought out of my head. I was safe here in this restaurant. It was in the middle of my family’s territory, surrounded by people that would protect me. But there was also something else telling me that this wasn’t a trap, and that both Nikolas and Faith truly wanted to just meet me.

  Although they didn’t deserve one moment of my time, as soon as I saw the look on their faces yesterday, my heart ached for them. My father was many things, but he was nothing like the monster I saw sitting across from me yesterday.

  It was safe to say that Viktor Heinrich was an unstable man who wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted, and what he wanted was me—well, my inheritance really.

  Last night as I laid in bed, I thought about making it easier on myself and giving it to him. I didn’t need the money—I had more than I could spend as it was.

  But, what if it was enough to accomplish whatever he had planned? What if it gave him enough to be more powerful and an even stronger driving force than my family? I couldn’t let that happen, I had to figure out a way to protect the ones I loved.

  The decision was easy. Not under any circumstances would Viktor Heinrich get the blood money of my mother to ensure him any more power in my world or my family’s.

  “Here they come,” Lorenzo said, nudging me.

  I looked up in time to see them come through the front doors. My heart rate picked up, and I started wringing my hands under the table.

  “Sorry we’re late,” Nikolas spoke first. “We were having a hard time getting away.”

  “Our father is on a rampage, and we didn’t want to be detected as we left,” Faith added.

  As they both took a seat across from the two of us, their body language was tense and unsure. I could tell they were nervous just by the way their eyes and bodies shifted.

  “I understand, and I appreciate that,” I said, looking at them. “This is my guard, Lorenzo,” I said, motioning and introducing him properly.

  They each nodded and told him it was nice to meet him. He acknowledged them before he went back to scanning the room and making sure I was safe and secure. Faith took an extra glance at Lorenzo as our waitress appeared.

  After we ordered our drinks, I wasted no time starting the conversation.

  “What did you have to tell me?” I questioned.

  Nikolas and Faith looked at each other before he began. “First we wanted to let you know we had no idea about how Adela died. It came as a complete shock to both Faith and me. We knew our father could be a vicious man, but the fact that he killed our sister…” He trailed off for a second before continuing. “Well, it’s a lot to take in—not to mention the fact that it was over money. At first, we didn’t believe you, but after we got home last night, we cornered our mother, and she confirmed it.”

  “Wait, your mother is al
ive?” I asked shocked.

  Faith’s eyes, which were already sad, looked even more now.

  “Yes,” she spoke almost in a whisper, “but it’s more like a shell of a woman instead of an actual one. It makes a lot of sense now, after we have found out certain things. We always thought she was a coward—she spent more time popping pills and chasing it with alcohol than she did…” She trailed off as a tear fell down her face.

  Nikolas picked up. “It makes sense to us now. We were really young when Adela was killed. Faith can remember bits and pieces, because she’s older. Our mom was a beautiful woman, and she still can be. Although Adela’s mother and our mother are not the same, our mom loved Adela like her own.

  “After Adela was killed, our mother was never the same. At first, she started drinking casually, but then it kept getting worse, and then she added in the painkillers. She spends every day locked up in her room at the house. She only comes down on rare occasions.”

  He paused for a moment, trying to compose himself before he began again. “Last night, when we cornered her, we found out more than we probably should know. We asked lots of questions, and we have some things pieced together.

  “Adela’s mom ‘died’ when she was about three, and then our father married our mother less than six months later. Our mother’s family had a lot of money, and he was ‘infatuated’ with her. She said there were a lot of good years, and then more when Faith and I were born.

  “She then explained that when Adela started dating your brother, our father was more than excited. He couldn’t wait to have your family as his in-laws. Then your father approached him and told him that our family and Adela would be welcomed into their family, but the Dapprimas would not be doing any kind of business with the Heinrichs. Our father became angry, and then, on Adela’s eighteenth birthday, he found out that she had inherited the family money, and not him. After that, he started acting strange.

  “A few months later, Adela married your father in a private ceremony, and then a couple years after that, you were born. At that time, our mother thought that Viktor had regained some composure, but he hadn’t. She said he started to plot Adela’s death and that she begged him to stop all of it. She said she even warned Adela, and the day the news came that Adela had been murdered, she feared for her life and ours. She never told us, because she wanted to keep us safe.