Breaking Midnight (Il Paradosso Series Book One)

Chapter forty-six

I came across an article once that read: "Do you ever wonder why one percent of the world's population is called the super class, the elite? The primary reason is that they run the governments, along with some of the largest corporations. They are the powerhouses of international finance, media, and world religions and from the shadows, the world's most dangerous criminal and terrorist organizations."

It's said that each of them is one in a million and they number six thousand on a planet of six billion.
Now, that's something to think about.

Hence, the fifty-something people filing in and out of the mansion were some of the most dangerous and unpredictable individuals in this country and would never be held accountable for any of their actions.
You won't come across these people running regular errands or waiting in line at your local grocery stores. And you most definitely won't find their children playing in the park unsupervised, because they don't mingle with the normal crowd.
They have assistants for almost everything.

Sometimes I wondered if I would have ever met Antonio or either of his family members, if it weren't for our spontaneous trip to these islands.

The answer was feasibly a negative one. Our paths would have never collided if my friends hadn't persuaded me to take that vacation, if we hadn't stepped foot inside his nightclub, two years ago.

A number of selective individuals were born into this side of the world and I certainly wasn't one of them.
Evelina's father-a media tycoon, whom I learned of tonight-was the third longest serving Prime Minister in Italy, serving a total of twelve years in office.

He was a good friend to the family. Therefore, she was highly respected, which she held on to with a stance of pre-eminence and pride.

But one place you could be certain to find these upper-class billionaire moguls, was at their lavish parties, in their extremely overpriced mansions, dressed in designer suits, holding expensive sparkly champagne and some of the finest wines in the world.

Wine...which I was in desperate need of at this very moment, but unfortunately, I hadn't been able to get my hands on.

And the fact that I was being watched from afar by a pair of very angry eyes wasn't helping my predicament.

I tried to mask the discomfort by simulating my emotions and putting on a poker face but her gaze never faltered. As if she wanted me to acknowledge exactly how she felt about my presence.

And her ravenous attention was solely focused on my every move even at the enormous dining table that easily fit thirty people, most of whom I had not been acquainted with to this day.

The atmosphere was lively and one thing that I also learned about Italians-besides they really enjoy their food-was that they were extremely loud at family gatherings.
Almost every person was speaking to someone or multiple people at once, except for me.

I felt tremendously uncomfortable and completely out of place.
Although Antonio was seated beside me, I still wasn't confident enough to engage in any form of conversation.
Emma was across from me, beside her new fiancé. We could barely hear each other over the roaring voices and laughter. Kenny was at the very far end of the table with Amanda. Luca had invited them as tonight was a celebratory dinner for his engagement to our friend.

The Francos were at the head of the table with Antonio's mother, the host of the evening.

I couldn't help but notice the excitement on Mr. Franco's face as they continued to converse about the upcoming wedding, which was already being planned to take place sometime next year.