Coming Back Home

Time to Play

Everything is going great!

Hans POV (younger son of German mafia leader)

The dining room is quiet except for the occasional scraping of silverware on plates and the sounds of chewing. What else is new? It's been like this for as long as I can remember. I peek up at my half-brother Karl who's sitting across the table from me. His head is down, focused on his food. As if feeling my eyes on him, his gaze suddenly shoots up at me. I wish I could say that he gave me a warm smile or made a teasing remark like a normal brother would. But, I'm not so lucky. He glares at me, daring me to keep looking at him. I don't. Immediately, I look back down at my plate.

Several minutes pass by like this until my father clears his throat and sets down his silverware on the table. "I want to discuss something with you," he announces flatly. The moment he says this, I put my own silverware down and focus my attention on him. I know better than to ignore him. The scars on my body are a testament to the repercussions of doing so. Like the good little lap dog he is, Karl quickly replies, "Ja, Vater [yes, father]?" Father smirks at Karl, seemingly pleased by his response.

He briefly glances at me, making sure I'm paying attention. As long as I respect him and obey him, he doesn't care about me at all. I'm the spare. The bastard child born from my father's infidelity. I genuinely think that if I had been a girl, he would have killed me the moment I was born. Maybe that would have been better. No, I just need to hold on until father is gone. Once Karl takes over, I can get out of this life... I hope.

My thoughts are interrupted by my father's annoyingly monotone voice. "Now that the Italians are onto us, we need a new plan. Otto, der depp [the idiot], was caught. But, we caught one of theirs two days ago." He smirks, intertwining his fingers and resting his chin on them. "I sent them his head as a little present," Father chuckles menacingly. I force myself to not roll my eyes. "With Perrault gone, it won't be so easy to get to the girl. But, we will get her. Then, I will finally have my revenge on those Arschlöcher [assholes]!"

[A/N: John Perrault was Giada's mom's boyfriend who died in the car accident with her.]

Again, I have to try not to roll my eyes. It was almost 30 years ago. Get over it! Of course, I don't say that out loud. I don't feel like being beaten today. "And the Russian brat?" Karl asks, mirroring Father's smug look. Father nods in recognition. "Yes, yes. Him too. Though he should be somewhat easier to get to. The Italians are on their guard right now."

I just tune my brother and father out as they continue talking. I know that neither of them will bother asking me anything. It's another 10 or 15 minutes before they finish discussing their plans. Father stands up, my brother and I following suit. "We'll continue this tomorrow, Karl. Hans..." For a moment, I think Father might actually involve me in his plans. But he doesn't. He just clears his throat and walks out of the room. I sit back down in the chair. I wasn't finished eating. The food's gone cold by now, but I won't be able to eat anything later, so I need to take the opportunity while I have it.

Karl looks at me with contempt before turning to leave. "Aren't you going to finish eating?" I ask for some reason. He stops and looks back at me, smirking. "I have a taste for something a little... sweeter." Karl looks up at one of the maids standing against the wall with a predatory gleam in his eyes. He saunters over to her and roughly drags her out of the room with him. I just sigh. I feel sorry for the poor girl, but there's nothing I can do for her. He won't kill her, so there's that, at least. I can barely protect myself; I definitely can't be worrying about anyone else.

I quickly finish my dinner before heading back to my room. As I pass by my brother's room, I hear the girl cry out, likely from pain. "Halt die Klappe, Schlampe!" [Shut the fuck up, bitch/whore] Karl's shouts aggressively. With that, the slapping and grunting sounds continue. I shake my head with a sigh, but continue going to my room.