In the Name of Revenge

Chapter Eighteen

EIGHTEEN

When he arrived back at his apartment, he threw his keys on the table next to the door and headed to the kitchen. He opened the cupboard door, pulled out the bottle of tequila and proceeded to pour a shot. As it sat on the counter, he just stared at it.

“What am I doing?” he asked aloud.

He dumped the alcohol down the drain and then sat down heavily in a chair. He looked at the envelope he tossed onto the table when he came in.

Felice, he thought and began to sob. He held his head in his hands and sat there, crying like a baby.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” he kept repeating.

In an attempt to regain his composure, he took several deep breaths. He knew that either Felice or his daughter was in danger. Carlo told him that much. Without looking in the envelope, Pavel had a gut feeling it was Felice. He couldn’t explain why, he just felt it was her.

He picked up the envelope and tore the flap open. What he found stunned him. It was not at all what he expected.

It was a letter with a set of instructions.

Pavel,

If you are reading this, I will assume you have decided not to be part of this family any longer.

Because of the lack of honesty you have shown this organization, and particularly Father, you have made us question your loyalty.

There is a set of detailed instructions enclosed that I suggest you follow to the letter, that is, if you want to earn our respect again and perhaps, save your lover or your daughter.

You can only save one, so the first step you need to take is to decide who is more important to you—the mother or the child. Once you have made your decision, look at the instructions.

Pavel let the papers fall to the floor. They took both of them? Dear God! They actually expected him to decide between Felice and Rita Grace? How in God’s name could he do that?

He didn’t know what to do; only that he was unable to make such an unreasonable decision. He sat there, trying to understand. This? Just because he didn’t tell them he had a child? What would they do if they found out exactly what his agenda really was? Who was he kidding? He knew what they’d do.

He couldn’t think about that right now. He needed to figure out how to save both his daughter and Felice. There was no way on God’s green earth he was ever going to decide between them. Somehow, someway he would find a way to save them both. There was no choice to make as far as he was concerned.

Only half hearing his phone ringing, he ignored it. It finally stopped. He picked up the papers again and began reading the instructions. He noted the letter itself was from Phillip, while the instructions seem to be from Carlo himself. That wasn’t normal. Carlo never wrote his own instructions for anything, for fear it would come back to bite him. Apparently, he was sure of himself. Maybe it was a trick to throw him off his game? Perhaps they were just messing with his head to see what he’d do in a precarious situation such as this? Were they just testing him? He told himself it didn’t matter anyway. He had to do something…just in case and continued reading.

If our thoughts are correct, you have decided you will try and save both of them. No matter how hard you try, it will not be possible.

Therefore, I suggest you follow these instructions to not only save one person, but yourself as well. Remember, we are ‘Mancini’ and no one comes up against us and wins. You’d do well to remember that and do as you’re told. Here’s what you can expect: