Chapter 6

Angelo sat on the bed of a hotel that he'd booked last night after the whole drama, he looked out the window as he watched the sun rise, it was beautiful as it slowly lit up the sky, his head was flooded with thoughts, he began to feel like he might have made a mistake, he checked all of his bank accounts, they were frozen, his father acted very fast, and this was just phase one, he sighed in disappointment and bowed his head. Confusion, distress, pain, we was going through all sorts of emotions, and all he had left was some cash in his luggage, which wouldn't be enough for him to live on for a month. He had made up his mind to not go back to that house, but he badly needed to leave this city, this country all together, he didn't have enough money for that, and he definitely wasn't dumb enough to involve the police into this situation, because to be honest, he had every right to sue his family, but that would only make things even worse for him.

Angelo was about to fall asleep when a call came through on his phone, it was Walter, his friend and surfing instructor from Sydney, he just held the phone in his hand and watched it ring over and over again, wondering if he should answer the call or not. The phone stopped ringing after four ignored calls, Angelo decided to call Walter back, he really needed to talk to someone at this point.

"Hey, Angelo...how's the family reunion going?"

"I need your help Walter" Angelo replied in a deadpan voice, Walter was silent for some seconds then responded

"Ayy...you good man?...is something wrong?, where are you..."

"Walter I need some money as soon as possible, I need to leave Italy right now, all my bank accounts are frozen and..."

"How?, why?, what?, what happened?"

Angelo breathed out slowly, he realized he was talking a little fast

"Walter, I have to leave Italy as soon as I can, my family is after me right now, and if I'm going to survive I have to get out of here, I just need some money from you, something like a thousand dollars"

"A thousand dollars?!!, I don't have a thousand dollars, where am I just gonna find a thousand dollars?"

Angelo thought about it for a minute, Walter wasn't nearly as rich as his family members and he didn't have that many friends that liked him enough to bail him out of a situation like this, he had been traveling round the world and exploring ever since he abandoned his old life but the downside of this was that he didn't have any long lasting friendship as he was never in one place for too long, but he believed he could put faith in Walter this time.

"Alright, I know...I understand, thank you"

"Wait, Angelo, I don't have a thousand dollars right now but I'll try to abd see if I can get hold of some money then I'll send it over to you, can you wait a little longer?"

"Yeah, definitely" Angelo replied with excitement, "just help me with whatever you can right now, I'll make something out of it." He knew a guy who could help him get out of Sicily by boat so he wouldn't have to go through the airport, that would be a lot cheaper for him

"Can you just tell me what's going on now?" Walter asked with concern,

"It's a really long story, like I don't even know how to start, but I'll tell you everything when I get over to Sydney"

"Well uh, about that, I'd be heading to London this week, I'll be spending the easter break with my family, we're having a reunion too you know"

Angelo chuckled, he didn't know much about Walter's family but he could tell that he must have grown up in a happy and simple home, unlike him self

"If that's the case then London it is, I'd be coming to London instead"

"For real?!"

"Of course, I don't have anywhere else to go at the moment, I've been to London before so it really shouldn't be difficult for me to adapt"

"Alright then, whenever you get here let me know, there aren't beaches here to surf but there's a lot more to explore"

The two men laughed over the phone. When the call session was over, Angelo put the phone down, cracked his fingers and threw on a shirt, it was time to look for breakfast, and make arrangements for his departure.

*****

Back at the Paradiso, the Salvador family mansion, Giovanni sat on a sofa in one of the living rooms, he wore a white button shirt that was opened at the chest revealing his muscular and hairy chests, he sat there with a glass of cold beer in his hand which he sipped from intermittently, the television was on but he wasn't paying attention to it, it was obvious that he had a lot occupying his mind, and that's when Lucia walked into the room

"Good morning mum" he greeted her without looking in her direction

"Good morning son, have you seen your brother, I don't know where he went"

"I don't think so, i haven't seen him since last night, you need him for something?"

"No, not really, it can wait", Lucia continued walking but Gio called her back

"Mom...", he rose from his relaxed position on the couch and placed the glass of beer he held on a glass table in front of himself

"Yes my son"

"Is there anything you want to say to me about last night?, about the whole... marriage thing, what's going on with dad and Angelo?"

Lucia thought of a response for some seconds, she walked around to see if anyone who could eavesdrop was nearby, only a few security men and maids were walking around the hallways, she stepped back into the living room and sat next to her son to address him

"You don't have to worry about anything thing Gio, your father just wants to use Angelo for diplomatic ties, it's no big deal and it's none of our business, don't think about it too much"

"How can you say that mom?"

Lucia became confused by Gio's response

"Say what?"

"You told me that Angelo was just a riff raff, that he was a failure and a useless son, that there was no way on earth that my father would choose him as his successor, so what was that all about last night mom?"

"I told you Gio it's just an arranged marriage, it's no big deal"

"BULLSHIT!!" he screamed out, "Bullshit mom!!!, bullshit!!!" Gio bounced up from the chair and paced around, Lucia got up quickly to calm him down

"You promised me mom!!, that nothing was going to stand in my way, if father wanted me to be his successor then he would have chosen me to marry the Lorenzo, but he called Angelo back out of nowhere, isn't it obvious mom?!!, isn't it?!!"

"GIO LISTEN TO ME!!!" she shouted, Gio kept quiet and stopped pacing around, he held his jaw with one hand and kept the other on his waist, Lucia got closer to him and placed her hands on his chin

"Ever since you were born I had a plan for you my son, and I raised you to become the man you are today, because I knew that I was raising a king, I knew that I was raising an heir, and we have already come this far Gio, we are already so close!!, and guess what?, Angelo was banished yesterday"

"What!!"

"Shhh!!!" she hushed Gio with a devilish smile on her face, "you heard me son, you heard me clearly, he challenged your father's wedding arrangement and got what he deserved, and now it's our turn to finish the job"

"So...what do we do now mother?"

"We eliminate the only thing standing in our way, I will kill Angelo Salvador and you will be the one to marry the Lorenzo princess, then after that, all the power and glory you've ever dreamed of shall be yours, just like I promised you son, it will all be yours"