will make the purchase. We need to move fast though, because the more desperate Claudio gets, the more likely it is that he will do something that cannot be undone.”
“It will work, Adam. I know it will,” Ella said. She saw Miguel glance at them in the rearview mirror and she smiled. He nodded to her, conveying his pledge to help them. She didn’t need to speak Portuguese to understand what the nod meant. It just might work, if time didn’t run out. Fate couldn’t be that cruel, could it?
Chapter 11
Adam felt like he could get the upper hand with Claudio. After all, he had what his father wanted, not the other way around. Sitting at his computer, he clicked over to the email he’d received from Claudio so long ago. It was before he had met Ella and before his father had attacked Serena, scarring her cheek. At the time, Adam had shrugged it off.
As if he’d really turn over his hard work on demand just like he did as a youth. It would be laughable, if it weren’t so dire. At the time, he hadn’t believed his father expected him to comply. Reading over the email, written to him in Italian, it carried more impact. Since that original request, much had happened.
It was clear now that Claudio meant business. Under no delusion about his father’s ruthlessness, Adam had taken measures to protect his family in any way he could. Still it hadn’t been enough. The scar on his mother’s cheek was evidence of that. Forces beyond Adam’s control resulted in harm, no matter how hard he’d tried to avoid it. After dinner the night before, he’s spoken to Serena, concerned for her mental and emotional wellbeing.
She assured him the incident with the notes had distressed her because it put her friends at risk, but she was not worried for herself. Adam had hugged her and touched the scar, etched along her cheekbone. There was no way to cure her limp, Claudio’s handiwork, but the scar was different. He’d offered to pay the plastic surgery costs for her. Shaking her head, she’d said, “Non voglio nascondere il suo crimine,” her Italian declaration making clear: “I will not hide his crime.”
In his mother’s mind, the scar was a mark of pride. Claudio could not intimidate her. He’d attacked her; the scar was evidence of it. Serena wore it, keeping it there as a reminder of his crime against her. Too often in the past she’d been Claudio’s victim, but her fiery Italian spirit rose to stand strong against him. To Adam’s mother, the scar boldly said, “You can do what you will, but you won’t crush me.” The scar had become a badge of honor.
Coward that he was, Claudio never faced Adam directly. At best, he sent an email like the one on his computer screen, encapsulating his ridiculous demands. Or he attacked defenseless women, or it would seem, vulnerable church groups doing good for the community. But never man to man. His father was gutless. Adam had been willing to meet with him in person, to thwart his hopes of handouts. That offer had received no reply.
It boggled the mind to think that his father really expected him to just hand over the gaming software. But that is exactly what he’d been demanding from the beginning. He’d reminded Adam that the programs were initiated when he was still a minor, and Claudio still controlled the business; as if that gave him some right to them, or would persuade Adam to give him possession. Claudio had even implied the gambling software was his idea, which was an outright lie.
He wasn’t a child anymore. As an adult, he couldn’t be pushed around. And despite his offer to meet with Claudio, it would have been incredibly difficult to be in the same room with him. Hating his father as he did, it would have taken real strength not to explode. And he might have anyway. If he’d ever attended such a meeting. Yet the thought of seeing his father, in person, gave him a sick feeling in his stomach.
All the hours, the days, months, and years he’d been
“It will work, Adam. I know it will,” Ella said. She saw Miguel glance at them in the rearview mirror and she smiled. He nodded to her, conveying his pledge to help them. She didn’t need to speak Portuguese to understand what the nod meant. It just might work, if time didn’t run out. Fate couldn’t be that cruel, could it?
Chapter 11
Adam felt like he could get the upper hand with Claudio. After all, he had what his father wanted, not the other way around. Sitting at his computer, he clicked over to the email he’d received from Claudio so long ago. It was before he had met Ella and before his father had attacked Serena, scarring her cheek. At the time, Adam had shrugged it off.
As if he’d really turn over his hard work on demand just like he did as a youth. It would be laughable, if it weren’t so dire. At the time, he hadn’t believed his father expected him to comply. Reading over the email, written to him in Italian, it carried more impact. Since that original request, much had happened.
It was clear now that Claudio meant business. Under no delusion about his father’s ruthlessness, Adam had taken measures to protect his family in any way he could. Still it hadn’t been enough. The scar on his mother’s cheek was evidence of that. Forces beyond Adam’s control resulted in harm, no matter how hard he’d tried to avoid it. After dinner the night before, he’s spoken to Serena, concerned for her mental and emotional wellbeing.
She assured him the incident with the notes had distressed her because it put her friends at risk, but she was not worried for herself. Adam had hugged her and touched the scar, etched along her cheekbone. There was no way to cure her limp, Claudio’s handiwork, but the scar was different. He’d offered to pay the plastic surgery costs for her. Shaking her head, she’d said, “Non voglio nascondere il suo crimine,” her Italian declaration making clear: “I will not hide his crime.”
In his mother’s mind, the scar was a mark of pride. Claudio could not intimidate her. He’d attacked her; the scar was evidence of it. Serena wore it, keeping it there as a reminder of his crime against her. Too often in the past she’d been Claudio’s victim, but her fiery Italian spirit rose to stand strong against him. To Adam’s mother, the scar boldly said, “You can do what you will, but you won’t crush me.” The scar had become a badge of honor.
Coward that he was, Claudio never faced Adam directly. At best, he sent an email like the one on his computer screen, encapsulating his ridiculous demands. Or he attacked defenseless women, or it would seem, vulnerable church groups doing good for the community. But never man to man. His father was gutless. Adam had been willing to meet with him in person, to thwart his hopes of handouts. That offer had received no reply.
It boggled the mind to think that his father really expected him to just hand over the gaming software. But that is exactly what he’d been demanding from the beginning. He’d reminded Adam that the programs were initiated when he was still a minor, and Claudio still controlled the business; as if that gave him some right to them, or would persuade Adam to give him possession. Claudio had even implied the gambling software was his idea, which was an outright lie.
He wasn’t a child anymore. As an adult, he couldn’t be pushed around. And despite his offer to meet with Claudio, it would have been incredibly difficult to be in the same room with him. Hating his father as he did, it would have taken real strength not to explode. And he might have anyway. If he’d ever attended such a meeting. Yet the thought of seeing his father, in person, gave him a sick feeling in his stomach.
All the hours, the days, months, and years he’d been
Similar Books
