THIRD PERSON POV.

   Adaline Dubois sat shaking as she waited for the Lesca family to show up.

"Let me get this straight, you and Ginos brother were together in high school?" Her fiancé, Nick asked.

"Yes." She player with her hands.

"That doesn't sound bad. We all have an ex we want to forget." He attempted to call her down.

"It's a lot more complicated than that Nick."

"He can't be much worse than Violets mother." Nick said, referring to his teenage daughter.

If only they knew.

"You're right. Maybe he's still the same as he was years ago." She stood up and began to pace the office in Nicks restaurant.

She stood frozen as the door opened.

In walked Gino.

"I'm not the one you need to worry about." He reminded them before making himself comfortable on a plush chair.

"What do you need to know?" Nick asked quickly.

"Nothing right now." Gino began to play on his phone.

"Aren't you-,"

"The Don? No."

"Then who's-,"

"You'll know when you see him."

Adaline remained quiet.

"How much longer will we have to wait? It's already midnight." Her fiancé began to grow angry.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Adaline walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

Gino was not fond of this.

He looked up from his phone and glared at the couple.

"Get a room." He groaned.

There was a knock at the door.

Adaline stiffened again.

A different man walked in.

"Capos almost here." He informed Gino.

"Great. Let's go." He ordered the pair to follow him out.

Both Nick and Adaline grew more and more nervous as they walked through the kitchen and into the dining area of the restaurant.

It was a popular place, making it high class.

Plenty of money was coming in, just not enough to settle their issues.

"Cognac? Woah guys, nice choice." Gino applauded their drink selection from behind the bar before pouring himself some.

"That's an eleven hundred bottle." Nick grimaces as he watched Gino shoot back the glass.

"Not my problem." He shrugged.

Nick was about to fire back when the front door swung open.

Three large men walked in first.

They were big, and they were intimidating.

Some could call them scary.

But the fourth man that walked out, made them seem a lot less dangerous.

Everyone watched as he looked around, a habit that he had gotten into when he became the Don, just to make sure nothing too dangerous would happen.

He locked eyes with Adaline, and stared her down.

She felt like she would pass out, her skin paling as she prepared herself for a possible hospital visit.

He said no words as he turned, and slowly approached Nicholas Conner.

He stuck out a hand.

"N-Nick Conner." He hurried to shake it, wincing at the firm grip.

"Angelo Lesca." His name rolled off smoothly.

"Y-You must be the boss."

"You must be the fiancé." Angelo answered with another question before walking passed them and behind the bar.

Nick let out a nervous laugh, and then turned to Adaline, who was still very shaken up.

"You slept with that guy in high school?" He whispered, trying his best not to be heard.

"Yes, she sure did." Angelo said as he poured himself a shot of tequila.

Adaline slapped Nicks chest and glared.

"I-Uh- I'm sure it's been a while since you've last seen each other."

"Could've gone longer." Angelo wasn't really one for small talk, and preferred telling it how it was.

"I- I'm-," She stuttered.

"Nick, care to explain why you're in this situation?" He cut her off.

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but Adaline was married to a man named Warren." Nick hastily began.

Angelo and Gino looked at each other.

"He set me up with another family, and well, they helped pay for this place." He motioned to his restaurant.

"And you owe them." Gino finished for him.

"Exactly."

"Why am I here?" Angelo took the liberty to ask another question.

"We need your help."

"It's your debt."

"They went to my daughters school earlier. They told her "Daddy needs to pay." I'm not asking for you to pay our debt, I'm asking for protection." Nick needed to get his point across.

Angelo began to walk towards the door he came through. "You got yourself into this, you can sure as hell get yourself out." He pushed the door open, glad to have this done with.

Adaline had to think fast.

She didn't want Nick or his daughter to be hurt. They were good people.

"I-I'll have her taken away from you!"

Her hand clamped over her mouth as soon as she said it.

Gino thought she had a death wish.

And Angelo stopped where he was.

"What are you talking about?" Nick whispered.

"What did I just do?" She thought.

Angelo was very angry when he came in, but now he was absolutely livid.

He had played nice for far too long.

Adaline was gripped by her jaw and pushed against a wall before she could realize what was happening.

"You know what you are? An absolute fucking conniving bitch." He was in her face.

"Get off of her!" Nick yelled before being held back by Gino.

Of course, Gino knew that his brother wouldn't hurt a woman, but a man was a different story.

"You were too fucking selfish to focus on what you had, and you can't stand that I have it now." He continued.

"T-That's not true." She attempted to argue back.

"Do you want to know why I am standing here at midnight? Because I don't leave to do a job like this while she is still awake, you inconsiderate waste of a fucking life." Angelo was not happy about her threat.

She reached up to slap him, only for it to be caught.

"I don't know who the hell let you think that you could take her away from me, but find a fucking replacement."

Gino has finally let go of Nick, only for him to try to get Angelo off of Adaline.

"Oh fuck." Gino thought before being able to stop him.

Before Nick even touched him, Angelo let go of Adaline, and grabbed Nicks throat before slamming him into the same wall.

"Do you want me to kill him too?" He asked Adaline, who was still shaken up.

"Please let go of him!" She pleaded.

"W-whats he t-talking about?" Nick gasped.

"Oh, you didn't tell him?" Angelo was unapologetic with his ways.

"Please just-,"

"Your fiancée here didn't tell you that I got her knocked up in high school Nick."

"W-what?" He looked at Adaline. "You two have a kid?"

"No, I have a kid." Angelo practically threw Nick off the wall.

He knew he needed to cool off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nick asked.

"She's been dead for months." Angelo answered for her.

"What do you mean-,"

"Exactly what you think it means."

Adaline has grown quiet again.

After a few moments Angelo came to a conclusion.

"I don't think she wants to hear that her mother has died again."

"You want protection? Fine."

The pairs eyes lit up in shock before looking at each other.

Even though he was helping them only because he didn't want to see his daughter hurt again.

"Don't think you have won against whatever fucking family you owe, because now you owe the hell out of mine." His voice became lower as he restrained himself.

"And if you talk about taking away my daughter again, you're going to wish you were dead. Am I understood?" He leaned closer to Adaline.

She had raised Mercury for the past fifteen years.

So she couldn't help her instinct.

"She is my child as much as she is yours."

"Oh yeah? Say that to her then."

How are you guys doing??

I have gotten a few messages saying that I should do another father-daughter book.

What does everyone think?

Stay safe, mask up and wash your hands :)

-Author.