The Godfather's Lost Son

Chapter 7

“Oh, it’s you. Come in… I guess.”

Welcome to music and the spoken word. Today, Alex’s hopes for a warm welcome were dashed the moment Anna opened the door.

She barely looked at him and began walking away.

Before he stepped inside, Alex took a deep breath.

Don’t give up. Stay positive. They’ll warm up to you eventually.

Alex followed Anna to the living room, where her parents, Sandra and Robert, were sitting on the sofa. They stared at him with sour faces as he walked in.

Alex waited for Anna to introduce him, but he looked around and realized she had already disappeared.

He forced a smile onto his face.

“Hi, I’m Alex.”

Sandra looked Alex up and down and huffed in disgust.

“I’m guessing you must be Mom and Dad.”

Alex continued trying to cheer up his future in-laws.

“You don’t mind if I call you that, do you? Oh, here, I brought you a gift.”

He shoved the bottle of expensive champagne at them before they could answer his question.

Sandra barely acknowledged the gesture, but as soon as Robert’s eyes landed on the bottle, his eyes lit up.

“Wow, that’s top-shelf stuff.”

He grabbed the bottle out of Alex’s hand to study the label more closely.

“This is a rare vintage, very hard to find. Where did you get it?”

Sandra scoffed.

“He must have stolen it from somewhere. Do you think someone like him could afford such an expensive gift?”

Sandra stood up suddenly and stared into Alex’s eyes coldly.

“So after forcing yourself on our daughter, you think you can just walk in here and bribe us with your stolen liquor? Not a chance.”

Alex shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Stone, but you’re wrong. I’m not a thief. I haven’t forced myself on anyone or stolen anything.”

“You stole our daughter’s virginity, so you’re a thief and a liar too,” Sandra said, poking Alex’s chest.

She looked so angry that Alex took a few steps back.

“No, I—” he stammered. “This is all a big misunderstanding.”

“So who was it that slept with my daughter then? Was it your ghost? We all know that you did this so you can get your grubby little hands on our money.”

“Otherwise, there’s no way Anna would ever be with someone like you.”

Sandra’s accusations left Alex speechless.

He wasn’t after the Stones’ money. To be accused of something like that was insulting, but he also felt ashamed.

He never meant to get into bed with Anna. And truthfully, he couldn’t remember how he got there or what happened while he was blacked out.

He remembered sitting on the hotel steps, then waking up in bed naked next to Anna when she slapped him in the face.

Whatever happened between those two moments was a total blur.

“Are you deaf? Say something, you bastard!”

Sandra dug her claws into Alex’s shirt and started shaking him.

But Robert pulled her away.

“Sandra, calm down. Alex, please sit.”

Once they were all seated, and Sandra had calmed down slightly, Robert turned to Alex.

“Now, it might not seem like it, but I’m just as upset as my wife is. This is a terrible situation.”

“But Anna’s grandfather has decided that you must marry her, or she’ll lose her stake in the family business. So for now, it appears that the relationship between you two must continue.”

Alex nodded.

“The truth is, Mr. Stone, the reason I agreed to marry Anna is because I don’t want anything bad to happen to her either, especially because of something that I was involved with.”

“If I can do anything to help keep her reputation from being destroyed—”

“You have a lot of nerve bringing up her reputation,” Sandra snarled.

“What is it that you do for a living again?”

“I’m a delivery boy,” Alex admitted. “Well, at least I was, until today, when I got fired.”

“A delivery boy?”

Sandra recoiled in horror.

“If you really care about my daughter’s reputation, you must find a new job as soon as possible. Otherwise, I will do whatever it takes to stop this marriage from happening.”

“Even if it means I have to kill you myself.”

“Please calm down, dear,” Robert patted Sandra’s back, trying to soothe her.

“Obviously, she doesn’t mean that,” he assured Alex. “Not the murder part, at least. But you really should look for a new job.”

“I have some good news about that, Mr. Stone,” Alex replied. “I’m actually starting a new job tomorrow.”

Sandra rolled her eyes.

“Oh, great. What are you going to be now? A valet? A dishwasher?”

Alex puffed out his chest proudly.

“To be honest, I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but I’m sure it will be something good.”

If only they knew who I really am, he thought.

But I can’t tell them. Not yet.

“Such confidence,” Sandra snarked. “Why would anyone hire a loser like you? I bet you don’t even have ten bucks in your pocket.”

“Will you at least give me a chance to prove that I’m worthy of Anna?” Alex asked patiently.

“I don’t care what you do, you will never be worthy of my daughter,” Sandra shrieked.

“Well, I’m still going to try my best anyway,” Alex promised.

Robert nodded his silent approval, rubbing Sandra’s shoulders to calm her down.

“You can go now,” he said to Alex.

Alex didn’t want to leave without talking to Anna, so he left Robert and Sandra in the living room and went upstairs to look for her.

As he walked down the enormous hallway of the huge mansion, all of the rooms were dark and quiet, except for one.

Alex could see light spilling out from under the door and heard the faint rustle of someone moving around inside.

This has to be her room. At least, I hope so. I guess there’s only one way to find out.

He knocked gently.

After a few seconds, the door opened.

“You’re still here?” was all Anna said when she saw him standing there.

“Thanks for leaving me all alone down there. That was a pretty awkward date,” Alex teased.

“I bet it’s not nearly as awkward as waking up next to a strange man in your bed,” Anna snarked.

“Fair,” Alex agreed, his face reddening slightly. “Okay… good night.”

Anna began shutting the door.

“Wait, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

Anna rolled her eyes impatiently. “What is it?”

“Do you think I can stay here tonight? It’s late, and I start a new job early tomorrow morning.”

Anna cut him off before he could finish.

“I hope you don’t expect me to let you sleep in here.”

“Well, we are engaged now,” Alex said, half jokingly.

“You have a bed downstairs in the staff quarters. An empty one. You should try it for a change,” Anna replied, closing the door in his face.

Alex just stood there, looking at the closed door, and shook his head.

Turns out marriage is going to be a lot tougher than I thought.

By the time Alex got to his bed in the staff quarters, he was completely exhausted.

He closed his eyes immediately, but it was impossible to sleep.

The events of the day kept playing through his head.

There had been so many life-changing moments, and there were still so many unanswered questions.

How did I end up in Anna’s bed? That doesn’t seem like something I would do, even if I were blackout drunk.

Of course, I feel bad about it, but if I didn’t meet Anna, I never would have met Cyrus.

So I guess, in some ways, I’m lucky that it happened.

If only her parents knew that I’m richer than they are… I’d love to see the look on their faces.

But I promised Cyrus I would keep my identity a secret.

Anyway, tomorrow, I’ll get a new job and prove that I’m worthy of Anna, even without telling them that I’m the Tiger.

With that thought, Alex finally drifted off to sleep.

When Alex woke up the next morning, he quickly got ready and tiptoed out of the Stone mansion without seeing anyone.

He ordered a cab, and half an hour later, he was dropped off in front of Shaw Industries.

“Well, well, well… look who’s here.”

Alex heard a familiar voice and turned to see Anna’s brother, Shane, and his cronies walking toward him.

“I almost didn’t recognize you with clothes on,” Shane said sarcastically. “What are you doing here? Delivering bagels?”

His henchmen snickered.

“Good one,” Shane said.

Alex was fuming.

“I’m starting a new job here today. Get out of my way.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Shane said, blocking his path. “Don’t let this loser enter,” he commanded.

Shane’s men formed a line behind him, creating a barricade.

“Let me give you some friendly advice,” Shane said to Alex in a low voice.

“You were born a poor loser, and there’s nothing you can do to change that. The sooner you accept that, the easier your life is going to be.”

Alex suppressed the urge to punch Shane in the face.

He wasn’t afraid of Shane or his men, but he didn’t want to get in a fight outside of his new workplace on his first day.

I should call Cyrus, he decided.

But before he could pull out his phone, a beautiful woman approached them in a white blouse, black skirt, and heels.

“Are you Alex Callahan?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Come with me, please.”

Shane and his men couldn’t take their eyes off the woman as she walked directly toward them.

They stepped aside to let her pass.

Who is this woman? And what does she want with me? Alex wondered.

Before he could say anything, the woman put her finger to her lips and signaled him to keep quiet.

Alex hesitated just long enough to flash Shane a grin, and then followed her into the building.

Who is the mysterious woman? And what does she want with Alex? Will Shane’s secret plan to sabotage Anna finally be exposed?