The Darkness of Perfection by Michael Schneider Read Free Book Online Page B

wealth and power he craved, until it became clear that his new wife never intended to share that power with her illiterate husband. He grew angry and resentful over having to answer to his wife for every nickel and dime, always under the watchful eye of his father-inlaw.
    She gave birth to a son and died of a fever just two short years later. Her parents died in a house fire a few months after that, leaving everything to my greatgrandfather. He moved his mistress in, who was not nearly as strong-willed and would always do his bidding, so she could care for his infant son. Then he raised that son, who would be my grandfather, with the idea to keep power firmly in his grip by any means necessary.
    My grandfather took that motto to heart and became a ruthless businessman, expanding beyond legal business ventures. He crawled in bed with the Mob and began dealing in human trafficking for cheap labor. He was very careful in choosing my grandmother from an impoverished family with too many mouths and not enough money. She was young and impressionable, and he molded her to fit his ideal of perfection. As he bragged to friends, who looked on with envy at the beautiful, meek creature that ran his home with never a word of complaint or censure, the entrepreneur in him got the idea of taking that belief even further.
    When the “business” was passed down to my father, he continued to increase our family’s presence in the underworld, cutting down anyone who stood in his path. Friend or foe meant nothing to him. I learned at a young age that there were only two things that mattered to Richard Harrison: money and power.
    William took over running the ‘import/export’ side of our family’s business, which is just a polite way of saying we dealt in human trafficking around the world. Young girls were “farmed” from selected orphanages on our payroll, picked up off the streets, or just taken from the families already under our control. They were trained and then sold, either to brothels or private buyers looking for a wife or mistress who could never bat an eye over their behavior and couldn’t file for divorce, taking half of their wealth, or turn them over to the authorities for their own questionable business practices.
    I managed the legal fronts of our empire, dealing with oil prices, the energy boards, and all the headaches that came with offshore drilling and environmental activists, wishing I could handle it the same way William handled the lowlifes on his end. He had the advantage of being able to put a bullet in the head of anyone who protested or got in his way, while I had to smile and dazzle everyone and be well-versed in doublespeak to make things happen. It was challenging and I excelled at it, but muscle and a wellplaced bullet moved things along at a much faster pace.
    I wished our father could see that the Feds didn’t start snooping around until William took over. I would have been better at running things. I was colder, harder. I wouldn’t make the mistakes he obviously had. Maybe when I came home with my prize, my father would reevaluate our positions.
    “If it helps, I grabbed this flyer off her door and I overheard her tell that kid earlier she was going,”
    Jerome offered, handing me the paper.
    I briefly read over the invitation to a party at one of the clubs further out of town that catered to college kids, and pursed my lips in thought. He explained the conversation he’d overheard while a plan began forming in my mind. I looked up at the rain-swollen clouds again as a slow grin spread across my face. This was perfect.
    Antonio saw my expression and suspected what I was planning. “Nicholas, no. I don’t think it’s a good idea. There will be too many people,” he argued. “Your brother won’t approve.”
    “Leave my fucking brother out of it,” I snapped. “I don’t answer to him. This is my decision.” I crumpled the flyer in my fist and shoved it against Jerome’s chest, ignoring