Chapter 53 Our Business

• Tension seemed to surround us as silence filled the elevator. I felt so nervous and aware of Raphael's presence, but my mind was also shifting to think of even more troubling thoughts. Sam's words of warning came back to me, and I wondered if anything about that was true. Once again, I told myself that rumors were rumors, but I couldn't stop myself from fearing the worst. I would have told my mother about this had she told me about the identity of the man she had been dating beforehand. I guess it was partly my fault for not suspecting at all that my future stepfather could be the head of the Hayes family. I mean, up until lately, I felt like we belonged in different worlds. Perhaps we still belonged in different worlds, and my mother and I were just fishes out of the water.
• My mind wandered even further as I looked out of the glass elevator at the view passing us by rapidly. I told myself once again that it couldn't possibly be true; the rumors were probably not true. There were rumors that the Hayes Corporation was involved in illegal business, but that wasn't the worst of all rumors. There had been rumors for years now, circulating without stop, that the Hayes Corporation was actually a mafia syndicate in disguise. If that were true, then that meant that the Hayes family was also a mafia family. I glanced over at Raphael, who was dressed in a very expensive suit with his clean-shaven face, and I told myself that that couldn't possibly be the truth.
• "What are you thinking about? It seems like you can't stop staring at my face," Raphael said as he caught me staring at him while I was lost in thought.