Chapter 21 (Part 1): Was I tricked?

That carved door, which in his memory always represented heaviness and oppression, always made him tremble involuntarily when he pushed it open—yet now, his steps were more firm than ever before, and he walked step by step toward that door.

Standing by the door was the old butler who had served three generations of the Francisco family. Antonio nodded to him and slowly stepped inside.

The man standing by the window was tall and ramrod straight; were it not for his gray hair, he would have looked like a young man. Having weathered more than half a century of storms, this upright figure has never fallen, and to this day remains a symbol of Sicily—this is the formidable Godfather of Sicily, Matteo Francisco.

“Father, I have come to tell you that I have found the best wife. Would you be willing to meet her?” Antonio asked humbly, his head bowed.

"Oh? You've already found it?" Upon hearing this, the Sicilian godfather, who had his back to the door, turned around and looked at them, raising a thick eyebrow. "As far as I know, you haven't touched the photos I had someone send you, have you?"

“You know, I’ve never liked that type of woman. I prefer the unknown… Luckily, I found this surprise—I hope you can bless me too.” Antonio shrugged, not at all surprised that his father knew so much about his daily behavior—if it weren’t for his father’s excessive controlling nature, he wouldn’t have had to go this far.

The Godfather frowned and waved his hand impatiently: "You don't need to provoke me. Call that woman to see me."

“No, no, Father, I would never dare to have such an intention,” Antonio shook his head, turned and clapped his hands toward the door. “Come in.”

"Yes." A soft female voice came from outside the door, followed by a graceful figure appearing behind the slowly opening door—just by looking at the figure, one could almost be certain that she was a great beauty. When the woman finally stood inside, closed the door behind her, and walked slowly forward, she gave the Godfather an elegant lady's bow and greeted him. Only then did the Godfather's stern gaze soften somewhat. He looked her up and down, a hint of approval on his face: "Not bad."

Then he turned to his son: "I didn't know, but your taste has improved so much." Previously, the women around his son had never satisfied him. He had tried several times to change his son's terrible taste, but with little success. This time, the woman his son brought was surprisingly decent, which brought him some relief. Next, he would look at the boy's background. As long as it was acceptable and his character was sound, that would be fine. Although he had never liked his son's self-deprecating ways, he also knew that as the heir to the Francisco family, Antonio's arrogance was one of the necessary qualities.

The woman standing between the two men was an impeccable socialite, both in appearance and demeanor. Moreover, it was immediately apparent from her appearance that she was 100% Sicilian. For the extremely xenophobic Sicilians, this was more important than anything else.

"..." Antonio's face had turned ashen. He stared intently at the woman in front of him, clenching his teeth and trying his best to control his urge to become violent.

“You may not know who I am, but you must know my brother, whose name is Dino Corleone.” The lady gave her godfather a lovely smile. “Because I left Sicily when I was young, probably no one knows that the Corleone family has a daughter like me.”

“Daniela Corleone?” the Godfather replied casually. “I hadn’t realized that Corleone’s youngest daughter was such a beauty. I had overlooked her.”

The Corleone family is an old and powerful family in Sicily, originally second only to the Francisco family in influence. However, due to internal turmoil ten years ago, they gradually declined, and currently only the eldest son, Dino, is holding the fort. But even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily; they are definitely a potential marriage partner. Previously, he only knew that the family's youngest daughter was living abroad, so he hadn't paid much attention. If what they said was true, then this would be a good thing—Mr. Dino must have put a lot of thought into it.

“Mr. Francisco, I have a suggestion. Would you be interested in hearing it?” The lady looked directly at the Sicilian godfather without glancing at Antonio, and spoke softly.

"Oh? Tell me about it." The godfather nodded with some interest, gesturing for her to speak.

Completely ignored, Antonio's forehead veins bulged, but he was powerless to do anything. Why had it come to this? That damned Si Qiang, she tricked him again!