Junior's POV. On the very Friday he is supposed to meet Lauren at Velvet at 9:30, his father Nico calls an impromptu mandatory family dinner at his parents' Tuscan-style home in the suburbs. Junior arrives stressed about the timing, knowing his father drags these dinners out as a means of control, and is relieved when his cousin Aly and her boyfriend Josh pull up, hoping their presence will deflect his father's attention.

Aly and Josh reveal their engagement, prompting an unprecedented joyful reaction from Junior's mother Moira. Nico's response is grudging at best, and at dinner he insults Aly by implying she might be pregnant, pressures the couple to have the wedding in his garden in June, and threatens to expose secrets about Josh's father if they refuse. Aly and Josh storm out, and Moira follows after telling Nico not to come to bed.

Left alone with his sons, Nico interrogates Junior about why his phone is out. Junior covers by saying he's waiting on Vinny regarding a customs agent at the docks demanding more bribe money for a shipment of counterfeit olive oil. Nico then drops a bombshell: he and Lorenzo want Junior to take the lead on expanding their import operation.

Junior recognizes this as his father's calculated response to him pulling away, a way to tie him closer with greater responsibility, risk, and exposure to prison time. Because he has no exit plan ready, he is forced to accept the promotion, smiling and promising not to let his father down while internally raging. The chapter ends with the dinner running long, jeopardizing his plans with Lauren.