Mafia Don’s Secret Baby (Mafia’s Scorned Vows #1)

Chapter One

Lilianna Genovese

For the first time in three years, I looked into my brother’s eyes. I’d prepared myself for the cold, unyielding eyes that my father had shown me every day throughout my entire childhood. I’d expected to find nothing of the brother who had once been my best friend.

Miraculously, though, his eyes were still warm. Young, even.

His lifelong path of becoming a Don in the Italian mafia hadn’t taken its toll as I’d expected. The light green around the irises was the same as it always had been. My best friend and brother. Silas.

I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him and his crooked grin until he waved at me from across the room.

I gave a small wave back as his eyes drifted to the small boy trailing beside me. Silas narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow. I looked away before I could read anything more in his expression.

He was marrying a woman I’d never met, and I had a son he didn’t know existed.

Nobody knew Callum existed. For over two years, I’d kept him out of the mob life, and I wouldn’t let it drag us back. We were here for the wedding, and then we’d fly back to Italy tomorrow afternoon. That was non-negotiable.

My eyes drifted to my father sitting in the front row, his spine as straight as an undisturbed oak tree after years of growth. Immovable. Stiff. All the things my father had been as long as I could remember. All the things I’d expected Silas to become while I was gone.

Today was going to be full of difficult interactions.

I ushered Callum into a row of seats near the back of the room, and he sat at my side. “Hair up,” he said, pointing to another guest a row in front of us.

“Yes, it’s up,” I said, scanning the room for the other familiar faces. I couldn’t keep my attention from the salt and pepper hair that had been my father’s trademark look for the past decade. He was the person I least wanted to see. If I could avoid talking to him, I would.

He wouldn’t be pleased when he saw me here.

This wedding was only happening because I’d bailed on the arranged marriage that was meant to unite two branches of organized crime. I hadn’t married the Petrov heir, whom he’d expected me to marry, and Silas was here to remedy that betrayal. He was marrying the Don’s daughter after I’d bailed on his son.

“Mommy,” Callum said, hitting my leg. “Uncle.”

I glanced back at my brother and exhaled slowly. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him until now. I hadn’t realized how important our late-night conversations and the dreams we’d shared to escape had been to me. We’d talked about running across the country with one another or going to Italy to live with our family there. He wanted out of this life as much as I did, but here he stood, ready to give up everything for the sake of our father’s approval.

Meanwhile, I’d followed our dreams of moving to Italy, and he didn’t even know it.

Disgust sat in my chest as I considered all the experiences I’d had without him, all because of our father and his desire to have an heir.

I glanced at the men standing at my brother’s side, and the disgust quickly turned into something slippery and more unpredictable. My heart sped up as I fought to control my breathing.

Matteo Costello.

I knew I’d see him here, but I hadn’t fully prepared to see my brother’s best friend standing at his side. The man I’d adored since childhood.

The man who gave me Callum.

His sleek black hair hung in curls that nearly reached his shoulders, but the top had been slicked back with gel. His dark eyes focused on the crowd, and I slouched in my seat, doing my best to blend into the background. He towered over the other men in the group, standing well over six feet tall. He always looked slim and the tuxedo he wore today draped beautifully over the lean muscles in his arms and back—muscles I had spent hours of my childhood drooling over.

But that childlike lust meant nothing now.

Especially not after his father died and he was named Don.

I wouldn’t be trapped in the mafia life after the lengths I’d gone to get out of it.

“Is anyone sitting here?” a man with dark hair and a Russian accent asked, looking between me and Callum.

I tore my gaze from Matteo and cleared my throat, gesturing to the seat.

“Help yourself.”

He stared at us longer than what made me comfortable, and I scooted closer to Callum.

“Are you related to the groom?” he asked after a moment of silence.

The music in the church shifted to something a bit more melodic and less upbeat, signaling that Aelita would be walking down the aisle soon. They’d gone to great lengths to make this a stunning ceremony. Lilacs and baby’s breath floral arrangements capped the ends of each aisle, and large arrangements of flowers sat at either side of the steps where they’d be officially wed.

“Just a childhood friend,” I lied.

I didn’t need anybody knowing I’d returned. I’d give my father a courtesy visit, and I’d give my brother a big hug and my well wishes before going back to Italy.

“They were supposed to keep this wedding small.”

He looked between me and Callum as if he had much more to say than the initial question. Why did it matter to have another guest on the list?

“I was an important friend, and Silas wants me here.”

He licked his lips and narrowed his eyes as if he wanted to question me further, but I intentionally turned from him. Something about his gaze made me uneasy. There was more to this questioning that I wasn’t understanding. Maybe Silas’s bride struggled with large crowds? Regardless, it didn’t matter.

“Aelita wanted only the closest family here. And it was supposed to be no children.”

I ground my teeth as I glanced back at him. In another life, I might have told him to mind his business. I might have confronted him and been honest about my relationship with Silas.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, raising my brows. “Silas is allowed to have his friends in attendance, too.”

I looked around and found almost nobody else who I recognized. A few distant family members sat scattered along the rows, but most of the people in attendance were Petrov’s—the family of the bride.

He looked me up and down before shrugging. “Not my problem,” he muttered and looked toward the front.

I rolled my eyes and glanced back at the front of the room. They drifted to the one person I wanted to forget more than anyone, and I tensed.

He was staring back.

A night of too much alcohol and too many regrets slapped me in the face as I met his eyes. The last time he had looked at me with those dark eyes—with that heated look—I’d still had the zing of alcohol in my blood from a night of fun. I’d been euphoric from the way he’d touched me.

It had only happened once.

That night… it had been a way of letting him go.

Or at least, that’s what I’d drunkenly told myself before pulling him into my bed.

I couldn’t pull my gaze from his as I bit my bottom lip and tugged Callum into my side. I hoped he wouldn’t notice the boy, but I knew he would. Matteo noticed everything. He always had.

His gaze drifted to my son at my side, and I held my breath as his eyes narrowed.

Then, he looked toward the back of the room, and the trance broke. The traditional Wedding March melody started playing on a grand piano in the front of the room. I turned and saw a petite woman in a modest white dress standing in between the double doors. She held a white and lilac bouquet with some additional foliage that brought it all together.

She looked nothing like the women Silas had dated in the past.

Her sleek black hair had been arranged in a braided updo, and the makeup on her face was pristine. I’d seen Silas interested in redheads with freckles and short blonde women with sizable tits, but never a tall, lean woman like her. Yet when he called to tell me about the wedding, he’d assured me he wanted to go through with it. Yes, it had been arranged. My father and Vlad Petrov had done it to unite our people after I’d bailed on my “duties”, but from the way Silas spoke, he genuinely cared for her.

As she began walking slowly down the aisle with her father at her side, I noted the white tennis shoes, so out of place with the stunning dress and perfect makeup. I stared at them for a moment before shaking my head and turning my gaze back to Silas.

He stared at her with a look of pure happiness.

My chest loosened, and my shoulders relaxed a bit. After this wedding—once Silas had united our people—maybe I could visit home more regularly. I wouldn’t need to fear an arranged marriage anymore, and if the threat of the Russian mob had calmed, it would be safe enough for infrequent visits.

Maybe this wedding would make everything better.

“Mommy, done?” Callum asked at my side.

I chuckled lightly and turned to him. “No, baby. Uncle Silas is getting married.”

“Done,” he repeated a bit more loudly, and I gritted my teeth, praying he’d stay calm long enough for the wedding to happen. I didn’t want to miss this. Not when I’d missed the last three years.

I glanced back to where Vlad and Aelita stood at the bottom of the stairwell. Silas took one step forward on the platform, reaching out his hand for her. His toe hovered over the top step, almost as if he couldn’t wait another moment for his new bride to reach him. It seemed to take everything in his power to keep from striding down the dais steps toward her.

A loud bang exploded through the room, and Silas took a step back, hand on his chest. The look in his eyes had my heart skipping a beat. Something was very wrong. The sudden motion around the room had my attention beelining to the aisles around me. A handful of Aelita’s friends and family stood abruptly, including the man beside us.

I shot my attention back to my family, unable to fully comprehend what I was seeing.

Dad stood, reaching for his hip, and another boom exploded through the church.

Dad’s head slammed backward, and his body crumbled to the floor.

“What…” I whispered as Callum began screaming.

My body felt frozen to the spot as I watched what was happening on the other side of the room. My father couldn’t possibly be dead. He was the Don of one of the strongest alliances in the world. It felt like an out-of-body experience as his body rested motionless on the floor. Everything around me moved in slow motion as I realized that the man who had raised me was gone.

On instinct, I pulled Callum into my arms and turned him away from what was unfolding before us. I pressed his face into my chest as I watched Silas drop to a knee with a cough.

Blood spewed from his lips.

He was on his knees, staring at the woman before him. His tux darkened beneath his hand, and red blood began dripping through his fingers.

Betrayal.

That was the expression in his eyes.

“Silas!” I shouted, standing and reaching for him as if I could do something from the other side of the room.

Chaos erupted, gunfire exploding and men brawling. But none of it could draw my attention from my brother as he stared at Aelita Petrov from the top step of the altar. From the bottom step, she stood just below eye level as he mouthed something to her.

Her bouquet fell to the floor and revealed a concealed pistol.

“No!” I screamed.

My voice was lost in the commotion as she pulled the trigger, and Silas fell to the floor. No. No. This couldn’t be happening. I was here to witness a happy moment, not a mass execution. Silas looked so happy. He hadn’t expected this.

I hadn’t expected this.

But now he lay, eyes closed and chest eerily still. My brother. My best friend.

The sound that came from my throat sounded animalistic even to my ears.

I glanced back toward where my father had fallen in the front row, his sightless eyes raised to the ceiling.

This couldn’t be happening. Not to my brother. Not to my best friend and the boy who had been an integral part of all my best memories. Not now. I’d brought Callum here, believing it would be safe. Now, we were both in danger. I swore I’d never put him in this position, but here we were.

I had to get him out.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my hands shook vigorously as I tightened my grip on Callum. He couldn’t see this. He couldn’t watch everyone around him die.

We have to go , I said to myself, rushing toward the exit with my head down. Shots and screams surrounded us, and Callum cried harder as I stumbled over a fallen body. I didn’t allow myself to look at the woman’s face. I kept myself upright as I reached the door and pushed. It didn’t budge, so I pushed again.

The doors were locked from the outside.

No, this couldn’t be happening!

I’d escaped this life. I’d gotten away, and I was only supposed to be back for a day—not long enough to be dragged back into the danger I’d grown up around.

I swore I’d never let Callum see these things, but here I was.

A hand gripped my shoulder, and I spun around. Instinct had me ducking as the man who had been sitting beside us swung at my jaw.

“I warned you, and you turned your nose up at me.”

I threw Callum behind me on the floor, using my body to block his as the man pulled a gun from a holster at his side.

“No!” I screamed, throwing myself over my son and praying my body would take the brunt of the attack.

I waited for the sharp pain as a bang erupted behind me, but after a few seconds, nothing came.

I peeked over a shoulder, keeping Callum protectively under my body.

A set of familiar dark eyes stared back at me, his face splattered with blood.

Matteo.