4. Antonio
Chapter 4
Antonio
The video plays, illuminating the dimly lit room, and as the images flicker to life, my heart shatters into a million pieces all over again. There she is—my beloved, her face radiant with love, her voice a bittersweet melody that’s permanently wrapped around my soul.
Glancing a hesitant look at Aurelia as she stares at the screen. She suddenly looks so small and sad.
“ I’m ready,” Aurora says softly, her voice tinged with both resolve and sadness as she wipes away the tears from her eyes.
I spin away from Lia away when I hear my true love speak.
“She’s ready?” my daughter whispers.
Her words hang in the air as suspicion swirls between us.
I glance at Lia and nod, and back to the screen at her mother. I know she’s about to share something so profound that it will shape the course of our daughter’s life.
I don’t feel ready.
I never will be.
“ I was already recording you.” My voice comes from the screen. It’s steady despite the weight of the upcoming revelation. The camera was already capturing the rawness of the moment, ready to preserve the truth.
“ Record over it. I don’t want her to see me upset,” Rory pleads, her voice spiked with a touch of desperation.
I place a gentle hand on her shoulder, offering a comforting presence. “Aurora, she needs to see you. Not the brave persona you are about to put on. The real you. Her mother,” I insist, my gaze locked with hers.
“ Tony...” Her voice trembles with anxiety, her eyes searching mine for reassurance.
“ Rory...” I warn gently, invoking the nickname that only I use for her. “One day, she will want answers. Give her the full truth. Give her you.”
She swallows hard; her struggle is clear, as is the sadness in her eyes. I offer her a reassuring smile.
My heart is aching with the knowledge of the pain she is about to reveal. I know our daughter needs to witness the unfiltered truth, to see the woman behind the mask of strength. She deserves to know her mother, the real essence of the woman I love.
On the screen, I assure her once more that it is necessary, that our daughter needs to see the depth of her love if she wants her to see everything else.
But here in this room, my heart aches. I underestimated the gravity of this moment. I knew it would be hard, but this is so much tougher than I could ever have comprehended.
I pause the video as a flood of varying emotions washes over me. Torn between wanting to shield Aurelia from the pain she is about to endure, but knowing she needs the truth.
“You have to do it,” Dominic says, giving me a reassuring nod, urging me to go on. The small exchange resonates deep within me and is a testament to the bond we’ve shared since that day, and the sacrifices he made for my sake.
My shoulders sag, unable to contain the rush of emotions flooding my being.
I press play again, ready to watch my memories come alive once again.
I watch Aurelia’s face as she listens to her mother, telling her how much she loves her, her sisters, her fathers. But she still hasn’t gotten to the sacrifice she is about to make.
The sacrifice she made for her daughter ... daughters, because if anything should happen to Aurelia, her sisters are still next in line. What Rory did was safeguard her family from the clutches of darkness. Darkness I’m part of. Once, I became a first son.
The weight of Aurora’s love for her children is overwhelming, pressing down on me with every breath.
Aurora sniffles, drops her head as she closes her eyes; two tears slide over her dark lashes. She sucks back a breath before raising her head to the camera. “My beautiful girl. As I stand here, I hope I provided enough time for my family to have gotten the safe passage we planned for you. And I hope you lived a life away from this brutal one, but if you’re watching this, it probably means I failed.” Her voice shakes as she glances at the ground.
Blood pounds in my ears as I turn and stare at Aurelia. She was never supposed to come into this world, but here she is. But something tells me Rory never failed.
I turn back to the screen to see Aurora's gaze back on the camera, staring for a few moments.
“ And I am so sorry for upsetting you when I left. That day was the hardest one of my life. Hearing your sobs was much harder than what I’m about to do today. I’ve shed more tears from seeing your face, begging me not to leave you, than I have for myself.”
“No,” Lia whimpers, tears slipping over her closed lashes as she listens to her mother acknowledge the pain of leaving her behind.
“ You won’t remember the day I left when you get to see this—that hurts me more to say than anything else,” Rory chokes out her words, like they are the hardest words of all. She wipes her cheeks as she looks back at the camera. “I’m so sorry.”
The image of her tears breaks something inside me, releasing the sorrow I’ve held back for far too long.
“ I want you to always look after your sisters. The three of you are so beautiful together, and I want you to always have that. I have some things I have to tell you before I leave.” She holds up an envelope. “This is my personal letter to my girls.”
Aurelia turns and looks at me.
“I have the letter.”
She nods and turns back to the screen when her mother speaks again.
“ You’re not a secret, and one day people may come hunting you. You have two choices, but regardless of the choice you make, I want you to always look after your sisters.” Her voice breaks as she says, “You’re all...” She stammers. A ripple runs down her throat as tears roll down her cheeks. “I’m... I’m never going to cuddle my gorgeous girls again.”
I look away, unable to see the woman I loved... love in so much pain.
“ Go back to them. I’ll come with you. We can keep you and the girls safe,” I say to Rory on the camera.
“ You have your family now,” she says sadly as she gently shakes her head. “I’m doing this for them. This is the only way. But Aurelia needs to know her choices.”
“ Okay,” I stutter through the haze of my stinging tears, and I stand behind the camera again as I listen intently as she imparts her last wishes.
“ Aurelia, I entrust you with the responsibility of looking after your sisters. I want you to always cherish the bond the three of you have.”
I glance at Lia as she nods lightly. Her mother’s words have resonated deeply within her heart.
“ Aurelia, you have a choice to hide from the world, and to do that, I trust Antonio and Dominic to protect you, as they have promised me. And with their help, you may never be found. I hope that is the case.” She exhales deeply. “But there’s a chance you will be thrust into this world. You might not get a choice. But if you are, this is what you need to know. You are a Moretti. You are the ring that binds the five families. But much more than that because you should be the one in the power. You are La Capa di Tutti I Capi. Unfortunately, not all those families in the Syndicate want the Moretti family being in power.”
“I thought my mother was going to Italy to beg not to be initiated with the five families,” Lia says.
I choose not to answer, but I pause the screen because I know she’s about to ask the question.
“La Capa di Tutti I Capi,” Lia whispers with narrowed eyes.
“The boss of all bosses,” I reply, not sure if it was a question or not, but I continue anyway. “Right now, there are Don’s and Syndicates all around the world. But there is no La Capa di Tutti I Capi. That honor is only for a Moretti female.”
Lia’s chest rises and falls as she stares at the screen once more.
I press play.
“ Antonio Conti is your father,” she says, looking behind the camera. “He’s recording this. Only he and I are in this room. Dominic is waiting outside until I’m ready. Only the three of us and your stepfather, the man who has promised me he will look after you and your sisters, know who you are.”
“ Just so you know Aurelia, I love Tony and.... I love your dad. In an ideal world, they would both be my husbands. But my world is far from ideal.”
As the video draws to a close, I remain seated, my heart heavy, knowing what is to come. The room feels different now. The crushing weight of guilt is a burden I have lived with, but I am ready to make peace.
“Who killed her?”
I meet Lia’s eyes, searching for forgiveness, but don’t find a flicker of understanding in her eyes.
As Lia stares at me, she knows only her mother and I remained in the room. “Did you kill her?”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my voice choking with remorse as I stare at the screen, knowing what was to come.
Footsteps sound on the video. Taps of my feet as they strike over the Italian marble floor as I place two bottles on the table in front of the camera.
“ Two,” Rory says.
“ One each,” I reply.
“ Don’t you dare. I came here to protect my children. I need you, Dominic, and Rico alive to protect my legacy … my children.”
“ I... I... I love you,” I stammer. “I can’t live without you.”
“ You can... and you will stay alive. I’m giving up my life to protect my children. You promised me you would help me.” Rory’s voice is harsh.
“Mom,” Lia sobs, her voice quivering with anguish as she stares at the screen. “She killed herself … for me?”
I pause the video as Aurelia collapses to her knees, overcome by the weight of the reality of her mother’s sacrifice and the torrent of emotions crashing over her.
Tentatively, I crouch down, pulling her onto my lap, holding my daughter on the floor as uncontrollable sobs wreck her body.
Right then, everything she thought she knew was completely shattered.