28. Lia
Chapter 28
Lia
After leaving Amara and Milly with Xander at Dominic’s home, we travel to the wake in Dominic’s car in silence.
Dante’s trying to appear calm, but despite the tension in his shoulders, I can see the calculations happening behind his eyes. I can see his hands forming into fists. I see the tic of his jaw.
“We need a plan, Dante.” Dominic’s voice is steady despite the circumstances. “You can’t do anything until there’s a sign.”
“I don’t need a sign. It’s Eduardo.” Dante says, “he knows about Lia.”
Deep down, I know the truth. I knew it was about me. This attack wasn’t random. It was meant for me and I hate that Dante, Cade, and Rafe were supposed to be collateral damage in Eduardo’s twisted plan.
There’s a bitter taste of indignation in my mouth and a fiery rage engulfs my stomach, burning. Knowing that this person callously disregards the well-being of others makes my blood boil.
“How does he know?” Dominic twists to Dante and waits.
“Because I overheard his hired assassin talking to someone on his phone before I killed him. He repeated Lia’s name, and not Aurelia Moretti. The person told him the name was Lia Bailey. “
Dominic doesn’t seem phased at all that his son has just admitted that. His head bobs as his eyes land on mine, and I feel the weight of the unspoken words between us.
“Are you sure you want to come to the wake?” Dominic finally asks me.
I nod firmly, meeting Dominic’s gaze. “I’m sure. I need to be there.” My voice is calm, despite the storm of emotions churning inside me.
The Hotel Palace Versailles stands opulent and gleaming as the car pulls up to the hotel. Its grandeur and golden facade is a stark contrast to the black-clad mourners filing inside.
Inside, the hotel is as opulent, with crystal chandeliers sparkling overhead and with the marble-floored lobby.
Before we can make our way to the main event room, Antonio intercepts us. His face is drawn, and the lines around his eyes are deeper than usual. He gives me a small smile before he pulls us aside.
“We need to talk.” His voice is low and urgent as he glances around the venue. “I asked my sons not to attend.” His eyes now dart between Dante and Dominic. “Things are... volatile right now. I thought it best to minimize potential conflicts.”
“Volatile? Someone tried to kill my family,” Dominic growls. “And as I’m no longer the head of this family, you’ll have to speak to Dante about how he wants to go forward.”
Dante’s hand tenses around mine.
Antonio continues, his voice dropping even lower. “There’s more. I got a call from my source. Ricardo Bianchi’s body...” He pauses, swallowing hard as he looks at me. “It washed up on the shore at Kingscliff. Mangled. It’s... it’s not pretty.”
A chill runs down my spine, but I force myself to remain outwardly calm.
Rafe’s hand finds mine, squeezing gently.
This news changes things. We thought we’d have more time before the Bianchi family would realize their family had lost their head.
“Milly’s out with Lorenzo at the casino,” I say to Antonio. “They decided not to come to the wake after what happened.”
He nods. “I’ve already spoken to my sons about taking Enzo away for a few days while we deal with the police and the Italian side of the Bianchi family, because everyone knows he isn’t ready to take over.” Antonio glances around the opulent surrounding making sure nobody is listening. “And it would be an idea for Milly to go with them until the news dies down. Considering.”
Considering her sister killed Bianchi.
He doesn’t say it, but I know it’s exactly what he means.
“I agree. We need to proceed carefully,” Dominic says. “But first we need to let that bastard know he is on borrowed time.”
I nod, steeling myself for what’s coming as we walk away from the foyer and toward the room that may be full of potential enemies.
But I’m not afraid as we step inside the event room. If anything, the news of Ricardo’s washing up on the shore only strengthens my resolve to make Eduardo pay for his crimes. I’m more determined than ever to see that justice is served, no matter the cost.
“We need to talk,” Antonio says to Eduardo.
Antonio and Dominic lead Eduardo out of the private room. Eduardo follows without a care, as do his team of bodyguards.
“Come. I want to know what they are offering him,” Dante says, taking my hand.
We follow them through a corridor and into a small room.
“Sit,” Antonio gestures at the table to Eduardo.
I watch from the door, my body tense with barely contained rage, knowing this man has just tried to kill us, yet he doesn’t give one look of surprise.
That’s stone cold killers for you.
As we reach the table, I overhear them offering Eduardo a chance to leave the Syndicate, to retire to a comfortable life in Italy. Anger courses through my veins at the very thought.
He doesn’t deserve an easy way out, not after what he did to my mother. After what he just did to us and that poor bodyguard.
“Fuck you!” Eduardo’s refusal is swift and arrogant. His eyes lock on Dante, contempt clear in his gaze. “You should have taken the arranged marriage deal,” he sneers, and in a flash, he pulls a gun on Dante.
“Is that why you tried to kill me?” Dante hisses.
The room erupts into chaos. Dominic and Antonio draw their weapons, ordering Eduardo to back down. His bodyguards surge forward but are quickly restrained by Dominic and Antonio’s men.
“Everyone out!” Dominic yells.
The room empties as the bodyguards leave, and the atmosphere becomes charged with an intense, crackling tension.
“It wasn’t me,” Eduardo says, swaying his gun in Dante’s direction. “I offered you my position. Why would I try to kill you?”
“You’re cornered Eduardo, be brave, be a leader and admit it,” Dominic hisses.
He laughs.
“But the death of Aurora Moretti is still on your hands.” Antonio’s voice cuts through the music still playing through the speakers. “You can’t deny that. You gloated too much over the years.”
“It was a Syndicate decision. Not mine alone.” Eduardo’s face twists with rage, and he swings his gun towards Antonio.
“The fuck it was. You and Rossi planned it.” A shot rings out, deafening in the enclosed space.
“You shot me.” Eduardo stumbles, his gun clatters on the table as he holds his shoulder and glares at Antonio. “You bastard. You actually shot me. I’m going to...”
“What are you going to do?” This time, Antonio levels his gun at Eduardo’s heart, his voice cold.
“You won’t get away with killing me. My family will hunt you.” He looks all around the empty room, still hoping for some help, but the man has helped no one in his life. He probably should have realized his demise was going to happen the moment they took him away from the prying crowd.
“Let them hunt me. I’ll kill anyone who tries to set foot in Australia. But first, it’s time I paid you back for the hurt you caused me. For planning to kill my daughter. And for the death of the woman I loved.”
“Your daughter? Francesca?” Eduardo says. His voice coated in confusion.
Antonio holds the gun to his heart and says, “No. Aurelia Moretti. My daughter with Aurora Moretti.” A few gasps come from the door.
Dominic twists around. He doesn’t need to say anything. The door slams as the eavesdroppers flee.
Antonio continues, “And this is something I have wanted to do since I had to hide her.”
I rush behind Eduardo, lift my skirt, and remove the knife strapped to my thigh. “I think I have the biggest right to kill him,” I say, my voice steady despite the churning inside me. “After all, she was my mother. And it was he who hired an assassin to kill me.”
Eduardo’s eyes widen in shock as I crouch beside him, pressing the knife against his throat and watch as a trickle of blood dribbles from the non-life threatening cut. “You were prepared to kill me for marrying Dante de Luca. But I’m so much more than that, Mr. Gallo. My name is Aurelia Moretti.”
“You!” The revelation jolts his body like a physical blow. Another dribble of blood skitters down his throat.
I smile. “And I set out to kill every head of the Syndicate, but a change of guard may be all that's needed once you’re dead.”
“I’ll go to Italy. I’ll leave you in peace,” he begs.
I smile at his sudden fear. “I prefer an eye for an eye,” I whisper.
“You don’t have to do this.” Antonio tries to intervene, but I stand firm.
“I do.”
Suddenly, the doors slam, and a familiar voice fills the room. “You don’t, but I do.”
My father, Fredrico Rossi, strides in, his gun trained on Eduardo.
The shock of his appearance momentarily stuns me, before I ask, “What are you doing here?”
“Move back.” He kisses my temple gently. “Something I should have done decades ago, my brave girl.”
“Rico…” Eduardo gasps out my father’s name. There’s a plea in his voice, but Dad is unmoved as he stands in front of the table where Eduardo is slumped. “You’re dead. You’re …”
“I’m obviously not dead.”
“I saw your body,” Eduardo states.
Dad shakes his head. “I did what I had to do. Because you and my father were the evil that ruined Aurora Moretti,” he states, standing beside me. “And I’m ashamed to say that my daughter killed my father because I was too much of a coward to do it myself.”
Eduardo narrows his eyes as he turns to me as the realization of what I’m capable of dawns on him.
“But your death belongs to me. I owe Aurora for the anguish you put her through before she left her daughters alone in this world. I owe her and her daughters for not keeping them safe, as I promised her.” Dad continues.
Eduardo’s eyes plead before he begs, “Please have mercy.”
But it’s futile. Rico’s resolve is unshakeable.
“We can talk about this,” Eduardo pleads once more.
He aims his gun at Eduardo’s torso, and says, “I owe you... nothing but…” His voice is cold and final. Much colder than I’ve ever heard, “also everything.”
A gunshot echoes through the room.
A dark stain spreads across Eduardo’s white shirt as his body sags. His lifeless eyes stare ahead for a moment before his face slams on the table in front of him.
As the echo of the shot fades, I stand there with a strange sense of emptiness engulfing me. The goal I’ve worked towards for so long has been achieved, but not by my hand.
“I need the cleaners to the Hotel Palace Versailles within the next twenty minutes,” Antonio says into his cell. “A body bag. And get Ivan to manipulate the footage. Delete anything with Eduardo Gallo.” He disconnects and says, “Let’s go. The party is next door.”
Dante wraps his arms around my shoulders. “It’s over now.”
I nod as I look at Rico, my dad, seeing him in a new light. He never wanted to be in this life. I get it now. I get how he hated these men.
As our eyes meet, I see a lifetime of regret. “Sorry,” I say. “I should’ve listened to you.”
He laughs. “You never listened to me. You’re just like your mother.”
“That’s nice.” Tears sting my eyes because that’s all I want. To be told I was half the woman I learned she was.
That’s enough to make me happy.