Chapter 36
Dante
My brothers and I sit around a long oak table we’ve used for strategizing, arguments, celebrations, and mourning. This morning, the air is thick with expectations and a silence that comes with an irreversible choice.
Although I’d like to ease them into a decision I made last night, I don’t have time to dawdle.
“Carmela Moretti drugged me.” My words vibrate with the fury I’ve held since the memory slammed into me hours ago. “The failed drug test was because Carmela put a sedative in my drink. It’s also why I lost days of memories.”
Their reactions are immediate. Giovanni’s jaw clenches, Matteo curses under his breath, Nico’s eyes narrow into tiny slits, and Elio quietly seethes.
If anyone else made these accusations, they’d be interrogated with more than words, but since it’s me, their blood—both literally and by everything we’ve survived—they immediately believe me. They know I’d only bring this to them if I were certain, aware of what’s at stake.
Nico balances his elbows on the boardroom-size table. “We can take this to family court. Make sure the judge knows you were drugged. We can—”
“No,” I interrupt. “I’m done with official channels. The system has failed me too many times. I can’t risk letting them fuck this up for me too. I need to act on my own terms.” With a closed fist, I bang my chest for emphasis. “It’s time to handle this the old-fashioned way.”
Giovanni’s lips purse. He’s satisfied we’ve finally reached this level, but also cautious.
“Old-fashioned as in bringing in the boss of all bosses?” He speaks his last words carefully, like the suggestion itself to bring Henry Gottle Sr. into this might trigger an avalanche.
“If you bring him in, everything comes into play… including your relationship with Lucia.”
I meet his gaze without flinching. “I understand.”
“Do you?” he presses. “Because once Henry is involved, there’s no hiding. No pretending. The instant he sees you together, there’s no keeping Lucia separate from this world.”
“Chemistry like that can’t be hidden, D,” Elio jumps in. “That’s why I’ve been destroying the footage from your apartment within minutes of it landing in my server.”
“I know,” I say quietly. “That’s why I’m stepping back from the Cosa Nostra.”
The room goes still. A pin drop could be heard.
Giovanni’s shock shifts to grief, then understanding when I say, “I’m giving it all away… for Lucia.” The words taste bitter but feel right.
Silence stretches, thick and choking, but I continue because I need them to hear this.
“Our family is more than the Cosa Nostra. It always has been. It will continue to be a major part of my life… but I can’t live with these rules anymore.
Saying I can’t touch her, that I can’t be with her because she belongs to someone else is fucking crazy.
You don’t own people. Not in my world, and not in the fucking world I am building for my daughter.
If I lose everything, so be it, but I won’t lose Lucia to Edoardo’s bullshit claim of ownership. ”
Matteo exhales slowly while scrubbing his bristled jaw. “You’re serious.”
“Never been more serious.”
Nico nods in a small gesture of support. “Then we’ll stand with you.”
Giovanni doesn’t speak at first. He just studies me. His watch is calculating and menacing but not unkind.
Finally, he says, “I understand why you’re doing this. I also respect it. But before I take your decision to our father, I need you to do one thing for me.”
Nothing he could say will change my mind, so I reply nonchalantly, “What?”
The room collectively holds its breath when he replies, “Ask Lucia about the note she gave Valentina.”
“What note?”
Giovanni reaches into his jacket, pulls out a folded piece of paper, and places it on the table between us. “It’s an offer to help Valentina leave the family if she’s in danger. She told her that if she wants to run, she should do it before she gives birth, or she may never get the chance.”
I stare at the note scribbled on a doctor’s prescription pad, my pulse pounding.
Lucia wrote that.
Lucia, who carries secrets like weights around her neck.
Lucia, who’s been terrified of attachments since the day we met.
Lucia, who pushed me away because she believed it was the only way she could protect someone she’s been protecting long before we met.
Giovanni’s protective stance makes him seem taller. “This isn’t just about you and Lucia. It isn’t even about you, Lucia, and Camille. There’s something else, something she’s afraid to tell anyone. Even you, Dante.”
I swallow hard, but the truth still seeps out. “I know.”
Leaning back, he folds his arms across his chest. “You have the right to leave this life. You’ve earned it.
But you need to ensure Lucia can do the same.
She may not be ready to choose as you are.
She may not be free to make that choice.
If you walk away without understanding what burden she’s carrying, you could make things worse. ”
His worry is the exact reason I made the decision I did. The “choice” he’s referring to should only rest on Lucia’s conscience.
But I understand how hard a decision like this is to make when you’ve had the rules drummed into you since birth.
“I’ll talk to her.”
Giovanni dips his chin in appreciation before he nudges it to the door, encouraging me to bite the bullet now.
It’s time to ensure Lucia knows I’m not just choosing her. I’m choosing everything about her.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.