Chapter Forty-Six
Matteo
E miliano Marchesani glowers at me from across the table. A thick vein runs down the middle of his forehead in testament to his displeasure.
The power shift from our last meeting is laughable. Whereas I’d previously had to entreat him into an alliance, he’s the one foaming at the mouth in anxious trepidation to see me actually go through with it now.
“You’ve been putting this off, Leone,” he accuses, setting his frame wide in his chair to make himself look bigger.
Enzo shifts next to me in a not so subtle warning to Marchesani that he settle down. I tip my low ball glass on its edge and watch the amber liquid through the crystal.
“You can understand that I’ve been busy in service of the Famiglia , Emiliano.”
He scoffs loudly, the sound derisive. “And what have you to show for it?” He doesn’t stop to let me answer, leaning forward instead and pointing a reproachful finger at me. “You’re the one who came to me, begging for an alliance. Don’t let yourself be blinded by your newfound power like the rest of your family—you’re in this position only because I’ve publicly announced my allegiance to you. That support can be retracted as quickly as it was granted,” he sneers. “If you want to remain Don , you’ll make right on your commitment and announce your engagement to Marina. I’d suggest including the planned wedding date in that announcement as well.” His tone makes it clear it’s anything but a suggestion.
“An alliance.”
Marchesani frowns. “What?”
I drag my gaze from my glass up to meet his. “You asked what I have to show for my efforts. That’s my answer, an alliance,” I tell him. “And the identity of my father’s killer.”
Enzo stills almost imperceptibly next to me. He’s wondering what my angle is here, what I’m up to. Even without knowing what the play is, he’ll follow me blindly.
“Who killed him?” Emiliano asks.
“The Colombians.”
His face darkens. “So it was Da Silva. That stronzo must have lost his mind if he thinks he can attack us without retaliation.” He shakes his head. “Who is the alliance with?”
I grin. “The Colombians.”
Technically, Thiago hasn’t officially signed off on the truce. Given that the only point of contention standing in the way of an agreement is his sister, and given that I don’t intend to accept any outcome other than her being mine, I’m considering the deal set in stone.
Seeing his features twist in total confusion is pure entertainment. His mouth opens and closes several times without a sound being uttered before he finally says, “I’m not sure I understand.”
“With my father’s knowledge, my brother kidnapped da Silva’s sister. They either murdered her or sold her into a sex trafficking ring.” Emiliano’s face contorts in disgust. “He’s been looking for her for two years. Their killings were acts of retaliation themselves, so the Famiglia does not have justification to strike back in return.” I take a drink, enjoying the burn of the scotch down my throat. “Let’s be honest, Emiliano—da Silva rid us both of two major problems. Augusto and Rocco’s deaths cleared the runway for the emergence of a new Famiglia , one without corruption, greed, and internal turmoil.”
There’s just one final piece that needs to be dealt with, but I don’t bother Emiliano with the details. Finding Guido and ensuring the girls’ safety is the priority now.
“An alliance with the Colombians gives us peace we sorely need. We’ve spent the past couple of years wasting our energy and resources killing and attacking each other when we could have and should have been working together. We can help each other without stepping on each others’ toes, and da Silva agrees with that,” I explain. “If you accept it, so will the rest of the Famiglia that is loyal to you, Emiliano. You know this is an alliance that’ll benefit us greatly.”
He leans back into his chair, the tension relaxing down to a low simmer between us. It’s his turn to clutch his glass, to twirl it absentmindedly between his fingers as he thinks through my proposal. I can feel Enzo waiting for his response with bated breath, but I breathe easy beside him. Marchesani would be stupid to turn this down. He’s many things, but a fool is not one of them.
“Alright.” He lifts his head and pins me with an almost reluctantly impressed look. “You’ve done well with this and you have my support. There’s never been an alliance between the Colombians and the Italians in the storied history of the Underworld before, it’s quite a feat,” he grunts. “We can announce your engagement now.”
“We can’t.”
Enzo stiffens.
As quickly as it eased, the tension is back to fully taut between Marchesani and I.
“And what excuse can you possibly have for putting it off now?” he demands, voice tight.
“I have no excuse, Emiliano. I can’t marry your daughter.”
He explodes out of his seat. “You’d insult Marina this way?”
“I mean her no disrespect,” I say, coolly. “In fact, it would be disrespectful to marry her when my heart belongs to someone else.”
Emiliano turns red with rage, the vein in his forehead popping disturbingly now. By my count, he hasn’t taken a breath in thirty seconds. Ten more and he may just keel over and die.
“Who cares about your fucking heart , Matteo?” he spits, saliva flying everywhere.
“You should. I will never speak to Marina, much less go anywhere near her, certainly nowhere close enough to ever give you the heir you so desperately want. Any time spent in her company would be spent yearning for someone else.”
“You won’t have my support,” he rages, slamming his fist down on the table between us. “I will not back you as Don .”
The manic, frenzied look of victory in his eyes tells me how much he enjoys playing that trump card, knowing he can use his power to bend and turn me to his will.
I rise to my feet slowly, everything about my movements in complete opposition to him. Standing, I button my suit jacket and stare back at him with the easy smile I always wear.
“You won’t need to. I’m stepping down.”
Enzo’s gaze whips over to me. I look steadily forward even as I feel his stare burning into the side of my face, the shock on his features evident even in my peripheral vision.
I never told him what I was going to do.
He would have tried to stop me.
“You’re what ?” Emiliano demands incredulously.
“I’m stepping down.”
He laughs. “No one has eve r renounced the Don title. You expect me to believe this?”
“This isn’t a ruse, Emiliano, nor is it some sort of subterfuge to try to force your hand. Your condition for supporting me was that I marry your daughter. I can’t fulfill that obligation, so I’m stepping aside.”
I look over at Enzo and clap a hand on his shoulder before finding Emiliano’s gaze.
“Enzo is my heir. He’s the next Leone in line to be Don . He’s agreed to marry your daughter and take my place as the head of the Famiglia . The alliance with the Colombians is my parting gift to you both. Do we have an agreement, Marchesani?”
“Matteo—” Enzo starts.
“You would rather give up being Don than give up a woman?” The disbelief rings shrilly in Emiliano’s voice.
“Not a woman, my woman,” I clarify. “And yes.”
Finally claiming and choosing Valentina lifts a weight off my chest that I didn’t even know was there. The words come out readily, excitedly, like my body is physically tired of holding them back.
“I will stay on as Enzo’s advisor, if he’ll have me, but I feel confident in the Famiglia ’s future knowing that it’s in his hands. You should too, Marchesani. We all have a common goal—to bring the Mafia back to its former glory. Enzo will make that happen, I have no doubt.”
I extend my hand across the table.
Marchesani stares down at it, his face screwed in thought. Eventually, he reaches out and shakes it.
I don’t stick around once it’s done.
I leave what I worked for my entire adult life, I leave what I once thought would be my future behind, and I walk away.
I don’t look back.
???
Footsteps thud furiously after me, growing louder and louder. I know who it is before he grabs me and slams me angrily into the hallway wall.
“What the fuck did you just do?” Enzo seethes between clenched teeth.
“What I should have done the moment my father died. Actually, what I should have done the second Valentina walked back into my life.”
“Have you lost your ever loving mind?”
I grin at him. “I’m marrying a Mafia princess just like we always talked about, cugino . It’s just not the one we thought.”
Enzo shakes his head. “You can’t give this up, Matteo. I won’t let you,” he rages through clenched teeth. “I was there every day of those ten years, remember? I was there, watching you bleed for this. You’ll regret giving it up.”
Only Enzo would fight being handed the keys to an entire kingdom. Only he would try to shove it back into my hands.
That’s why only he deserves it.
“I won’t.” I shake my head slowly. “I won’t regret it, Enzo. Do you know how I know? Because the only thing I felt when I walked away just now was excitement at finding Valentina and annoyance that I can’t just snap my fingers and teleport to her side.” Enzo’s features shift at the changing expression on my face. “But when she told me she was engaged? When I realized that she might be taken from me, that I might have lost her because I waited too long? That’s a kind of devastation I wouldn’t have come back from, cugino .”
There’s a confusion in his eyes that’s understandable. If the roles were reversed, if I hadn’t lived through the last four months with Valentina, I wouldn’t get it either.
“The Famiglia is the only thing you’ve ever wanted,” he argues.
“It used to be,” I agree.
He pushes off me with a sigh. With one final attempt, he says, “This is your life , Matteo.”
“My life has no meaning if she’s not in it.” I clap his shoulder again, trying my best to make him understand. “I realize I was wrong about what real revenge looks like. It wasn’t taking over the Famiglia . It wasn’t destroying my brother and father. It was being happy. That’s how I win. And she makes me happier than I’ve ever been.”
Enzo looks ready to argue, so I cut him off before he can.
“I don’t need it, cugino . My heart isn’t in it anymore. It’s with her. She’s more important. It’s your turn in the light now and my turn to support you.” I take off an imaginary crown and drop it on his head. “It’s yours, Enzo.” Then with a laugh, I add, “Try to keep it longer than I did.”
I’m halfway down the hall when I realize I forgot something.
“Oh, one last thing.” I walk back up to him and smack a wad of bills in his open palm. Enzo stares down at it then back at me. “Fifty grand. You were right,” I grin, clapping his shoulder. “But you already knew that.”