Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
NORA
Isit in the metal folding chair, my hands gripping the edges. The warehouse feels like it's closing in on me. Concrete walls, steel beams, and three Sartori brothers deciding my fate.
Nico hasn't stopped glaring at me since I finished speaking.
His eyes burn with hatred so intense I can almost feel it scorching my skin.
He was suspicious from the very beginning, watching me like a hawk while everyone else accepted my presence.
Now he looks vindicated, like he's just waiting for permission to put a bullet in my head.
"This is all very convenient," he says, voice dripping with venom. "A perfect little story to explain everything away."
I don't respond. What's the point? He's already decided I'm guilty.
Lorenzo stands with his arms crossed, his expression thoughtful rather than murderous. Thank God he's here. Without his calming presence, I'm not sure I'd still be breathing.
"We should wait for Finn's call before jumping to conclusions," Lorenzo says, placing a hand on Nico's shoulder. "There are too many missing pieces."
Nico shrugs him off. "She's Connor O'Sullivan's daughter. That's the only piece that matters."
My eyes drift to Pietro, but he refuses to look at me. He stands with his back partially turned, staring at the wall like it holds all the answers he's seeking.
The silence stretches between us, heavy and suffocating. I count the seconds in my head, trying to keep my breathing steady. One minute. Two minutes. Five.
When Pietro's phone finally rings, I nearly jump out of my skin. He pulls it from his pocket, glances at the screen, and puts it on speaker.
"You're on speaker, Finn," Pietro says, his voice cold. "My brothers are here. And your niece."
"Good," Finn's voice crackles through the speaker. "I'm glad you're all together. There's a lot to explain."
"Then start explaining," Pietro demands.
"I will," Finn says. "But first, Nora, I need you to know something. Your mother loved you very much."
I blink, confusion washing over me. "What does my mother have to do with any of this? She's been dead for fifteen years."
"Siobhan was trying to get you both out," Finn continues. "She didn't want that life for you. She was working with—"
"Stop," I interrupt, my patience snapping like a dry twig. "I don't need some emotional story about my mother's intentions. I need facts, Uncle Finn. I'm sitting in a warehouse with three men who might kill me any minute now, so cut the sentimental bullshit and tell us what's going on."
My voice echoes in the cavernous space. Lorenzo raises an eyebrow, looking almost impressed by my outburst. Nico's glare intensifies. Pietro finally turns to look at me, his expression unreadable.
"You're right," Finn sighs. "Facts first."
I grip the edge of the chair as Finn's voice fills the warehouse.
"Nora, there's something you need to know about your parents," Finn says, his voice heavy with what sounds like years of guilt. "Twenty-six years ago, Connor was supposed to marry Siobhan. It was arranged. Α union between families."
I'd always known my parents' marriage was strategic.
"Connor loved her, truly loved her," Finn continues. "But when I met Siobhan..."
The pause stretches between us, and suddenly I know what's coming before he says it.
"I couldn't help myself. I fell in love with her."
The air leaves my lungs in a rush. I stare at the phone in Pietro's hand like it's transformed into something alien.
"And Siobhan..." Finn's voice cracks slightly. "Siobhan fell in love with me too."
My mind races, trying to process what he's saying. My mother and my uncle. My father's brother.
"We had an affair for two years," Finn confesses. "Then she got pregnant."
I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.
"She told me it was better not to continue anymore," Finn says. "That we needed to end it for everyone's sake."
Lorenzo whispers, "Holy fuck," his composure finally cracking.
My legs give out beneath me, and I sink back into the chair, trembling uncontrollably.
"We remained separated for three years," Finn continues. "But we couldn't do it. We couldn't stay away from each other. Eventually, Siobhan asked Connor for a divorce."
I shake my head, trying to make sense of this revelation. All those years, all those memories of my parents…
"Connor loved her very much," Finn says, his voice growing harder. "He couldn't let her go. He threatened that he would take you from her if she left. He said he'd make sure she never saw you again. That's why she stayed, Nora. She stayed to protect you."
"I don't understand," I whisper, my voice barely audible. "What are you saying?"
"Nora, please," Finn's voice cracks through the speaker. "Let me finish."
I press my lips together, trying to control the trembling that's taken over my body. The three Sartori brothers stand frozen, witnessing the destruction of everything I thought I knew about myself.
"After your mother died," Finn continues, his voice heavy with grief, "her lawyer contacted both Connor and me. Siobhan had left letters for us."
My heart pounds so loudly I'm sure everyone in the warehouse can hear it.
"She had done a DNA test, Nora."
The room spins around me. I close my eyes, desperately wishing I could block out his words, but they pierce through anyway.
There's a long pause.
Finn's voice comes back, gentle but firm. "I'm your father, Nora. Not Connor."
I double over, a strangled sound escaping my throat. All those years? My entire identity?
All lies.
"I knew something horrible was coming," I manage to say through my tears. "But this..."
"That's when I made my one big decision," Finn continues. "You were so close to Connor. You adored him, followed him everywhere. I knew I couldn't take you from him too, not after Siobhan. That's why I left the mob, left Boston."
I look up, vision blurred with tears, to see Pietro watching me.
"Connor was ready to kill me when he learned the truth," Finn admits. "He had every right to. He's not as cruel as he seems, little fox. He couldn't kill his own brother, not even for this. But he couldn't forgive me either."
Little fox. The childhood nickname that always made me feel special, protected. Now it feels like just another lie.
I can't speak. Tears stream down my face. The Sartori brothers don't make a single sound. They stand like statues, witnessing the complete unraveling of my life.
Everything I thought I knew about myself has changed. My father isn't my father. My uncle is my father. My mother betrayed her husband with his brother. And I? Who am I now?
Pietro
I stare at Nora as she crumbles before my eyes. Her entire world has just been shattered with a few sentences. The fierce, defiant woman who challenged me at every turn now sits broken, tears streaming down her face.
I feel an urge to cross the room, to pull her into my arms, to shield her from this pain.
But I hold myself back. I can't trust this isn't all an elaborate performance.
The daughter of Connor O'Sullivan—or not, apparently—sitting in my warehouse, crying over a revelation that changes nothing about the fact that my shipments have been hit five times with perfect precision.
The silence stretches, heavy and suffocating, until Nico finally breaks it.
"What the hell does your family drama have to do with us?" he asks. "So you're her real father. Connor isn't. What does that change about our situation?"
Finn sighs through the speaker. "That's the last piece that's missing from what I had to say."
I tense, bracing for whatever bomb he's about to drop next.
"Siobhan had a best friend," Finn continues. "A woman she met under... circumstances that it's not my place to talk about."
Something cold slides down my spine. A premonition.
"Her name was Giulia."
"Fuck," I whisper, the pieces suddenly clicking together with sickening clarity.
Lorenzo's head snaps toward me, his eyes widening.
"When Siobhan died," Finn continues, "I wanted someone to talk to about her. Since I couldn't talk to Nora, I kept a connection with Giulia over the years."
"Giulia," I repeat. The woman who's been like a second mother to me.
Nora looks up at me, confusion mixing with her grief. She doesn't understand the significance yet.
"Giulia has worked for our family for over thirty years," I explain, my voice hollow. "She's practically raised us since our mother became ill."
"Are you saying Giulia has been feeding information to the Irish?" Nico demands, his face flushed with anger.
"No," Finn says firmly. "Giulia would never betray your family. She loves you all too much."
"For fuck's sake," I growl, running a hand through my hair. "What are you saying, Finn? Stop dancing around it."
"If you'd all stop interrupting me," Finn snaps through the speaker, "I could explain everything."
"Talk," I command, my voice dropping to that dangerous register that makes my men snap to attention. "Now."
Finn sighs. "I couldn't let Nora come directly to me when she fled Boston. Declan would have known exactly where to look."
Nora's shoulders shake with silent sobs. I fight the fucking urge to go to her.
"She's twenty-three years old," Finn continues, his voice breaking slightly. "She's lived her entire life believing Connor is her father. I couldn't just drop this on her while she was running for her life."
Lorenzo moves closer to me, his expression thoughtful. "So you called Giulia?"
"Yes," Finn confirms. "When Nora called me that night, terrified and bleeding, I reached out to Giulia. At first she couldn't help much. I was sending Nora from bar to bar until we could find something good enough. Then she mentioned Pietro needed a secretary. That's all."
"I sent her there because I knew Giulia would be close to her one way or another," Finn explains. "The plan was simple: Nora would work for a few months, gather enough money, and disappear somewhere Declan would never find her."
No one can talk.
"You have a leak," Finn says abruptly, changing topics. "But it has nothing to do with Giulia or Nora. I've been trying to figure out who's been hitting your shipments. Connor's been too smug about it, and the Murphys have been getting too much information."
Nico steps forward, his face hard. "And we're supposed to just believe you?"
"I don't give a damn what you believe," Finn retorts. "But Nora is innocent. She never betrayed you, Pietro. Not once."
I look at Nora, really look at her. The woman who organized my chaotic office, who stood unflinching when guns were pointed at her head, who moaned my name last night as I claimed every inch of her. Was it all a lie?
Her eyes meet mine, swimming with tears but still defiant. Still Nora.
Nora finally speaks, her voice raw. "Why didn't you just give me money? Why this elaborate scheme?"
The pain in her voice cuts through me.
Finn's voice cracks as he answers Nora. "I'm completely broke. Well, I'm not really proud about it. After I lost both you and your mother, I became an alcoholic."
The confession hangs in the air. I watch Nora's face as she processes this information, another blow on top of everything else.
"I now work two jobs to repay debts I have to people who loaned me over the years," Finn continues, his voice heavy with shame. "I'm one year into rehab."
Nora's shoulders slump further. Whatever fantasy she might have had about running away with her newfound father has just been crushed. I feel a strange mix of emotions—relief that she can't escape with him, anger at how this man has failed her, and an unexpected surge of protectiveness.
"Where is Connor now?" I ask. I need to know where my enemy is, especially if he's wounded and angry.
"He is going back to Boston, I shot him not knowing he was pointing the gun at you. I thought he was pointing at Nora for some reason. Anyway." Finn says. "He will communicate in two days with you, and you decide how you solve the war you have with each other."
Lorenzo steps closer, his diplomatic instincts kicking in. "This could be an opportunity, Pietro."
Nico scoffs. "An opportunity for what? To get ambushed?"
I raise my hand, silencing them both. My mind is racing, calculating possibilities, threats, advantages. Connor believes Nora is his daughter. The truth of her parentage changes nothing about how he feels—he raised her, she bears his name. He'll want her back, if only as a matter of pride.
And then there's Nora herself. I glance at her, sitting broken but still somehow defiant. In the span of a few hours, she's lost everything.
"Finn," I say, my voice hard. "I'll deal with Connor when he reaches out. Until then, Nora stays with me."
"Pietro—" Finn starts to protest.
"That's not negotiable," I cut him off. "You sent her to me. She's been working for me. She stays with me until this is resolved."
I don't examine too closely why I'm so insistent on this point. I tell myself it's strategic—keeping Nora gives me leverage with Connor. But the truth is more complicated, and I'm not ready to face it yet.
"She's my daughter," Finn says, a note of desperation in his voice.
"A fact you kept from her for twenty-three years," I remind him coldly. "You don't get to claim father's rights now."
I look at Nora, expecting her to protest, to demand her freedom. But she just sits there, staring at nothing, as if the fight has drained out of her completely.
"Two days," I tell Finn. "We'll be in touch."
I end the call before he can respond.