Chapter 14
VALENTINA
Afew days later, I decide to take matters into my own hands.
If the Grant Park incident was my stepfather’s doing, I cannot sit idly by. I’m done with mind games and the threat of terror against me and against my son. I’m done bearing the cross of generations—it was never mine to carry, nor was it Michael’s.
Eddie pulls over outside a café near Morgan, looking out the passenger window.
“Is this it?” he asks.
“Yes. Thank you for doing this, Eddie,” I tell him.
“It’s the only way the boss was ever going to let you out of the house,” he replies. “You go in, and I’ll slip into the side alley before I join you.”
I smile at him. “Sure. Just stay out of sight, please. It’s a little weird walking around with a tower-sized man who looks like he might kill anyone who even tries to come near me.”
“That’s the whole point, but it’s alright. I get it,” he says with a chuckle. “I’ll be close by.”
“And Luca? Where is he now?” I ask.
“Last I checked, he was wrapping something up at the office. He wasn’t too happy about you going out to meet with Caroline on your own, but he appreciates your relationship with her.
Whatever helps bring the families closer together, I guess,” Eddie says.
“Victor convinced him to give you some room to breathe, Miss Petrucci. And frankly, I agree. You can’t be cooped up in that mansion all day long. ”
“I cannot express how much it means to me to hear you say that, Eddie.”
I nod, then get out of the car. As per our usual safety protocols, I look both ways along the sidewalk, checking for anything that might seem out of place. Nothing stands out, so I go into the café with my head up and my senses sharp, quickly sweeping my gaze around the room, analyzing it.
Eddie watches me from the car.
Caroline gets up from one of the tables closest to the window. She looks beautiful in a floral pattern dress, her dark blonde hair loosely gathered into a bun at the nape of her neck.
“Hey there, little sister,” she says, lowering her head ever so slightly.
The café looks clean and fairly empty. Some of the tables are occupied, but the patrons are either moms with kids or judging by their laptops and flash cards, college grads from next door, looking for a caffeine fix before their exams. It smells like coffee and cinnamon and freshly baked pastries.
The milk frothing nozzle gurgles continuously while the barista prepares a latte to go. Life seems pretty normal when I forget that I’m from the mob world. I take a deep breath and sit down at Caroline’s table.
“Hey there, big sister,” I reply. “I’m glad you agreed to meet me here.”
“Trust me, I want us to find a resolution, too. Things are getting out of control,” Caroline says. “Our old man is like a stubborn mule. And I had no idea about the gift he delivered to your wedding reception, by the way.”
“Oh.”
She leans forward, her brow furrowed. “I mean it, Valentina. I need you to believe me. I don’t know whom he bribed to sneak that box in there, but it wasn’t me. I swear it.”
“I believe you.”
“That being said, I’m sorry for being so bitchy,” Caroline says and huffs out a sigh. “I did feel kind of bitter, I’ll admit, thinking I was going to get married and then having the rug pulled out from under me. I confess, it messed with my head a little, and I took it out on you. I’m so sorry.”
I cover her hand on the table with mine, desperate for some semblance of sibling affection between us.
“It’s okay. I get it. It couldn’t have been easy for you,” I tell her.
“For what it’s worth, I wasn’t exactly keen about the whole getting married thing either.
I had found some peace and quiet in Calumet City, and then Luca—”
“Saved you,” Caroline cuts in. “Whether you’re ready to admit it or not, he saved you. Had Papa found you first, I don’t think he would’ve reacted as kindly, given the extent that you bruised his ego.”
Once the barista brings our drinks over, Caroline and I seem to relax slightly.
Whether it’s the atmosphere or the vanilla pump in our lattes, I’m not sure.
But we seem to ease into the conversation more smoothly than ever before.
I look around, and I don’t see Eddie at a first glance.
Part of me hopes he’s actually nearby and that I’m still in his line of sight. In Luca’s absence, he’s my protector.
“How’s Luca treating you?” Caroline asks. With nimble fingers, she tears open a packet of Lotus Biscoff biscuits.
“Luca? Oh, he’s a good man. He’s kind and generous. Things are good,” I reply. “It’s going better than I thought it would, to be honest.”
“How so?”
“He’s nothing like Stefano, for starters.”
Caroline rolls her eyes. “Puh-lease, it’s not like you ever met the real Stefano. That bastard swindled you into sleeping with him and damn near destroyed our already shabby family in the process. I think sewer rat is a better name for him, rather than Stefano Petrucci at this point.”
“Wow,” I say and almost laugh. “Don’t hold back, Caroline. Tell me how you really feel.”
“Can you blame me? We had balance; we had a life together. You were going to study and do your own thing. Someday, Papa would find you a suitor, someone worthy of you. Stefano turned everything upside down, and I had to pick up the pieces after you left.”
My pained look hopefully reveals sympathy. “But do you understand why I left, Caroline? Do you really understand?”
She takes a moment to carefully consider her answer. The one thing I’ve known about Caroline ever since we were little girls is that she knows when to speak and when to hold her tongue—especially when it comes to discussing delicate matters.
“I understand why you left, but that doesn’t mean I liked it,” Caroline replies. “It certainly doesn’t mean I was okay with it either.”
“Did Papa ever tell you what he was going to do?”
Caroline stills, her eyes widening for a second. But her calmness quickly returns. “What do you mean?”
“Did Papa ever tell you what he was going to do after he found out I was pregnant with Michael?”
“No.”
“He said we were going to talk about it in the morning and discuss our options. Options, he called them,” I scoff. “You do know what ‘options’ meant, right?”
My blood boils from the memory of that night, the anger and fear that washed over me. The dread that ultimately pushed me to pack a bag and sneak out of the Mancuso mansion in the middle of the night.
“He was going to take away my right to choose,” I tell Caroline. “Because I never intended to terminate the pregnancy or to give my baby up for adoption. Given Papa’s hatred of the Petruccis, you do realize both options were on the table, don’t you?”
She sighs heavily. “Yes.”
“Me keeping my child was likely at the bottom, and I doubt he would’ve allowed it.”
“Me, too,” Caroline concedes. “But you did what you had to do. The pieces I had to pick up certainly don’t compare to being a single mother and all that entails. I know that, too. I guess each of us paid a price.”
“Stefano, too. He had the most to pay,” I say.
“I agree. I think he deserved to suffer more for what he did to you, using you like that. It was mean and it was cruel. And for the love of God, we need to find a way to stop this feud between our families. You’re with the Petruccis now.
I’m still very much a Mancuso. Maybe we can finally bridge that gap the proper way. ”
“That’s why I’m here, Caroline. There were people chasing Luca and me a few nights ago. Luca says it was merely a psychological tactic to scare us and throw us off our game,” I tell her. “Did Papa mention anything about it?”
Caroline frowns and then shakes her head.
“He wouldn’t do something like that. The box at your wedding reception was definitely him.
It’s typical of his spiteful nature. But Papa is always direct in his confrontations.
Physical. Abusive, even. Following you around just to torment you is not his thing, I’m almost certain of it. ”
She pauses and leans forward. “Don’t forget the Petruccis have always had enemies besides the Mancusos. It’s been lonely up there at the top for them. It’s the loneliest for Luca, who’s having to deal with the bridges Stefano burned on top of everything else.”
“What do we do then?”
“A peace accord. We draft a peace accord that entices Papa into at least considering it. And I can pick it up from there, talk it over with him until he agrees to sign it.”
I nod slowly, leaning back in my chair. My vanilla latte feels like sweet comfort rolling down my throat.
Around us, the café gets a little more crowded.
A few students join the others already cramming for their exams. One of the moms leaves with her kid in tow, and two young women in blazers take her table.
“What would a pact like that sound like?” I ask Caroline. “What would the terms and conditions be?”
“Well, it’s always been about territory and resources with our families. That’s what they’ve always fought about,” she says. “If Luca agrees to concede some of the former Mancuso-owned territories, I’m sure Papa will back off his persistence to bring Michael into our family.”
I shake my head. “Papa doesn’t have a leg to stand on from a biological perspective. DNA will show that I am the biological parent, Caroline. Plus, Luca will never even consider surrendering any territories, not after what happened at the wedding.”
“Well, dammit, Valentina, something’s got to give.
If push comes to shove, you know Papa will extinguish the rest of the Petruccis.
He’ll get to you, too, and Michael will end up being raised by the Mancusos.
Both of our families are hanging by a thread.
Our bloodlines are messed up. We have to find some kind of middle ground. ”
My whole body quivers at the thought of anything like what Caroline described happening. And I have to admit, I think my stepfather is perfectly capable of doing whatever evil thing he has to do in order to get what he wants.