Epilogue 2
Alessio
There’s no one who makes my skin crawl more than Thea Andretti. She’s not ugly on the outside, but on the inside, she’s rotten to the core. I sit behind my polished mahogany desk, the surface bare other than a half-empty glass of whiskey and a small silver box that holds more than just cigars.
Across from me, Thea sits with a practiced calm, although I notice her fingers nervously tracing the rim of her glass as she avoids my gaze, the weight of her desperation evident in the subtle twitch of her lips.
Thea is a woman who wears her secrets like a second skin, and I have seen through those layers long ago.
That’s the thing. When you start on the bottom, you see and hear things you’re not supposed to.
And I’ve seen and heard enough of Thea to destroy her.
“I must say, Alessio, you’ve done a fine job as head of the Costello family. Your predecessors would be proud,” she begins, her voice steady.
“Let’s skip the pleasantries, Thea,” I reply. “You’re in debt, and you need me to bail you out. And in return, you’re offering me your daughter’s hand in marriage.” I lean forward. “But I know Lily doesn’t love me. Not the way I love her.”
Thea’s eyes flicker with something—anger, perhaps, or maybe the realization that this isn’t going to be as easy as she hoped. “She loves you enough to be a good wife. No one takes a bachelor seriously. You need a wife. Don’t fail the Costello legacy.”
I can’t help but smirk at her audacity. “Fail my family? Or you fail your own?”
“I’m not a bad mother. I’ve made mistakes, yes, but this is different. If you pay off my debts, I can ensure her safety and security. I can make sure she has a stable life… with you.”
I lean back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest. “And what if I say no? What if I refuse to play your game?”
Thea’s expression hardens, and I can see the wheels turning in her mind. “You care for her, Alessio. You’ve made that clear. But if you refuse me, I can’t guarantee her safety. Viktor Vaks is not someone to be trifled with. He won’t let this go, and you know it as well as I do.”
Viktor Vaks. The name rolls off her tongue like poison. I know all too well the man at the head of the Russian mafia, trying to invade my city—ruthless, cunning, and with a liking for revenge. He has already made it clear that Thea’s debts are a direct line to him.
“I’m not scared of Vaks,” I reply, unfazed by the man’s threatening appearance around the city.
Thea arches her brow. “Maybe not Vaks, but my girls will raise hell if Vaks comes after Lily again.”
My jaw clenches. “You Andrettis are real pains in the asses, you know that?”
“We are a blessing and a burden.” Her smile is proud.
“Fine,” I give in, my tone clipped. “I’ll pay off your debts, but I never want to see your face again. You fuck anything up, I will make sure you spend the rest of your days trapped inside your own house until you rot.”
Thea simply bows her head. “Your kindness is appreciated.”
“I would have appreciated you not blowing through all your money.”
Thea wasted no time after her husband’s death to find herself a sugar daddy to fund her spending.
The last sucker left her his estate and ten million, but with my interference, Thea only got five million, while the rest went into a trust for his surviving family.
It was enough to shut her up. I would have given her nothing if I knew she had a gambling problem.
Thea’s eyes narrow, irritation creeping in, but she says nothing. Doing the smart thing, she gets up and leaves.
I let out a breath of relief.
Picking up my phone, I dial Tito, my right-hand, to reach out to Viktor Vaks to settle Thea’s debt and tell him to leave before things get really ugly.
Two days later, I get a call from Vaks himself.
“Alessio,” Viktor greets, his voice thick with a Russian accent. “I hear you have a proposition.”
“It would be smart to take it,” I reply.
“I will accept your payment to clear the bitch’s debt, but only if you do something for me.”
“That’s not how this works,” I shoot back, getting annoyed.
“You think I owe you anything? I don’t,” he scoffs. “Debt paid off only secures the girl’s safety. That won’t make me leave the city.”
“What do you want, Vaks?”
“Killian. Dead.”
“Killian has many allies, and crossing him could bring consequences.”
“If you want me gone, that’s what it will take.” One man dead will secure my position in the city and get rid of the Russians. This is a no-brainer.
“Consider it done,” I reply.
We hang up, and I turn to my right-hand man, Tito, who is sitting beside me in the limo.
“After tonight’s gala, I want a meeting with Darius and Cameron in my office.”
“Will do, boss,” Tito replies.