Chapter 30
Francesca
“Dad?”
Saying I was perplexed was the understatement of the year.
I flew right into his arms, feeling the warmth of this fatherly embrace envelope me like a comfy blanket.
I missed him so much I can’t even begin to put it into words. I let my tears flow freely down my face, the stress and sorrow finally finding their way out of me, soaking my father’s shirt in small puddles of shed pain.
My life was a complete mess. All I wanted was some peace and time. I thought I would get that after talking to Matt this morning. That we would somehow find our way back to each other, learn how to forgive, and overcome all that had happened in the last month.
Now that I knew his real motivations, it didn’t truly make it any better, but at least I could understand him better. What he did came from a place of love. Love he felt for me. And now that love had developed into something tangible – this baby I still couldn’t believe was growing inside me.
Matt was going to be a father. And I couldn’t help but think about the sense of safety, love, and warmth he would bring to our child, just like the one I was experiencing right now as I stood here wrapped in the arms of my own father.
“W-what are you doing here?” I managed to ask between sniffles and hiccups, reluctantly letting go of him. “What am I doing here?”
“You’re safe here, my baby,” He replied, wiping my tears with the tip of his thumb.
“I don’t understand. Why are you here? I thought you were dead! We’ve been looking for you all over. Why did you have Nikolai take me like that? Why have you been here this whole year?” I asked, not bothering to hide my uneasiness. My mind was racing with all these questions and the secrecy behind everything.
“Calm down, Dear,” my father chuckled at my sudden spring of questions. “I’ll tell you everything. But first of all, I want to know how you are.” He paused, pushing me forward and inspecting my body, making sure that I was unscathed. “I missed my beautiful little girl so much.”
“I’m confused, Dad. I’m very confused. Where are we?”
“Just outside Kingston. And this,” he said, opening his arms and spinning around while looking at the ceiling, “this is the soon-to-be Naoki Manor. As soon as we have our problems solved and we can come out.”
“Naoki?” I repeated, incredulous. “As in Yakuza Naoki?”
“Yes, Dear. Yakuza Naoki.” He calmly said as if there was absolutely nothing strange about that statement.
“Oh my God.” I exhaled. “Dad, please don’t tell me you are working for Hiro!”
“Not for . With!”
I put my hands over my eyes, letting my head fall forward before slowly walking toward the bed and sitting on the mattress.
How could my father be working with the Yakuza? Was he responsible for Matt’s grandfather’s death? Holy shit. There goes any serenity I could hope for, flying out the fucking window.
“Why the hell would you be working for the Yakuza?” I asked, my disappointment clearly coating every one of those words.
“Because I couldn’t trust The Mafia anymore, amore mio .” my love .
“You’ll have to give me more than that. Please just ditch the code and tell me clearly what the hell is going on and why I am at the Naoki Manor.” I couldn’t help the mocking undertone in my voice or the beginning of the rise of a bitter storm forming right in the center of my chest.
“Francesca, I was captured by The Mafia the day I disappeared. It was probably even voted for in one of those meetings of The Commission. I was held against my will for over two months until Hiro rescued me. It was Matteo Battaglia who had me kidnapped to assure that your marriage to his family would go through. That I would not interfere. It happened as soon as I voiced my denial and opposition to your marriage to his brother, Liam.”
“That’s not true,” I stated, my head shaking vigorously in denial. “Liam didn’t even want to marry me. The marriage was not the Battaglia’s proposition. It was uncle Enzo’s.”
“It is true. I even had one of their men watching over me. What was his name,” he stopped to think for a while, looking for the answer on the white paint of the ceiling. “Oh yeah, Gio!”
“See? That’s exactly how I know this isn’t true. Matt killed Gio in front of me. I saw him die as a traitor.”
“Nothing but theatricals, Dear. A show put on just for you. But what’s important is that now you are safe here with me. Safely away from Matteo. I am so sorry you had to marry him.” He said with visible pain in his eyes.
He believed, without a shred of doubt, that all he was saying to me was true.
“Once Hiro strikes, there will be no mercy, and I do not want you in the middle of that fight. I was relieved when I got news of your divorce. But then you had to go and spend the night with him again. I couldn’t wait any longer. I couldn’t take the risk of you getting hurt in the crossfire. My only demand to Hiro, to help him bring down the Battaglias, was that you were not to be harmed. That you would be safe and out of the way before all hell broke loose.”
“So, those notes… it was you?”
“Indeed. I wanted you to know I was coming to save you, but I couldn’t let you know it was me. I couldn’t let your husband find out that I had escaped. That that pezzo di merda would never again set his hands on you, my sweet girl. Bastard.”
I glared at him for the way he spoke about Matt, still shaking my head in disbelief. But my father wasn’t having it. He was so blind, so convinced of his version, that he carried on with the lies, trying to make me see things in his light.
“Your ex-husband orchestrated all of this so he could get his hands on two seats in The Commission. He has wanted to be a Capo di tutti i capi for a very long time now, ever since his grandfather brought him into the business. Boss of all bosses . And you were his golden ticket, my love.”
“Dad, Stop! None of that is true!” I shouted, getting up from the bed and running my hands through my hair in exasperation. On top of all the shit in my life, how could this be happening? How could my father be helping the Yakuza rage a war against my husband?
Against me!
“Please just listen to me. I love Matt. I was blessed with the opportunity to marry him, even under the wrong circumstances. And he loves me, too, Dad. This is all a lie. Gio was working for Hiro. He tried to manipulate me against Matt, betraying the family that took him in and made him a Man of Honor. But Gio had no honor. He was a weasel who sold out to the highest bidder. Please tell me this is all a misunderstanding and that you had absolutely nothing to do with it. That you are being held captive here, against your will. Please, Dad. Please tell me you had no part in killing Don Battaglia.” I let out all the emotion, together with a new stream of tears that broke my voice.
I was perfectly aware of what treason like this meant in the Cosa Nostras code. There was absolutely no defense possible for him if The Mafia found out about his involvement in Don Battaglia’s death.
It would be an easy decision. Not to mention one that I, as a member of The Commission, would now have to vote upon.
How can I choose a side? I had my father on one and Matt on the other.
Matt had sought revenge after his grandfather was killed, and now, I’m finding out my father played a part in all of that.
I couldn’t stop the tears from falling as I thought about this impasse. It’s just not fair that I am in the middle of a scale, with my father on one plate and the love of my life on the other.
“We can still fix this. Let me call Matt. We can still get you out of here safe and sound.” I could see my father thinking about my words but not believing a single one.
“Fran, I have to stay. I have to fight for what’s right. I have to fight against what they did to me. What they did to you !”
“Then fight! But fight against the right people. Fight alongside the ones who really matter. Fight for your grandson!” I shouted in despair as I watched his eyes grow wide, surprised by my revelation.
“My grandson?” my father asked in a frail voice, emotion visibly taking over him now as his eyes shined brightly from unshed tears.
“Yes, Dad. Your grandson.” I echoed, placing a hand on my still-flat stomach. “I was going to tell Matt today, but you kept me from it. He needs to know. I need him to know that he’s going to be a father. Matt is a good man, Dad, and I love him with all my heart. He would never kidnap you under those pretenses. I know it wasn’t him. Hiro played you, Dad. He needed you to get to the Battaglias to settle an old grudge and take their territory, and he is clearly getting what he needs from you. What do you get out of it? A false sense of freedom? The same one he stole from you. This has been Hiro’s game since the very start, Dad. Matt had nothing to do with this.” I needed him to listen to me. I needed him to believe what I was saying. What I knew, with every fiber of my being, was the absolute truth.
“That can’t be.”
“But it is. That seat you said Matt so badly wanted? It’s mine! And he played the main part for me to get it. He went above and beyond to ensure that I got my dream. That’s the kind of man my husband is.”
“What do you mean it’s yours?”
“I’m one of the Lords, Dad. I was voted in yesterday. That’s why I was back in New York. And that was all because my husband set a plan in motion to give me that honor. To give me a fair chance at fulfilling my dream.”
I finally saw the moment he believed me and realized how wrongly deceived he was. How much damage he had done in helping Hiro. Now it was his turn to cover his face with his hand, as I finally saw my words making sense to him.
I gasped once my eyes landed on his outstretched fingers covering his features. The excised pinky. Proof of his undeniable treason. One we could never hide.
My heart dropped into the depths of my stomach, making me suddenly feel nauseous and uneasy, not only the hormones to blame here. My father had a death sentence hovering over his head, and I… I was struggling to see how I could help him shake it without losing all that I found dear, all that made sense in my life, all that I had been missing so terribly during the past month.
Matt.