Chapter 24
Cristiano
The Diamond Grand is gone. Where my casino once stood, there’s nothing but rubble and twisted metal.
The demolition crew has been working for weeks, clearing away the fire-damaged structure piece by piece.
The acrid smell of burned wood and melted plastic still lingers in the air despite the fresh breeze.
I stand at the edge of the construction site, hard hat on my head, watching the excavator’s massive claw tear into what remains of the south wall.
Every crash of concrete sends a small cloud of dust into the air.
It’s strange, but every piece that falls feels like watching my father’s empire crumble.
Good riddance. I’m making my own mark on Malus.
The architect, a middle-aged woman named Stevie with sharp eyes and sharper questions, spreads the blueprints across the hood of her car. The new hotel and casino will be bigger and better than before.
“The foundation work can start as soon as the site’s cleared,” she says, her finger tracing the proposed blueprint. “We’re looking at eighteen months to completion if weather cooperates. The design you approved incorporates…”
I’m listening, but my attention splits when a black car pulls up to the perimeter fence. Mina is in the back. Nico and Paulo are in the front. Wherever she goes now, they go.
The back seat door opens, and Mina steps out, talking at the phone she’s holding in front of her face, her other hand resting protectively on the small swell of her belly.
My chest tightens with something that feels dangerously close to contentment.
She’s wearing a cream-colored coat that makes her dark hair look even richer, and she’s laughing at something on the phone. I can see her lips moving as she makes her way toward me.
“Yes, Mom, I promise we’ll be home before dinner. No, he doesn’t need another snack, he just had lunch. Tell him Papa will read him three stories tonight if he’s good for Grandma.”
Leon. She’s talking about our son.
Our son.
The word still sends a fierce surge of possession through me every time I think it.
“Mr. Montoni?” Stevie’s voice pulls me back. “Did you want to discuss the penthouse level now?”
“Give me a moment.” I don’t wait for her response before I collect another hard hat and cross the gravel to Mina.
She sees me coming and her face lights up in a way that makes my heart stutter.
“Hi.” She tilts her face up for a kiss, and I give it to her, tasting her gloss. Then she turns the phone to me, and I see my son on the screen, held in his grandmother’s arms. “Leon, say hello to Papa.”
“Hi, Papa!”
“Hey, buddy. I miss you.”
Papa, a voice in my head sneers. Soft. Weak.
The voice is my father’s, cold and vindictive, and I clench my teeth so hard my jaw aches.
Mina ends the call, slipping her phone into her purse. “How’s everything going here?”
When she notices my tight expression, her gaze sharpens with concern.
“Cristiano? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I school my expression into something neutral. “I’m fine. Here, this is for you.”
She doesn’t believe me, I can see it in the way her brow furrows, but she lets it go for now and lets me settle the hard hat onto her head.
“So.” She looks past me to the demolition site. “This is it?”
“This is it. Come on. I’ll show you what we’re building.”
As the workers continue to clear rubble, I describe the lobby design, the gaming floor layout, and the restaurant spaces.
Mina asks intelligent questions, one hand still resting on her belly, completely focused.
This is the woman who makes everything better and who takes my obsessive, narrow focus and turns it into reality.
“The penthouse will have a view of the entire city,” Mina observes, glancing around. She keeps turning until she faces the southwest.
The border with Sokoli territory, which used to be Lucania territory.
The contrast between my streets and theirs is stark.
I’ve taken a covert drive through the area, and many of the shops are now graffiti-tagged with boarded-up windows.
Businesses that used to thrive under Lucania protection now sit empty.
Even from here, what little we can see looks ominous and deserted.
“Is it safe?” Mina asks. Her hand finds mine. “Building here, I mean. The Sokolis are right there.”
I look at the border, at the territory they’ve claimed, and rage simmers in my chest. They burned my casino. Drove the Lucanias into the ground. Moved into the vacuum like vultures picking at a carcass.
“They won’t come northeast,” I say, and my voice comes out harder than I intended. “I’m making sure of that. Security on this site is tighter than it’s ever been before.”
“If you’re sure,” Mina says.
“I’m not giving up one inch of ground to them.” I turn to face her fully. “The Diamond Grand was testing the waters. If I don’t rebuild, they’ll think they can take more from me. The hotel goes up. The casino reopens. I’m not letting them win.”
Mina studies my face, and I see her weighing my words. Trying to decide if this is pride talking or strategy.
“Okay,” she says finally. “I trust you.”
I pull her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. She trusts me. After everything that’s happened between us, she trusts me to keep our family safe.
I will kill everyone in Malus before I let the Sokolis touch what’s mine.
Mina pulls back slightly and reaches into her purse. “I almost forgot.” She extracts a cream-colored envelope, embossed with elegant script. “This came for us this morning. I only recognize the last name. Friends of yours, I think?”
I take the envelope and turn it over. The return address is Barone, and my mouth quirks with amusement. I slide my finger under the flap and pull out the card. Lucy Barone and Damiano Barone request the honor of your presence…
“It’s a wedding invitation. The brother and sister are finally getting married.”
Mina’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Damiano and Lucy Barone. Adopted siblings who’ve been obsessed with each other for years.” I hand her the invitation. “The Barones are one of the big Malus families. Territory in southeast Malus. Damiano’s the current don after their father died.”
“Adopted.” Mina’s voice is laced with surprise. “And now they’re getting married.”
“Like I said. Complicated.” I tuck the invitation back into the envelope. “We’ll go if you like. Your first big, over-the-top Malus wedding.”
“Will Adora be there?”
“Absolutely. Lucy and my sister are best friends.”
Mina nods and tucks the invitation back into her purse. “I’d love to go with you.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her gaze drifting back to the construction site, over the rubble and twisted metal. But my mind is still lingering on weddings. One wedding in particular in a warm, flower-filled garden.
I pick up Mina’s hand and admire the engagement ring sparkling on her finger. “Have you given any more thought to our wedding?”
Mina looks up me. “I’ve been thinking about the garden.”
My heart kicks against my ribs.
She twists her fingers through mine, and I recognize the nervous gesture. “I wasn’t sure if—” She stops and takes a breath. “I wasn’t sure if I could stand there in a white dress and pretend what happened there didn’t happen.”
I knew she’d be hesitant after watching me murder four Lucanias in the garden. “We don’t have to get married there,” I say, even though I hate the thought of giving up that dream. “We can go anywhere you want. Venice. Paris. A beach somewhere.”
She shakes her head. “That’s the thing. I’ve been spending time in the garden with Leon while he plays, watching the flowers and bees, and I realized something.”
I wait, barely breathing.
“The garden is still a happy place for me. It’s where you fell in love with me when we were children. It’s where we imagined our wedding together. It’s where Leon will play with his little brother or sister. I’m not going to let men who tried to hurt my family spoil that.”
She smiles up at me.
“Let’s get married there,” she says. “The fairy-tale wedding we talked about. You, me, Leon, and everyone we love. White roses and fairy lights and all of it. I want it to feel like ours again. Make it mean love instead of fear.”
I gaze into her fierce, beautiful face and wonder what I did to deserve her.
“You’re sure?” My voice comes out rough.
“I’m sure.” She rises up on her toes and kisses me. “Plant those white roses you promised me. I want to get married in our garden.”
Our garden.
The place that’s always been ours.
I pull her against me, and bury my face in her hair. “Let’s do it.”
We stand there for a long moment, holding each other while the demolition crew works behind us and the Sokoli territory looms to the south. My father’s voice whispers something snide in my head as the ashes of the Diamond Grand settle in the wind, but I block him out.
Mina is warm and real in my arms, and our child is growing inside her. Our son is waiting at home for me to read him three stories.
“Come on,” Mina says, pulling back and adjusting her hard hat. “Show me the rest of the plans. I want to see where the swimming pool will be.”
I take her hand and lead her over to the blueprints, and talk to her of timelines, materials, and the future we’re building together.
Leon’s bedroom is quiet except for the soft rhythm of his breathing. Mina and I have settled into a routine together, taking turns tucking Leon into bed at night. I’ve read my son his stories.
I should leave. I’ve been standing here for ten minutes, long past the point where a father lingers after tucking in his son, but my hands are still shaking.
I press them flat against my thighs and watch Leon’s chest rise and fall in the dim light.
He’s on his side, one arm flung out, the T-rex tucked against his stomach.
His dark curls are spread across the pillow.
His face is completely open in sleep, unguarded and trusting, the way children’s faces are when they have no reason to be afraid.
Good night, Papa.