Chapter 11 Luca
LUCA
I’m not going to lie. Meeting Enzo scared the shit out of me.
I have no experience with kids.
What if I fuck it up?
What if he doesn’t like me?
But sitting on the floor playing cars with the child I helped create is one of the most profound experiences of my life.
I never thought about being a father.
At least not since I was ordered away.
“How come you had to be gone?” Enzo’s voice holds curiosity more than accusation. “Did you have to go to jail?”
I choke back a laugh. "No. Not jail. I had to leave New York."
"Because you did something bad?"
Smart kid. It appears he has some sense that the Dante and Petrov families live in the gray areas of the law.
"I did something my family didn't agree with." I choose my words carefully, aware of Katerina hovering in the doorway. "Sometimes, families have rules. I broke one."
"Like when I go into Mom's office when she says not to?"
"Something like that." I smile despite myself. "But bigger."
He considers this, then shrugs with the easy forgiveness of childhood. "Want to see how fast this car can go?" He doesn't wait for an answer, just starts pushing the car across the room.
I watch him with a mixture of pride at the miracle I helped create and regret that I missed so much.
I'm overcome with a fierce, primal desire to protect him, to know him, to be the father he deserves.
I want to teach him to fish.
I want to show him Chicago from the top of the tallest building. I want to see him grow, graduate, become a man.
I want to give him everything my father gave me and none of the burdens.
For the first time in years, I want something beyond power, beyond revenge, beyond violence and control.
I want Enzo's laughter, Katerina's smile, the simple miracle of family.
And I'm terrified it's already too late.
After Enzo's eyelids finally droop closed, I quietly slip from his bedroom, pulling the door until it clicks shut.
The house feels different now, no longer just Katerina's sanctuary but a place where part of me lives too.
My son sleeps here.
I’ve stayed through lunch and dinner, ending the evening building a city of blocks in Enzo’s room before tucking him into bed.
Katerina stands in the kitchen, back to me, wiping down counters, her shoulders tense, defensive.
"He's asleep." I keep my voice low, stepping into the small space. "Kid fights it hard."
"Gets that from you." Her words come out clipped, but there's no bite. "You never knew when to quit either."
I move closer, close enough to catch her scent. "We need to talk about where we go from here."
She turns, folding her arms over her chest, blue eyes cool. "There is no 'we', Luca. There's me and Enzo, and there's you. You can be his father without anything else between us."
The rejection stings and it pisses me off. "That simple, huh? Just pretend there's nothing between us?"
"Nothing worth saving." She steps back when I move forward. "What happened at the funeral was a mistake. Old habits."
My patience splinters. I'm not built for begging. "Bullshit. That wasn't just habit and you know it."
"It doesn't matter what it was." Her voice rises then drops. "You're leaving again eventually. Back to your empire in Chicago."
"You don't know what I'm planning."
"I know you, Luca. You don't stay. You don't commit."
Something inside me snaps. I slam my palm against the counter, making her jump. "You don't know a goddamn thing about what I've done or why. You know this works two ways, right? You never once tried to find me. You never fucking planned to tell me I had a son."
"Find you?" Her laugh is bitter. "Your family said you wanted out. That you chose to leave."
"And you believed them. After everything we were to each other, you just accepted their version."
Her silence speaks volumes. I rake my hand through my hair, fighting the urge to punch something.
"I'm done here." I turn to leave, then stop. "But I'm not done with us."
Over the next three days, I change tactics. Brute force won't work with Katerina. It never did.
She's not some business rival to intimidate or enemy to eliminate.
She thinks I loved and left her and didn’t look back.
She’s built a wall that will take time for her to lower.
I bring coffee when I come to see Enzo, the way she likes it, one sugar, splash of cream.
I listen when she talks about his schooling instead of charging ahead with my own ideas.
Small things. Patient things. Foreign concepts to a man who takes what he wants.
Two days ago, I cornered her in the kitchen when she dropped off paperwork for Alessandro.
Trapped her against the counter with my arms on either side, close enough to breathe her in but not touching.
"Move, Luca," she'd said, voice steady but pupils dilated, betraying her attempt at anger.
"Make me." I'd leaned closer, watched her pulse jump at her throat.
When I finally kissed her, she'd melted for three heartbeats before shoving me away, eyes flashing in a combination of desire and irritation.
"I'm not your toy," she'd snapped, straightening her blouse.
"Never said you were." I'd let her go, satisfied by the desire in her eyes that she couldn't hide.
Last night, after Enzo was asleep, we sat on her porch. Not close, but not as far apart as before. Small steps.
"You're different," she’d said.
"No." I sipped my whiskey. "Just remembering who I was with you."
She studied me over her wineglass. "This act won't last, Luca. The first time something doesn't go your way—"
"This isn't an act." I cut her off, keeping my voice measured even though my anger simmered. She could see I was trying, but it didn’t matter. "But believe what you want. I've got time."
"That's what I'm afraid of," she said, and for the first time since I've returned, I saw a crack in her armor.
This morning, I enter the kitchen and hear the sound of Enzo's laughter filtering through the window.
I look out and see him and Katerina walking to her car.
Enzo is wearing a backpack that looks nearly as big as he is. She must be taking him to school.
It’s another area of his life I missed.
His first day of kindergarten.
Teacher conferences. School recitals.
Katerina tosses her head back, laughing at something Enzo is saying. Even from here, I can feel the pull toward her.
It's been like this since I returned, a constant electric current between us, charging every space we occupy together.
It had been like that seven years ago as well.
Regret fills me that I didn’t try harder to bring her with me to Chicago. But my life was in turmoil then.
Threatened by my own family. At the time, I had no prospects to support us.
Oh, sure, I had the skills to build something, but alone, I had no one else to support or worry about.
Then there was the worry that I’d put a target on her back by reaching out to her.
No, it was safer for her that I cut all contact.
Now that I know what we had never died, despite what she tries to tell me.
Now that I have a son, everything has changed except the fact that I’m still ostracized by my family.
My life isn’t here, never will be here again.
I have my own business that runs well, but I can’t be gone forever. Katerina is right that I’ll have to leave.
Even without my own business, Alessandro will force me out again. The tension between us grows daily.
So, can I bring Katerina and Enzo into my world? I suspect Katerina would fight the idea.
She’s built a life here.
Her brother is here.
Even if she wanted to come with me, the Morozova Bratva might not let her go.
I can see the inevitable collision course. Something will have to give. Either I return to Chicago alone, or I fight for my place here. Neither option gives me what I truly want, Katerina and Enzo with me, safe.
Katerina looks up suddenly, catching me watching. She doesn't smile, doesn't wave.
She’s the biggest hurdle I need to overcome to have what I want. But I’m beginning to think nothing I do will change her mind about me.
She won’t allow herself to love and trust me.
And if that’s the case, what future could possibly exist for us?
I shake those thoughts away to make space for dealing with Alessandro. I find him in our father's office, sitting behind the massive desk.
I have to admit, he’s settled into his power.
The room doesn’t feel like Father’s anymore. Alessandro owns the space and the role of Don.
"Shut the door." His voice is commanding, and I shake off the urge to remind him that he’s not the boss of me.
I close it but remain standing.
Alessandro's eyes track me like I'm a bomb about to detonate. "Tell me why you're really here. The truth this time."
"I told you. I got a letter—"
"Bullshit." He cuts me off. "Who the fuck sends letters anymore?”
I shrug. “People who don’t want a digital trail. If you want to see it, I’ll show—”
“I don’t need to see your fucking letter.” He continues to stare at me like I’m an enigma. “You’ve been gone seven years. Seven years to resent the family and one letter brings you back? I don’t buy it. No, you’re here for something else.”
I don’t blame him for his suspicion. I’d feel the same if the roles were reversed. "You think I want your throne?” I give a snort. “No thanks. No offense, Brother, but this organization is a fucking mess. I have my own kingdom. I don’t need yours.”
“Then why are you still here? Why are you following Katerina around like a lovesick puppy? You want in her pants again—”
“Watch yourself.” The lethal tone in my voice should make it clear to him that I won’t hesitate to act against him. “Besides, if I’m with her, I’m not taking over your business, so what the fuck business is it of yours?”
“You’re wasting your time with her and her boy.”
Her boy? "My boy," I correct him. "My son."
He sits back and looks up at me with satisfaction. He’s just discovered my weakness, his leverage over me. "So that's it. The prodigal son returns for his bastard."
My fist connects with the desk before I can stop myself. "Don't you ever call him that again."
"Don't forget your place, Luca." Alessandro rises slowly. "You were disowned. You have no rights here. Not to the family, not to the business, not even to that child. You left."
“Jesus fuck.” I shake my head in disbelief. “Do none of you remember the truth? Don’t you speak English? I was forced out. You were there. I’m sure it’s more convenient for everyone to believe I abandoned the family, but it’s just you and me here.”
“You’re a hothead that can’t be trusted, Luca.”
“No, you’re afraid of me.”
His eyes narrow to slits and if his gun were in reach, he might shoot me.
“You wouldn’t have your panties in such a bunch about my being here if you weren’t. But let me say it again, I don’t want to take your business from you. You know, I could be of help. Someone did murder Father… unless it was you, tired of waiting to take over the kingdom.”
“You have a big mouth, Luca. That’s always been your problem. You think you know better. You don’t respect authority. You have no loyalty to family—”
“Loyalty to family?” I practically gape at him.
“Where was Father’s loyalty—or yours, for that matter—to me?
I was his son. Your brother. You didn’t just toss me out like the trash.
You were prepared to kill me.” I shake my head in disbelief.
“And now you wonder why I don’t bow down to you. You can’t be that fucking stupid.”
Something flickers in Alessandro's eyes. Could be doubt. It’s probably not regret.
"I didn't come back for power. I have power." I force myself to breathe. "I came because someone wanted me here. And I'm staying for Enzo and Katerina. They're my family now."
"And if I told you to leave?"
"I've been Don Luca Dante for far longer than you've been a Don. I've been doing my damnedest to show you respect, but you don't own me. You have no power over me." I hold his gaze. "And I don't take orders from you."
The silence stretches between us, thirty years of brotherhood and rivalry compressed into this single moment.
"You always were too emotional," Alessandro finally says. "Father hated that about you."
"I know." I smile grimly. “It scares the shit out of people in Chicago too. At least here my enemies have the balls to face me directly.”
"Is that what we are now? Enemies?" Alessandro's voice drops, almost disappointed.
"You tell me, Brother. You're the one threatening to separate me from my son."
Alessandro slams his palm on the desk. "It's not about the boy! It's about where your loyalties lie. This family is finally stable after chaos following Father's death. And now you show up, destabilizing everything."
“If this is stable, you’re in big trouble, Don Dante.” I mockingly say his formal name.
“You think you can do better. Is that why you’re here—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake… NO. That’s not why I’m here. Is your hearing bad? Don’t you speak English? I don’t need or want your business. I’m still here for my family.”
“You don’t have a family, Luca. Not with us. Not with Katerina and her son.”
I’m so fucking tired of all this.
For a moment, I imagine walking away.
Returning to Chicago, to the empire I built with my own hands.
It would be easier.
Cleaner.
But then Enzo's face flashes in my mind.
How quickly he picked up a card game I taught him yesterday, his serious expression when he asked if I'd be at his school play next month.
Something primal and fierce rises in me. My son. My son.
"I'm not leaving him." The words come hard, making sure he knows he’ll have to kill me before I’ll leave my family. "Do you understand? I will burn this entire fucking organization to the ground before I abandon my child."
Alessandro studies me, and I’m sure he can see my absolute, uncompromising resolve.
"What about Katerina?" he asks quietly.
"She's part of the package." I meet his gaze unflinchingly. "I lost her once. I won't lose her again."
"Even if she doesn't want you?"
"She will." The certainty in my voice surprises even me.
Alessandro sighs, suddenly looking tired. "You always were stubborn."
"Dante family trait."
For the first time since I returned, I see a ghost of a smile on my brother's face.
"I'm staying, Alessandro. We can find a way to make this work, or we can tear each other apart. Your choice."
The choice is clear to me. Enzo deserves his father. Katerina deserves the truth. And I deserve a chance to fight for the family I only just learned I had.
Whatever war comes, whether from the Bratva, from my own family, or from Katerina's resistance, I'll face it.
For them.