Chapter 26
KARINA
It’s been a week now since Marco won the race and Dante decreed that it was time to set formal boundaries with the Brunos.
Thanks to Marco’s risky gamble paying off, the Bellanti family finally had the numbers, support, and power to enforce a permanent truce with my uncle. The big meeting is set for today.
Already, the atmosphere inside the house has shifted significantly.
The perpetual undercurrent of tension is gone, the brothers seem more at ease with each other, mealtimes have turned back into pleasant family gatherings where all of the Bellantis—including myself—are free to chat and laugh and joke.
We’re finally free of my uncle’s tyranny, and I can’t wait to witness his reaction when Dante forces him to acknowledge it.
I absently twist my wedding band, but it does nothing to calm me. My diamond engagement ring is gone, sent to be de-bugged by one of the Bellantis’ trusted tech people, and I feel naked without it, even though it was a symbol of my forced deception for so long. Hopefully I’ll get it back soon.
Bodyguards filter out of the vehicles first and form a half circle around my uncle’s car door like he’s the Pope or something.
I wonder if any of his monkeys realize what a piece of shit he is.
When Uncle Sergio finally pushes his door open and steps out into the sun, he glances around like he’s expecting to get picked off. Ha. If we could only be so lucky.
Dante and Armani wait at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front door.
Armani looks stiff in his steel-gray suit, but Dante is more relaxed, his hands crossed in front of him.
Even from my oblique vantage point, I can see that his body language is calm and collected; he’s clearly unconcerned about the number of armed men standing in his driveway.
The Brunos are no longer a threat. They’re on Bellanti turf, and they are about to get owned.
Not to mention, we have our own armed guards posted in various visible locations. On the roof, surrounding the house, and lurking in every corner of the property. Only a fool would attempt to draw a weapon with so much security present.
“Signore Bruno,” Dante says, respectfully using the formal Italian honorific. “Benvenuto a casa della mia famiglia.”
Welcome to the home of my family.
As usual, Dante is proving himself quite the diplomat.
His word choice is a subtle reminder to Uncle Sergio that this meeting is taking place on hallowed ground—the historic Bellanti estate—and also that Dante is acting on behalf of more than just the Bellanti family, since he now has the potential to guide the hands of all the other mob families backing us.
“Grazie per la sua ospitalita,” my uncle says, but his voice is ice cold as he thanks Dante for his hospitality.
Armani steps closer, gesturing for Uncle Sergio to enter the house. “Please, come inside.” His voice is just as cold and unfriendly as my uncle’s.
Uncle Sergio hesitates much longer than a man who is confident in his actions should. He’s at a disadvantage and he knows it. He looks to the guard standing at his right and says something quietly. Then he turns back to Dante and Armani.
“I’ve instructed my men to stay here,” he says. “If I do not return within fifteen minutes, they will be making entry into your home.”
Dante nods. “Concordo, signore.”
Marco squeezes my hand. “This is it. Let’s go.”
I’m standing next to my husband in the entryway as my uncle enters.
He doesn’t bother to remove his sunglasses as he turns to me, but I can feel his gaze lingering through the dark tinted lenses.
Chin high, I stare back at him, even though I can’t see his eyes.
I want him to know that I’m not scared of him anymore.
For days, I’ve been debating whether or not to be present for this meeting, but today when I woke up I realized that I need to be here for the moment of his downfall.
Firstly, because I believe it will give me a kind of emotional closure—especially knowing that I helped get my uncle to this point.
I used to dream about the day that he’d get taken down and go away for good.
It took years, but it’s finally happening.
Secondly, I’m a Bellanti. I belong at Marco’s side for important family events.
This definitely qualifies as a significant milestone, so I’d be here out of duty if not for my own personal reasons.
Dante leads my uncle to the office, a security team trailing them.
It was decided that formal surroundings would be a better choice than the library or the sitting room, to convey in no uncertain terms that the Bellantis mean business in every sense of the word.
Armani, Marco, and I follow behind and once we’re all gathered, Armani quietly closes the door behind us, leaving the security team posted in the hallway.
“Please, have a seat, Signore Bruno,” Dante says, gesturing to a cushy leather chair.
My uncle drops into the chair like an obedient dog. He still doesn’t remove his sunglasses. I’d give anything to see his eyes right now. I want to see them going dull with hopeless defeat, filled with anger he cannot act on.
Armani posts himself beside the desk as Marco and I settle on the small sofa. Once the rest of us are seated, Dante eases into his desk chair and holds up the black leather portfolio that’s resting on top of the desk.
“Under different circumstances,” he tells my uncle, “I would show you proper Italian hospitality in my home by offering you refreshments and wine. I would ask about your health and family, but I already know how they are doing. Your niece is obviously here with us, and she’s proven herself to be an asset to the Bellanti name.
Unfortunately, however, her mother is still at your compound, suffering as your pawn in a game you had no chance of winning.
That ends today. It all ends right now.”
Dante opens the portfolio and lays it on the edge of the desk for my uncle to see.
“This is an exhaustive list of every family that has vowed their loyalty to the Bellantis. You’ll notice that much bigger players than yourself have promised us their fidelity while claiming a common enemy. You.”
My uncle’s jaw works to the right, but he doesn’t otherwise move. He doesn’t reach for the list. I’m not sure if he’s even looking at it.
“As of this moment, your feud with my family is over,” Dante says quietly, though there’s now an edge to his voice that wasn’t there before.
“Your syndicate has no place here. If you attempt retribution, the strength of every name on this list will rain down on you and turn you into fertilizer for my grapevines. Do we have an understanding, Signore Bruno?”
My uncle’s spine snaps straight, his shoulders pulling back in a move I know all too well. He’s priming himself for a tirade, a tantrum. He wants to flex his authority and his control. But then he slumps, seeming to realize that he doesn’t have any of that here.
He doesn’t have that anywhere anymore.
“You will release Karina’s parents immediately from your control,” Dante continues.
“Her mother is no longer your hostage, and you’ll not harm a single hair on her head.
If you do, I will find out about it, and your punishment will be both devastating and swift.
There is also the matter of a cousin who has gone missing, presumed to have fled the country—”
He looks at me, and I remind Dante of his name. “Mercutio Bruno.”
“Mercutio Bruno,” Dante repeats. “Any hits you may have put out on him are to be canceled, effective immediately. He will be given a full pardon for any of his past actions aiding Karina, as well as your explicit permission to return to the US at his discretion, without reprisal.”
With that, he slides a pen across the desk. Even with the sunglasses on, I can see that Uncle Sergio’s face is so red, it’s a wonder there isn’t literal steam coming out of his ears.
“As for Pietro Manzo—he is never to show his face in the racing circuit again, per the agreement he made with my brother Marco before last week’s race,” Dante says, wrapping up. “That agreement will be respected, and you will compel Signore Manzo to honor it.”
Silence drops in the room, and I imagine my uncle is virtually marinating in his bitter defeat. After a moment, Dante flips to another page. It’s a legal document, dense with printed words.
“This is a contract of truce, Signore Bruno. You’ll sign it today, or my men will take out every soldier you’ve parked on my property on the fourteen-minute mark, and you’ll make your own way out of here in a body bag.”
My uncle says something under his breath in Italian. I can’t make out the words, but I pick up the poison in his tone.
Dante smiles. “We both know that won’t happen. Now if you please, signore. There are two copies there, one for each of us. I’d prefer that we both had an original on hand.”
He taps the bottom of the signature pages where my uncle is supposed to sign his name, but Uncle Sergio doesn’t lift a finger.
Tension crackles in the air. At Dante’s side, Armani straightens and reaches his hand into his jacket.
My uncle is uncharacteristically calm, which doesn’t sit well with any of us. He’s not a calm man.
But then he picks up the pen.
“Wait,” Armani says, then presses the com in his ear to talk to the head of the Bellanti security crew. “I need you to bring in one of Bruno’s guys to witness the signing.”
A few moments later, my uncle’s right-hand man enters. He looks around anxiously.
“Get over here.” My uncle waves him over.
The document and its duplicate are signed by my uncle, Dante, Armani, and Marco, with my uncle’s man and myself as witnesses. I sign my name with a flourish, reveling in this moment. And then, with the ink barely dry, Dante holds out a hand to shake with my uncle.
It’s official. The torment is over.
As he and Uncle Sergio shake, Dante says, “Thank you for joining me today. You are dismissed. Permanently.”
My uncle roughly shoves the folder across the desk as he stands.
Nobody reacts to his micro-tantrum as he storms out of the room, his associate in tow.
I wasn’t spared even the barest of glances, as if I simply don’t exist to Uncle Sergio anymore.
Knowing the tie between us has been irrevocably severed, I let out a sigh, years of weight suddenly lifting from my shoulders.
“It’s over,” Marco whispers in my ear, kissing my cheek as we watch Dante and Armani follow after my uncle and his man.
“It is.” Smiling, I turn to face Marco and pull him in for a deeper kiss, relaxing as his arms go around me in a tight embrace.
But something is still niggling at me.
“Do you think he’ll stick to the contract?” I ask, searching Marco’s eyes. “And what happens if he doesn’t? War part two?”
“He won’t break the contract,” Marco says confidently. “He knows his hands are tied. Phase two involves running him out of Napa completely. It’s just a matter of time before he realizes he has no hold here anymore and he leaves.”
“What about my parents?”
My parents are dependent on my uncle. He supports them financially, shelters them in his home. I’m not sure if my father will be able to get a job if Uncle Sergio cuts him off. They’ve never been forced to get by on their own. Can they even survive if they’re not under his thumb?
“That’s up to them,” Marco says. “If they want to get out, they’ll find a way to make it work.”
I shake my head, suddenly feeling weak. “They’ll never leave.”
“All we can do is wait and see. Either way, your uncle won’t hurt your mom ever again.”
Nodding, I mull it over, my head resting on Marco’s shoulder.
My mother has had a lifetime to make different choices, better choices, for herself and for me.
But over and over again, she sacrificed me for her own gain.
Now that I have a life of my own, I don’t think I can invest any more energy into her situation.
This is my chance to finally be free, once and for all.
Marco takes my hand. “I wanted to ask you something,” he says. “And I need you to be honest with me.”
Confused, I search his gaze, but there are no clues there. “Ask away.”
To my surprise, he moves off the sofa and lowers to one knee on the rug, still holding my hand tightly in his.
“Karina Bellanti, we’ve been through hell together in a very short time. Lord knows we deserve a second chance to be happy, so if you think you can stand to keep putting up with me, then I have to ask…will you marry me? Again?”
I laugh. I smile. I blink back incredulous tears. “What?”
“I want to marry you again. I want us to have a fresh start. Do it the right way this time.”
Throwing my arms around his neck, I laugh again and say, “Yes.”