Epilogue
Damiano
Istride into the warehouse with Lucy’s hand in mine, and a wickedly sharp axe resting on my shoulder. All Dad’s capos are assembled and waiting to be addressed by the new don. From today, they’ll be my capos, assuming none of them walk out of here, or end up in pieces on the floor.
My bride-to-be looks stunning in a sumptuous wine-red dress, with a vintage diamond necklace around her throat. On her ring finger is a beautiful, ornate diamond engagement ring. Lucy chose the ring herself, and I put it onto her finger and sealed our engagement with a kiss. Now she’s mine forever.
In the middle of the concrete floor is Dad’s desk, the one that he once sat behind in his office in this very warehouse. I walk over and stare at it for a long time, then lift my eyes to the capos.
“I always hated this desk. When Don Carlucci sat behind it, it made me feel like a schoolboy being told off in the principal’s office. Fuck that feeling.”
I take the axe from my shoulder, raise it over my head in both hands, and bring the blade down in the middle of the desk.
The wood splits but doesn’t break. I raise the axe and bring it down again, and then again.
On the third hit, the desk breaks in two.
On the seventh, there’s nothing but splinters of what was once an identifiable piece of furniture.
Some of the capos look confused. Others seem bordering on outrage.
“We’re not schoolboys,” I tell them. “We’re men, and we should feel like men. Come with me.”
I take Lucy by the hand and lead our men to the office that now belongs to us. The room is now dominated by a table where we can all sit together. Discuss. Plan. The table is round so that we may all see each other, though one of the chairs is taller and more ornate than the others.
The don’s chair.
My chair.
“This is where we’ll conduct family business.
I will listen to you. I will respect you.
In return, I ask for your loyalty and respect.
” I gaze around thoughtfully. “But something’s missing.
Antonio, Giovanni,” I call out, and a moment later they enter, carrying a second tall, ornate chair between them, and place it next to its twin.
Two dons’ chairs.
One for the king and one for the queen.
I walk around the table and place my hand on the back of the second chair.
“Does anyone have any objection to Lucy joining my side? If you do, leave now, and there will be no repercussions this day. But after today, I make no such promise. I will not tolerate any man disrespecting or undermining my bride. She will be by my side forever, not because I bestow power upon her, but because she has earned it. Any man who questions her place questions me.”
I place the axe on the table, and the sharpened blade glints in the light.
No one moves. No one speaks.
“Then let’s sit down.”
Lucy and I take our seats side by side, and I feel proud as I watch my queen settle into her throne with a proud tilt to her lips.
The rest of the capos take their seats, with Antonio and Giovanni on my other side.
Gerardo is among them, the bodyguard who refused to answer Andreas’s questions about security.
He meets my eyes and gives a single nod of respect.
Now, I want Lucy to speak. I turn to my fiancée. “What are your ideas for our future, my love?”
Lucy takes a long look around at each of our men, holding their gazes.
Unflinching in the face of their bold, doubting stares.
“Malus is unstable and dangerous, and we need stronger ties with our allies so that all of us can survive. At the moment, there is little trust between the Vicis, the Montonis, the Lucanias, and the Barones. I want to leverage their most powerful and criminally underused asset: their women. I have a plan, and the daughters, wives, and mothers of these families are key to bringing us all closer together, and it will make all our women safer. Your women. Your daughters. Your sisters. Your mothers.”
Lucy lets these words rest on the air, and the capos glance at each other. I can tell they like the idea of their women being safer.
“On a more personal level,” Lucy continues, “I’ll be taking over the family jewel business and hand selecting a few of you to work closely by my side. I plan on making this a highly lucrative business, and the bonuses for my men will be significant.”
Several of the men, especially those who were there the evening that Lucy sold fine jewelry to the richest men in Malus, perk up.
A proud smile steals over my face. With just a few words that appeal to their love for their women and their wallets, Lucy has Dad’s capos—our capos—in the palm of her hand.
Together, Lucy and I are going to be unstoppable.
I lean back in my chair, holding on to my bride’s hand, my ambition for the two of us blazing like crowns upon our heads. We are the Barones, and no one is going to stand in our way.
“Then let’s begin.”
Thank you for reading Forbidden Vow.