Chapter 39
CHANTEL
“Can someone please say something?” I glance around the table warily.
“I’m still processing,” Valentina says. “I think I’m in shock.”
“It’s all starting to make sense,” Kenzie responds from the tablet in front of me.
I didn’t want to have this conversation multiple times, so we video-called her, Lucia, and Serafina.
“That’s how you knew Andreas, isn’t it?” Kenzie asks.
“Yes,” I answer reluctantly. “He was the one who helped me get out. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you—”
“I don’t care about that.” She waves it off. “I’m just glad he did.”
I nod, and a moment of silence passes as everyone absorbs the news. I gave them the condensed version of my backstory, along with an apology for not being honest with them before. While they knew pieces of my past, they never knew who I really was. I can’t help but feel guilty for that.
“How did Angelo take it?” Abella asks, worrying her lip between her teeth.
“Well, I won’t say he was overjoyed. But he wasn’t nearly as mad as I expected.”
“He’ll just need time to get his head around it,” she says. “It has more to do with Ares than anything. Those two have always gotten on each other’s nerves.”
“I know, and I get it. Ares is…well, Ares.”
“I never thought I’d see the day that the Greeks and Italians would have an actual alliance,” Gabi says. “But it doesn’t surprise me that Cristian would go to war for you. I always suspected he was a secret romantic.”
Everyone laughs, because in our world, that is romantic.
“He really is the best.” I get a little choked up.
“Don’t cry,” Valentina pleads. “You know this doesn’t change anything, right? We all love you no matter what.”
Soft echoes of agreement follow from the others before Nonna chimes in as she appears with a tray of aperitivo.
“Don’t worry, tesoro.” She pats my cheek. “I’ll make you Italian in no time.”
I offer her a smile, knowing very well she has a long, contentious history with the Greeks. This is her way of accepting me, and it’s just classic Nonna Vitale.
“Thank you,” I tell her. “But I’m not crying because I’m Greek. I’m crying because I’m pregnant, and I guess this is just what I do now.”
A chorus of shock ripples around the table, but Nonna just beams.
“I told you my Cristian was robust. He will give you lots of babies.”
She wanders back into the kitchen, and it isn’t long before my friends start peppering me with questions. Most of them I still don’t have the answer to, but I promise to fill them in when we start thinking about names, nursery themes, and everything in between.
“If you have a girl, I think you should name her after me,” Lucia announces. “I’ll be her favorite auntie.”
“You mean the corrupt auntie.” Serafina snorts.
I sit back and enjoy the moment as they continue to argue over who will be a better influence. Then the conversation inevitably turns to something else I’ve been thinking about for a while.
“How will you decide who the godmother will be?” Val asks.
“Well…” I hesitate for a beat, not wanting to disappoint any of them. “I already have someone in mind. I just need to talk it over with Cristian first.”
“Of course it’s going to be me,” Mariella answers decidedly as she joins us on the patio. “As if there was ever even a choice.”
I know she means it as a joke, but I give her a not-so-secret smile, all but confirming she’s exactly who I had in mind.
Mariella has been there for me from the beginning. She’s helped me more than anyone will ever know, and if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be part of this family that I love so much. I also know there’s nobody else who could protect our child as fiercely as she would.
“Did everything go okay?” I ask her.
She nods, looking much more at ease than she did when Ares first sprang his proposition on her.
“I’m already plotting how I can make his life hell for the next year, and I’m actually looking forward to it.”
I laugh at her determination, and I don’t doubt that she’ll follow through. Ares has no idea what’s coming his way.
“Whose life are you making hell?” Gabi asks.
For the next few minutes, Mariella catches them up on the agreement she made with Ares. And not long after that, the men filter outside and join us at the table.
Cristian is freshly showered, his hair still damp as he leans down to give me a kiss.
“Did you get some rest?” he murmurs, his voice warm.
I nod, searching his face for any signs of tension from whatever happened with Theodore and Damian, but he looks calm and relaxed.
He takes a seat beside me, draping his arm over my chair as he massages my shoulder.
“It’s done.” He sets his phone on the table in front of me.
When I glance at the screen, I’m shocked to see there are dozens of breaking news articles with Theodore’s name on them. After clicking on one and doing a quick read-through, I get the summarized version.
Theodore released a video this afternoon confessing to assaulting dozens of women, along with the names of other men who participated.
At the end of his statement, he made a declaration that the bulk of his fortune would be distributed to various foundations supporting survivors of abuse and assault.
According to the article, his donations could total upwards of one-hundred million dollars.
After giving me a few minutes to let that sink in, Cristian delivers the cherry on top.
“Half of that will go to Aegis.”
Pressure builds behind my eyes as I glance at Mariella across the table, and she nods silently, indicating she already knows about this.
This amount of money will change the lives of innumerable women through the Aegis network. It will provide a safety net for other women like me when they escape with no resources of their own.
That realization settles deep inside me, offering me peace in a way that Theodore’s death alone never could. The man who spent his life torturing women saw everything he worked for stripped away in his final hours, only to be given to victims just like his.
His legacy is destroyed. His accomplices will soon suffer. And his reign of terror will now plant the seeds for something good to grow.
I can’t think of more poetic justice than that.
“Thank you,” I choke out as I wave my hands in front of my face, determined not to cry anymore today.
Cristian scoops me up from my chair and plants me on his lap, shielding my face from prying eyes. He cradles my head against his chest and rubs my back, giving me a few moments to recover.
When I can finally speak again, a hollow laugh escapes me.
“Do I even want to know how you got him to confess to that?”
“Probably not,” he muses.
“And Damian?”
“The only reparation he could make was in blood,” he answers. “But I can promise you he suffered, baby.”
I nod, content for that to be the extent of my knowledge about his final hours. I don’t have to ask for details, because I know Cristian, and he doesn’t do anything halfway.
He confirms it when he says something in Italian, and this time, he actually translates it for me.
“Whoever touches you—dies.”
I kiss him, and for a minute, the rest of the world falls away. Then, eventually, I remember we have an audience.
My gaze drifts around the table, and I find that his brothers are freshly showered too, which must mean they were all present for Cristian’s version of bloody justice.
I can see it on their faces as they each meet my eyes. Not pity, but understanding.
I wasn’t sure how Angelo would feel toward me once it was all said and done, but he offers me an olive branch in the typical brooding Vitale fashion.
“You two have done things out of order,” he grumbles. “Pick a date and plan the wedding.”
“We’re working on it.” Cristian smirks.
I smile in return, threading my hand through his. When he glances down and catches sight of his ring on my finger, something hot and possessive sparks in his gaze.
“You want to go make those plans now?” He brushes the words against my ear.
“I have a feeling those plans will get derailed the second you get me alone,” I muse. “And Nonna’s making us dinner. So you’ll have to wait until this baby is fed, because I’ll need all the strength I can get for her most robust grandson.”
His eyes rake over me in a rough caress, melting my insides. “Glad to hear I live up to the title.”
“Speaking of the wedding.” Val perks up. “When should we get started on the planning?”
My first instinct is to tell her that’s way too much to ask of her, but when I see how happy she is, I feel like I should accept.
Cristian seems to register my internal struggle, because it’s a familiar one.
“This is what family does,” he tells me. “Just say yes.”
Warmth settles over me as I take in my surroundings and realize he’s right. This is my family now, and I couldn’t ask for a better one.
“Thank you, Val.” I give her a watery smile. “I’d love that.”