Chapter 23
Gianna Pov~
"It's a lot of work," Ano V said with a lighthearted smile, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening with age and happiness. "Thank goodness I never had to do it all by myself."
We stood side by side on the balcony overlooking the sprawling vineyard behind the estate. The morning sun cast a golden glow over the endless rows of vines, making the entire valley look almost magical.
Ano V had been telling me stories about growing up here, how she spent countless hours helping her father tend the vineyard, learning every inch of the land until it felt like an extension of herself.
"I wish I had something like this when I was younger," I murmured. My eyes wandered across the fields. "The closest thing I had was our little garden."
A bittersweet smile crossed my face. "It was the only place I ever felt free. The only place where I felt... complete. For just a little while, it felt like nothing could touch me."
A warm hand gently covered mine. I looked over to find Ano V smiling at me. It was impossible not to smile back. There was something comforting about her. Something that made you feel safe.
"I don't know where I would've ended up without Adriano," I whispered. The words came out before I even realized I was thinking them. "He saved me."
I looked back out at the vineyard, my heart swelling at the thought of my husband.
The love I had for that man...The respect, The safety, The happiness I felt every time he walked into a room. There weren't enough words in any language to describe it.
Ano V gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "I believe you saved him, figlia." (Daughter.)
I turned to look at her. A crooked smile rested on her lips as the morning sun warmed her face.
"When Adriano was a little boy, he and his father would come stay with me for a few months every year." She chuckled softly, though there was sadness hidden beneath it. "My brother was never an easy man. He demanded perfection. From everyone. And in everything."
Her eyes drifted toward the vineyard, as though she could still see those memories playing out among the vines.
"But Adriano..." She smiled to herself. "He was always different."
Gianna Pov~
"He was always hard on Adriano." Ano V's voice softened as she continued looking out over the vineyard. "Rebuking him whenever he made mistakes. Showing him things no five-year-old child should ever have to see."
My heart tightened. "So when they came to visit, Adriano would sit quietly in the corner like a little mouse."
A sad smile crossed her face. "Every day, I had to find ways to get him to eat, change his clothes, or take a shower." She chuckled softly. "I would tell him stories to distract him. He would become so focused on the story that he wouldn't even realize I was helping him."
I smiled at the thought. That sounded exactly like something a little Adriano would do.
"He was always the serious one." She shook her head slightly. "Matteo was different. He was the free spirit. Always running around, laughing, causing trouble."
A small laugh escaped her. "But Adriano..." Her smile faded. "He carried the weight of the world on his shoulders even as a child."
"Why was he so quiet?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity. Adriano had always been private about his past.
I knew pieces...small pieces but never the full story. And maybe it was selfish...but I wanted to know. I wanted to understand the little boy who became the man I loved.
Ano V shrugged slightly, turning her gaze back toward the endless rows of vines. "I would say it was because of his father."
Her expression hardened slightly. "Growing up, Enzo pushed that poor boy into doing things no child should ever experience. Things Enzo liked to call 'Mafia building.'"
She scoffed. "If you ask me, he just wanted a smaller version of himself." She sighed. "I think Adriano was simply trying to understand everything happening around him. You're not born with the instinct to hurt people. You're taught that."
She paused.
"That doesn't mean Adriano never struggled with it."
I looked down at our joined hands. "Was there ever a point where he didn't want this life?" Ano V immediately nodded. "Of course." Her answer was certain.
"Around the age of fourteen or fifteen, the guilt became too much. He ran away for a while." My eyes widened slightly. "He came all the way here to Italy." She smiled sadly.
"Adriano was not always the feared Capo di Capi everyone knows today. He went through things that shaped him. Things that hardened him. But there is humanity inside him. Far more than he wants people to see."
She looked at me.
"That hard exterior you see as a husband..." She smiled softly. "That is nothing compared to the man with the full heart underneath."
I couldn't help but smile. "I know." My voice softened. "That's the man I fell in love with." Ano V squeezed my hand.
"What made him go back?" I looked at her curiously. But she only smiled. "That is something he will have to tell you himself."
I nodded, understanding. "When Adriano would come here, I treated him like what he was. A little boy." Her eyes softened. "I gave him the love he never received." "Not even from his mother."
A sadness crossed her face. "That poor woman...She could never disobey Enzo." I remained silent, listening. "I taught him things Enzo never would. How to treat women. How to respect his elders. How to show kindness. Basic things every young man should know."
She smiled sadly.
"I tried so hard with him." Then she looked at me. "You know, the night he kidnapped you and your sister..." My eyebrows lifted. "He called me." She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Oh, he was so confused."
"But he had already made his decision." I laughed quietly with her, still shocked. "He told me he met his Queen."
My heart skipped slightly. "She just didn't realize it yet." Ano V looked directly into my eyes. "I knew from those words that he was serious. I told Adriano a long time ago...Never talk to me about a woman unless she is the one."
She squeezed my hand. "And you were. You gave him something I never could." Her voice became softer.
"Gli hai dato qualcosa in cui credere di nuovo. Gli hai dato la speranza." (You gave him something to believe in again. You gave him hope.)
I sat there frozen. Letting every word sink into my heart. Ano V smiled at me. Not like she was just smiling...like she understood. Like she knew exactly what those words meant to me.
She gave my hand one final squeeze before slowly walking back inside. I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. A small smile spread across my face.
"Mom?" I turned around. Michel stood behind me, staring at me with a confused expression.
"You okay?" I laughed softly. "Yeah, I'm okay."
He nodded slowly. "Okay, because you had this crazy smile on your face."
I gasped. "Hey!" I walked over and lightly kicked him in the butt. He immediately started laughing. "Mom!" I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop smiling.
Some things never changed. Even in a family full of chaos...My kids always found a way to bring me back to reality.
Damien Pov~
"I think I made my decision." Raf's voice caught our attention as he walked into the living room.
Dean and I looked up at him, waiting. "And?" I asked, gesturing for him to continue. He looked between us before shaking his head slightly. "I have to talk to Unc first. Sorry."
Then he turned around and walked right back out of the room. Dean stared at the doorway. "So why come in here then?" His voice echoed through the room.
"Idiot." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head.
Before Dean could respond, the door opened again. "Damien, we need you. Now." AJ's voice immediately caught my attention. The urgency in his tone made me stand up instantly.
My relaxed attitude disappeared, replaced with the instincts we were trained with. "What's wrong?" I asked as I followed him out of the room.
We walked toward the garage where all the vehicles were parked. "Dad sent us on a hide-and-seek mission."
AJ unlocked the black SUV and climbed into the driver's seat. I raised an eyebrow as I got into the passenger side.
"Who exactly are we hiding and seeking?"
Marcio and Leo walked into the garage behind us and headed toward the van. AJ started the engine and pulled out of the garage, speeding down the driveway and onto the road.
"Clara."
I looked over at him. "Giovanni's ex-lover." My eyebrows lifted. "The Mafia's best scout apparently had help from a few people getting here without anyone knowing."
He tightened his grip slightly on the steering wheel. "Dad wants us to find out who helped her."
"Wait."
Leo's voice came from the backseat. "My dad's ex-girlfriend was that woman at breakfast?" He looked genuinely confused.
"Yup," Marcio answered.
"Before Aunt Leena and Uncle Gio got together, apparently she left him and the Mafia without telling anyone." He leaned back in his seat. "Then they found her years later, locked her up, and somehow she ended up here."
Leo let out a low whistle. "Shit." He looked out the window. "That's why my parents have been acting weird all day."
I glanced at AJ. He immediately gave me a look that said don't ask. I understood. Something about this situation was bigger than what we knew. I reached down and grabbed the folder sitting on the dashboard.
Opening it, I scanned through the names and information inside.
"Alright..." I looked at the others.
"Who are we visiting first?"
Matteo Pov~
"The boys just left." I said the moment Adriano and I walked back into his office after speaking with Clara. She was still locked away in the basement room, guarded and contained until we figured out exactly what was going on.
"Good." Adriano dropped the files and paperwork in his hands onto his desk. "They shouldn't be gone too long."
I took a seat across from him. "So if she checks out... if her entire story is true, what are we going to do with her?"
I leaned back slightly. "Are we really going to let her back in?"
Adriano's hand came up, covering his face as he released a deep breath. "I don't know." The frustration in his voice was obvious.
He clasped his hands together, resting them on his lap. "If we let her back in, we're allowing a traitor back into our Mafia."
He looked down, thinking through every possibility. "That won't sit well with the men."
He continued. "Not to mention our sisters hate her." His jaw tightened. "And we still don't know if she's going to become a liability to us or our children."
He paused. "And then there's Giovanni." His expression hardened slightly. "We need to know what he wants."
I nodded, understanding the weight on his shoulders. "At the end of the day, you have to make the decision." I looked him directly in the eye. "You're the Capo. Whether they like it or not, they have to trust your judgment."
He nodded slowly. "I know."
But the uncertainty in his eyes told me this decision was heavier than he wanted anyone to know. Before either of us could say anything else, a knock echoed through the room.
Our heads turned toward the door. "Come in." Adriano called out.
The door opened and Rafael stepped inside. His expression was serious. Uneasy.
"I made my decision." His voice held conviction.
Adriano stood from his chair and faced him. "Okay." He studied Raf for a moment. "But before you tell us, I want to tell you something."
Raf remained silent. Adriano took a deep breath. For a moment, he wasn't the Capo. He was just a man talking to someone he loved.
"I never had the choice to stay or leave." His voice was steady. "My father was strict. He used to tell me, 'This is the life you were born with, so this is the life you are going to live.'"
Adriano's eyes darkened slightly. "He told me if I ever left, he would disown me and my mother. He would leave us on the side of the road and let us starve."
The room went silent. "I was young. I was desperate for my father's approval. And because of that..." He shook his head slightly. "I never really had a choice."
Raf watched him carefully. "I never got the chance to see what a normal life looked like." Adriano stepped closer. "And I don't want that for you." His voice softened.
"If you choose to leave, you will always have me. You will always have my support. If you need me, I will be there." He paused. "And if you choose to stay..." A small smile appeared. "You will always have a place here. You will always be family."
It was harsh, it was rough, it was the most Adriano way possible of saying I love you.
But Raf understood. He never broke eye contact. After a moment, he nodded and let out a deep breath.
"I'm staying." The words were quiet. But certain.
"Really?" I asked, unable to hide my surprise. Raf looked at me before turning back toward Adriano. He looked down for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
"This family is fucking dysfunctional in so many ways." A small smirk tugged at his lips. "We kill, we torture, we do things that most people would never understand." He counted them off on his fingers.
"But..." His expression softened. "We also protect each other, we love each other in our own messed-up way. We show up when it matters." He looked between us. "And that is something I want, I want to fight for this family, I want to protect them."
He took a breath. "I will always lead with my heart. Maybe one day that will get me killed. But at least I'll die knowing I chose this. That I wanted this."
Adriano stared at him for a moment before a small smile appeared. Then he grabbed Raf's arm firmly. "Welcome to the Italian Mafia, Rafaele Lukas Basilio."
Raf smiled. "Happy to be back, Capo." I stood beside them, unable to stop my own smile. After everything Raf had been struggling with...he finally found his answer.
I patted his back. "Now..." I looked between the two of them. "Let's celebrate.”