Chapter 29
Anna watched Aiden leave, noting the rare flicker of hesitation in his eyes when she asked about Enzo. As the sedation made her eyelids droop, one final, exhausting question crossed her mind
How am I related to Enzo?
Outside the hospital walls, Lorenzo Valenti's death was plastered all over the news.
Given the toxic rumors circulating that the old man had turned into a federal snitch, absolutely no one in the syndicate was willing to stick their neck out to avenge him.
The cousins and nephews who had survived Aiden's initial purge immediately scattered, lacking the balls to pick up the mantle.
The Valenti empire was effectively dead.
In the wake of this collapse, Aiden reluctantly let Vanessa go. The sudden release completely confused her, locked away in the Thorne basement, she had no idea about the chaos or the secrets that had been uncovered outside.
?As they drove away from the Thorne territory, Vanessa turned to her brother in the passenger seat. "Enzo, did you make some kind of deal with Aiden for him to let me go?"
?Enzo didn't look at her, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. "No deal. The war is just... over." He quieted for a moment, his expression softening with a heavy grief.
"Vanessa, do you remember our Aunt? The mother figure who raised us?"
?Vanessa blinked, surprised by the sudden shift. "Of course I do, our cousin as well." A bittersweet smile touched her lips. "We've been searching for our cousin for years Enzo, will we ever find her?" she murmured quietly.
?"I've found her," Enzo said softly.
?Vanessa froze, her breath catching in her throat. "Really? Where is she? Can I see her? Where has she been? Is she okay?" She excitedly fired question after question, her voice rising with frantic hope.
?Enzo pulled the car over, parked, and stared out the window. "It's Anna."
?Vanessa sat completely dumbfounded. The silence in the car became deafening. Her mind raced, entirely unable to connect the lethal, terrifying woman of Aiden Thorne with the little girl they had lost.
A few days later, Anna was stable enough to be moved back to the infirmary at the Thorne estate. The moment she arrived, the entire household went into overdrive to pamper her, from the medical staff to the burly tactical guards.
?The guards, usually stone faced and imposing, treated her like fragile glass. Two massive security details stationed outside her door personally inspected every single meal, blanket, and flower arrangement entering the room.
Marcus, of course, found the whole situation absolutely hilarious, the idiot, Anna thought affectionately. He actually introduced rock-paper-scissors to settle the arguments over who got the shift, since every single guard on the estate was fighting for the chance to protect their queen.
?But the true center of her recovery was family time.
Mia and Leo had been glued to her side since she came home, utterly terrified of losing their mother.
The kids refused to sleep in their own rooms, dragging their pillows and blankets onto the floor right beside Anna's medical bed.
Seeing this, Aiden had the staff set up a proper bed for the kids in the room.
Aiden didn't want to leave her side either, which was how he claimed his new bed on the room's sofa.
?"Mommy, look at the picture I drew for you," Mia murmured, carefully climbing onto the edge of the mattress, making sure not to touch Anna's bandaged back. It was a messy crayon drawing of their family, held together by a massive heart.
?"It's beautiful, my love," Anna whispered, her voice tired but full of warmth.
She weakly lifted her arm, pulling Mia and Leo close to her side.
Leo held her hand tightly, his small fingers wrapping around hers.
They spent hours watching cartoons together, the children constantly touching her arm or leaning against her leg to reassure themselves that she was really there, breathing and alive.
?Through all of this, Aiden stubbornly postponed the inevitable.
He continually blocked Enzo from accessing the estate, ignoring the man's increasingly impatient calls and demands to see his cousin.
Aiden insisted he needed to speak with Anna first, but he kept delaying the conversation, dreading the complications it would bring.
?"Okay, we need to talk," Anna said seriously one afternoon, breaking the quiet in the room. She had finally had enough of Aiden avoiding the subject.
?Aiden was standing by the dresser, adjusting a vase of flowers. "Sure baby, what do you want to talk about?" he asked casually, keeping his back turned so she couldn't read his face.
?"Enzo."
?Aiden froze. He slowly turned around to face her, his posture stiffening. He walked over to the bed and sat gently on the edge.
?"He's related to you," Aiden said softly.
?"Yeah, I kinda figured that out," Anna replied, her sharp eyes tracking his expression. "Question is... how?"
?"He's your cousin. Apparently, you're the true, rightful heir to the Rossi syndicate," Aiden said, his voice dropping into a distinctly unhappy tone.
?Anna, completely used to this possessive, overprotective side of him, looked at him intently, seeing right through the fierce exterior.
"You think I'm going to leave you and go join their family?"
?Aiden just stared back at her. He didn't speak, but the subtle spark of deep insecurity in his dark eyes gave him away completely.
?Anna rolled her eyes slightly, a faint smirk playing on her lips. "Hand me my phone."
?Aiden reached into his pocket and handed it over. Instead of using a secure burner, Anna dialed Enzo's direct number. It rang twice before Enzo picked up, his voice tight and hesitant.
?"Hello?"
?"Hello, cousin," Anna responded, putting deliberate emphasis on the word. Her voice was calm and commanding despite her physical exhaustion.
"Join us for dinner tonight. At the estate. No weapons."
?Without waiting for a response, she hung up and looked back at her man.
?Aiden let out a soft, dark chuckle, leaning down to press a tender kiss to her lips. "Dinner will be interesting." He smoothed her hair back gently.
"Get some rest before they arrive. I'll go keep the two little monsters away for a bit so you can sleep."
?Later that evening, Enzo and Vanessa arrived at the Thorne estate. Walking through the heavy front doors, Vanessa looked entirely different than she had in the past, her shoulders tense as she took in the grand surroundings.
?When they were escorted into the private dining room where Anna was resting comfortably at the head of the table, Vanessa's gaze shifted completely.
She looked at Anna with a newfound respect, no longer seeing her as just a rival or a threat, but through the lens of shared blood and undeniable power.
?Anna noticed the sudden shift in posture, vividly remembering the days when Vanessa had looked down on her or viewed her as mere help. Anna snickered quietly to herself, keeping her amusement hidden behind her glass.
?The dinner began in a state of suffocating tension.
Enzo was entirely on edge. Being deep inside enemy territory and stripped of all weapons per Anna's explicit orders made him feel completely naked.
Every time a server moved behind him to pour water, his muscles twitched, his eyes constantly darting to Aiden, who sat directly across from him looking entirely relaxed.
?They ate in silence until the plates were cleared, the heavy atmosphere finally demanding the truth.
?"So," Anna started, leaning back against her cushioned chair, her sharp gaze locking onto Enzo. "Let's talk about this blood relation."
?Enzo took a slow, deep breath, setting his hands flat on the table to keep them steady.
"You are the daughter of the true Rossi head, Anna.
When the syndicate fractured, you were hidden away for your own safety, but you later disappeared into thin air.
Lorenzo was infatuated with your mother before she married my uncle, your dad.
He believed the Rossis' 'stole' from him.
I think that's what led to him stealing you from us and making you into a lethal weapon, one that would take us down without you even knowing you were destroying your own blood. Twisted son of a bitch."
?He looked at her, his eyes raw with guilt. "I should have known he had something to do with your disappearance. Don't you remember anything? About your mom, or us?"
?"No," Anna said bluntly.
?Honestly, Anna had already inquired from one of her doctors why she couldn't remember her childhood. The doctor explained that her brain had likely repressed the memories as a defense mechanism, blocking out the severe trauma of being stolen and reconditioned by Lorenzo to protect her sanity.
?"Would you like to try and remember? There are specialists who handle such cases," Vanessa chipped in hesitantly.
?"No, I'm good. I don't need anyone walking around in my head," Anna said firmly.
?"All said and done, you're a Rossi," Enzo stated, locking eyes with her. "The true head of the syndicate. The throne is yours, and I'll step down immediately if you come back with us."
?Anna listened, her expression unreadable, her hand casually slipping into Aiden's beneath the table. Aiden's grip tightened, his eyes narrowing at Enzo as the reality of the underworld's new dynamic hung dangerously in the balance.
?Suddenly the dining room doors swung open. Marcus walked in, his face tense.
?"We have a problem," Marcus said, looking directly at Aiden.
?Aiden frowned. "What is it?"
?Marcus glanced toward Enzo and Vanessa, hesitating to speak in front of them.
?"Go ahead," Aiden urged, his voice dropping.
?Marcus nodded quickly. "We have incoming....."
?He was cut off by the sharp buzz of the burner phone in Aiden's pocket. Aiden pulled it out, his eyebrows knitting together in surprise when he saw Elena's name flashing on the screen. He answered immediately.
?"The FBI is on the way to yours," Elena's voice came through, fast and clip.
"They believe they have you on camera killing Marco. Cooperate, I'll handle the rest. And tell your woman not to kill federal officers."
?The line went dead.