“What exactly did you hear?” Caspian asked, leaning forward. I knew what he was doing. Fishing for information.
The room fell silent as Alisa began to tell her story. Even now, when hearing it for the second time, I felt that same rage against her father as I’d done the first time around.
“Did he mention which family?” Caspian asked.
Alisa shook her head.
“Fuck,” Caspian hissed. “We’re going to have to find out all that we can about this. We have to dig into Marc Montes and see what trouble he’s brewing up. One thing’s clear—he’s as corrupt as they come.”
Alisa shook her head in protest. “I still can’t believe he would do this. He’s not corrupt. There has to be an explanation. I’m telling you, he’s being blackmailed.”
“Oh, honey,” Kate said softly, and I saw her own memories coming back to her. “Our families sometimes aren’t what we expect.”
“But… “ Alisa’s voice faded. “I’m quite certain… “
An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, and a few seconds passed, but then I cleared my throat. “Federico, I could use your help looking into this. Your contacts might know which families are pressuring Marc.”
Federico nodded slowly. “I’ve been hearing whispers about him for months. Nothing concrete, but enough to make me curious. I’ll help.”
“We’llall help,”Caspian stated, his tone making it clear this wasn’t up for debate. “Alisa is family now, regardless of how it happened.” He fixed me with a hard stare. “Though we will discuss your actions later, brother.”
I raised my glass in acknowledgment, relief washing through me. Whatever Caspian thought of my decisions, he wouldn’t leave Alisa vulnerable.
“Now,” Elena clapped her hands, lightening the mood, “I think we’ve terrorized our new sister-in-law enough for one night. Beatrice, didn’t you make that chocolate hazelnut cake everyone’s been talking about?”
“I did,” Beatrice confirmed, standing. “I’ll get it.”
As the plates were cleared and conversation shifted to safer topics, I watched Alisa’s shoulders gradually relax.
I felt proud of how she’d handled herself and my family’s interrogation—with more grace than I’d expected.
When Beatrice returned with the cake, a towering creation of chocolate, hazelnut, and cream, Alisa’s eyes widened.
“That looks incredible,” she gushed.
Beatrice beamed. “It’s my own recipe. Took me six attempts to get the texture right.”
“She almost burned down my kitchen on attempt number four,” Elena added, earning a glare from her sister. “And that version had too much hazelnut extract. It overpowered the chocolate.”
“Backseat baker,” Beatrice muttered, cutting a generous slice for Alisa. “Ignore her. She thinks reading one cookbook makes her Julia Child.”
Alisa laughed as she took a bite and moaned. “Oh my god, Bea! This is divine. Seriously, I need this recipe.”
Bea? She called my sister Bea. I hadn’t realized she’d picked up on that.
“Family secret,” Beatrice teased, but I could see she was pleased. “But I might be persuaded to teach you.”
“I’d love that,” Alisa replied warmly.
“You have no idea what you just signed up for,” Elena stage-whispered to Alisa, and Alisa’s eyes burst wide open in mock fear.
I caught Caspian’s eye, and he, too, had been watching the girls. When he looked over at me, he gave me on single nod, as though to say you fucked up, but with a good one.
Chapter 16 - Alisa
Ever since dinner with Dante’s family, I’d been learning all I could about my father. That night, I defended my father’s motivations, but I was still left with the feeling that Dante and his brothers already had their minds made up about what kind of a man my father was.
Their biases made sense, given who they were and who my father was. The Bratva and the federal prosecutor—they were never meant to sit at the same table.
