Only the sins may not be all hers…
Aida clears her throat. “I know you think I left your father for another man, but that’s not true. I loved Franco and I wept when I learned of his death. Even after all the time apart, I loved him and I always will, no matter what he may have told you.”
“He didn’t speak of you often,” I say. Aida flinches at that, which shouldn’t bother me but it does. “However, whenever he did, it was with respect. He loved you until he drew his last breath.”
My mother covers her mouth and a choked sob fills the room. “He did?”
I nod, as do Maximus and Rafael. Aida’s gaze darts between the three of us and when it returns to me the gray of her eyes is a striking silver because of her tears. Seeing my mother this way sends an uncomfortable pang through my chest. I stifle the urge to comfort her, but I have something that can do it for me.
After unlocking the side desk drawer, I retrieve the diamond hair comb and set it down right in front of my mother. With a small cry she reaches for it with shaking fingers and tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Along with a picture of the two of you, he kept the comb on his nightstand,” I say quietly, “and was holding it in his hand when he passed on.”
Aida weeps. Her crying is silent, but the number of tears shed is too many to count. I couldn’t have pictured this happening when I first saw her, not with how cold and collected she was toward me. My brothers and I watch her break down in front of us and it’s humbling.
“Thank you for this,” she says, running her fingers over the flower-shaped diamonds. “Franco gave this to me and I wore it for every special occasion, regardless of how formal or casual it was. The first was my wedding day, followed by each of your births, your Christenings, birthdays…basically every beautiful moment in my life.”
When Aida raises her head and stares me in the face, I jolt slightly in my chair. She looks like the woman in my memories, the one who gazes at me with so much love it makes everything right in my world. And the reason is because I love her as well, or else she wouldn’t have that effect on me. However, as rewarding as it is to see her this way, she’s no longer that person for me, the one who brings light, clarity, and love to my life.
It’s Violetta.
Myribellelooks at me as though I’m her world and I’ve never desired anything more than that. And I want it until I draw my last breath.
Aida hands the hair comb back to me and I accept it with my brow furrowing. “Thank you so much for showing me that,” she says. “Having closure is invaluable after so many years of emotional turmoil and guilt. I don’t know if the files I brought you are enough to give you some measure of peace or if they’re enough to prove I never wanted to leave you, but I hope so. And there is one more thing I need to give you before I leave.”
She pulls out another manila folder, only this one doesn’t hold much. I don’t try to hide my interest and when she lays it on my desk I’m quick to open it. Maximus leans forward in his chair and thrums his fingers on the armrest. It appears minor, but for him it’s a sign of worry. “It’s a DNA test.”
“What the fuck?” Rafael frowns. “I feel like I’m on that talk-showMauryand I’m pretty sure I’mnotthe father…” He looks at Aida when he says, “But according to this, youarethe mother.”
“Yes,” she says, her tone laced in caution. “I didn’t lie to you about wanting to pay the ransom for my boss, but what I didn’t reveal is that El Jefe is my son, Dante Cortez. He is the biological son of Lorenzo Galli,notOctavia’s father, who was ‘El Jefe’ before he died and passed that title on to Dante. I can no longer separate the two major parts of my life, which are the three of you and your siblings, Dante and Octavia.”
Maximus stares at our mother as if she’s speaking a foreign language and Rafael looks to me for confirmation. I dip my head and his brows shoot up.
“I have a sister? Wow.” Rafael taps his chin. “Is she hot?” Before I can curse or reach across the desk to strangle him, he nods to himself. “Of course, she is. Anyone related to me has to be attractive.”
Aida smiles for the first time since she arrived. Her gaze takes on the loving shine from earlier, the same one she bestowed on me, and when Rafael catches her eye his lips widen into a grin.
“All of my children are beautiful,” she says softly.
Rafael puts a hand next to his mouth and lowers his voice as though he’s imparting a secret. “You don’t have to lie just because they’re here.”
Aida laughs and that snags Maximus’s attention. His dark eyes are filled with skepticism, but there is a loosening in the set of his shoulders at hearing her amusement. I’m also affected by the sound, just as much as them. It’s the same from my childhood and it stirs up memories from better days.
No, not better days, just ones from the past that were full of joy.
However, now my life will be full of more than just that because of Violetta.
“Il mio volpe,”1Aida says to my consigliere. She’s hesitant, but whatever she sees in Rafael’s eyes gives her the courage to lay her hand on his arm briefly. Then she looks at Maximus. “Il mio lupo.”2Her smile weakens at his lack of response, but then he finally gives her a curt nod.
Aida turns to me last and the hope in her gaze is almost painful to witness. “Il mio leone,3do you remember the story?”
“Yes,” I say, responding to the nickname she gave me as a child.
Aida sniffs and I open my drawer to retrieve a handkerchief for her. She takes it, but before retracting her hand, she grips mine tightly and runs her thumb over my signet ring. Her expression of vulnerability, along with the energy that transfers from her to me is akin to a silent apology. It takes me by surprise.
“Do you remember the story?” she asks again.
“Yes, it’sThe Three Princes and Their Beasts.” I look at my brothers from the younger to the middle one. “Maximus was the wolf because he was silent but loyal. Rafael the fox, due to his playful nature and cunning. And I was the lion since, as the eldest, I was going to lead our family someday, and because you said I was fierce and courageous.”
