“And you’re willing to work with him now.”
Dom’s voice turns dark. “If Luca was behind what happened to your father, he’ll get what’s coming to him. Somehow, he’ll pay.”
I shudder at the promise in his words.
I glance at the kids again knowing that Luca getting what’s coming to him doesn’t necessarily mean his death. It could mean the death of anyone he cares for.
"Mommy, look!" Adalina's voice breaks through our conversation. She points proudly to where she's hung three matching ornaments in a perfect row.
"Beautiful, sweetheart," I call back.
When I turn back to Dom, his expression has softened. "They look more like him every day, you know."
My heart stops. "What?"
"The kids," Dom clarifies. "They have the Vitale eyes, just like you."
Relief floods through me, though I shouldn't have worried.
Dom may suspect many things, but he's never questioned the children's parentage.
Still, his earlier words echo in my mind about Luca getting what he deserves.
"Why was Luca even working with my father?" I finally ask, realizing I’ve never talked to Dom about what happened back then.
The truth is, I've been avoiding this conversation for years, terrified of what I might learn.
Dom finishes his drink. "La Corona families share resources when needed. Men, territory, information. It's what makes us stronger than our rivals."
"But specifically, Luca? He was so young then."
"Antonio and your father were close," Dom says, glancing at the children to ensure they're still occupied. "Umberto respected Antonio's business acumen, and Antonio wanted Luca to learn from the best. Remember, first sons are raised to take over, but they need to prove themselves. They start at the bottom and work their way up. Your father was one of the best soldiers and captains in La Corona. Who better to learn from?"
My father was mentoring Luca.
Antoinio entrusted Luca to my father.
Unless Antonio was behind my father’s arrest, it doesn’t make sense that Luca would betray the Vitale family.
"Who do you think was behind my father's arrest, then? If not Luca?"
Dom's expression darkens as he watches the children, now sprawled on the floor playing with a miniature Christmas village.
When he turns back to me, his eyes hold the calculating look of a Don, not my cousin.
"I don't know for certain, but considering all the attention we've been getting from the FBI these last few years, it could be an operation they had going. Just because your father was arrested, doesn’t mean anyone snitched. Could be a good agent who got lucky.”
My mind races back to those terrible days after my father's arrest.
The evidence had seemed so conclusive, so damning. "But there was evidence that Luca was there. Called them. Showed them where to go.”
“True, but funny how he wasn’t put in WITPRO or asked to testify,” he says, referring to Witness Protection. “Arresting your father was a big deal, Elena. And their main witness isn’t protected? He’s allowed to leave the country and not called back to testify in your father’s trial? Nah, that’s never made sense to me.”
I feel dizzy.
For years, I've directed my pain at Luca, made him the villain in my story.
Even as I questioned parts of the situation, I couldn’t talk myself out of blaming him.
