Would he have returned?
Would he have been killed for betraying the Vitale family?
It wasn’t just my children I protected. It was Luca himself. By letting him go, by letting him believe I'd blamed him and moved on, I removed him from immediate danger.
"Ladies, perhaps we should remember it's Christmas," Isabella says, looking from me to Gabriella.
"You're right." I exhale slowly, collecting myself. "I'm sorry, Gabriella. I didn't mean to imply that Luca would ever hurt children. That's not what I meant at all."
Gabriella's posture remains stiff, but some of the fire leaves her eyes. "Then what did you mean?"
"I meant that others might use his investigation as an opportunity. We've all seen how these things escalate. People manipulate situations for their own gain. They create collateral damage without caring who gets caught in the crossfire."
Isabella nods. "Like what happened with my mother. Someone used her death to turn me against the Calabresis for years." Isabella looks knowingly at Gabriella. “They made you think Marco was trying to take your father’s territory.”
She lets out a sigh. “Maybe I’m being defensive of Luca.”
“And I’m being dramatic.” I force a laugh. "We should be talking about the winter festival instead."
Gabriella hesitates, clearly noticing my abrupt change of subject, but Isabella smoothly picks up the thread.
“I think it might be Roman’s favorite time of year.”
Gabriella takes a long drink of her wine. “This will be the first holiday season Marco isn’t a Scrooge.”
We laugh, all remembering how Marco disliked Christmas.
“It’s Sabina’s first Christmas,” I say. “Is he buying her the moon and stars?”
Gabriella’s smile is finally genuine. “He’s trying.”
It takes another few minutes, but finally, we’re back to our old selves discussing ice skating and whether the carousel is worth the long line.
But my mind races looking for a way out or solutions to my mess.
If Luca discovers the truth… if Dom finds out I've been sleeping with Luca… if someone connects the dots about the triplets… Or maybe I need to accept that the question isn’t if, but when?
When Luca learns the truth… when Dom finds out I’ve been with Luca…
I have no answers.
LUCA
I come out of the Holland Tunnel into New Jersey, moving further from Elena and closer to answers I'm not sure I want anymore.
What am I really doing?
Risking a potential future with the woman I've never stopped loving for the sake of clearing a name that most have already forgotten was tarnished?
Dom's warning echoes in my head. Elena must have gone straight to him after our conversation.
The betrayal stings, but I understand her loyalty to her cousin. Still, the distance growing between us makes my chest ache. Just when I thought I'd found my way back to her, she's slipping away again.
But I can’t let this go. Since becoming Don, I’ve tried to focus on the job, become the man Elena wants.
But I’m haunted by that day seven years ago when I drove up to meet Umberto and found him surrounded by Feds.
Before I knew it, I was blamed and my father had me on a plane to Italy.
