"Oh, Luca." Her voice softens with compassion. “You’re happy, right?”
“Extremely, and yet I’m so fucking pissed at Elena. And terrified that Dad knew.”
“Dad? How?”
I tell her about my visit with Carl and how he’d known about the kids and wished Elena had come to Italy with me. “Would he have told Dad?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t see Dad not acting on it if he did know. They’re Monti children.” She echoes the other side of the argument I’ve been struggling with since the moment Carl revealed the truth.
“He wouldn’t have thought like Elena? That it was safer to hide who the father was?”
“Is that what she said?”
“She said Aldo’s men wanted revenge for Umberto. That she overheard Aldo telling Dom to find a way to hurt me. She worried if he knew, she and the kids would be targets.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Would Aldo have targeted her?”
“He set Umberto up. Had him killed. Likely wanted the same outcome for me too, but in the end, it worked out because I was scapegoated.”
“A man who could kill his brother would surely have no qualms about killing his niece.”
I scrape my hand over my face knowing she’s right.
“I’m not saying what she did is okay, Luca. I hate that you’ve missed so much of their lives, but you have to consider that she was alone, facing a monster.”
“And what about after Aldo died?” Am I really the asshole here? “She always acted like she couldn’t stand to be around me. Now I know why.”
“I do find that difficult to understand.” Gabriella’s statement makes me feel justified in my anger. “How are the kids taking it?"
"Better than expected. Kids are resilient." I open the desk drawer, finding a bottle of pain reliever my father kept there. "I'm bringing them here Friday night."
“Wow.”
"I've lost enough time." I swallow the pills dry. "I need your help with the legal side. Custody arrangements, recognition of paternity, whatever it takes to establish my rights."
Her tone shifts to professional mode. “I know good family law lawyers. Will Elena fight you?”
“I don’t think so.” I laugh bitterly. “I think she’s afraid of me.”
“Did you threaten her?”
“I threatened to do what I had to do to be a father, but I didn’t threaten to hurt her,” I say defensively.
“Of course. You wouldn’t do that. It breaks my heart, Luca, how much she hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
“Yes, well, I don’t know that I’ve ever been so pissed, but I want to do this right for the kids. They deserve stability."
“Does Dad know?”
“Not yet. I was going to tell him but he was… He said to wait for Mom.”
“Ah. I’d hoped with you taking over that maybe the reduced stress would slow down his dementia.”
Speaking of him stepping down, I’m the Don. I have other responsibilities. “I’ll tell him when he’s in our time era.”
“This might be exactly what he needs." Her voice warms. "Family, Luca. Our family just got bigger."
Family.
