Is this what happens when you find out your entire life has been a lie?
Do you just…break?
But I can’t let anyone in this room see me falter.
Not now, not when they’re all watching for signs of weakness.
I force myself to breathe normally, to keep my hands steady, even as the voices continue their strange chorus in my head.
Whatever this is, I’ll figure it out later.
Right now, I have a room full of dangerous men to deal with.
I stand up, and the room gradually falls silent as all eyes turn to me.
Alessandro shifts beside me, still ready for violence, still protecting me even as I embrace something that might terrify him.
“Fine,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “You want to test me? Let’s do it. I’m tired of everyone acting like I can’t handle the truth about this world.”
I look directly at Dominic, letting him see the anger in my eyes. “You think Giuseppe’s blood makes me weak? Let’s find out.”
The silence that follows feels heavy, dangerous.
I can see surprise on some faces, calculation on others.
Matteo looks like he wants to drag me out of here by force.
And judging by the expressions around the table, I’ve just stepped into something I might not be ready for.
10
ALESSANDRO
“The girl needs a partner.”
Don Vitelli’s words cut through the silence following Bianca’s declaration, and I watch Bianca’s eyes flash with anger.
Her teeth grind together, and I can practicallyfeelthe fury radiating from her at the suggestion that she can’t handle this alone.
“Someone to ensure she doesn’t go rogue,” Alberto Marconi adds with the kind of casual dismissal that makes my own temper flare. “These trials require…supervision.”
“I’ll do it.” Matteo’s voice cuts across the room before anyone else can speak. “As head of the DeLuca family?—”
“No.” Bianca’s voice is ice-cold. “Absolutely fucking not.”
The room erupts again.
“You don’t get to make that choice—” Matteo starts, his voice controlled but dangerous.
“Like hell I don’t!” Bianca shoots back, rising from her chair. “You lost the right to make choices about my life. Period.”
“She has a point,” one of the other dons interjects. “Given the…family complications?—”
“There are no complications.” Matteo snarls, his hands completely still on the table. “Like I said two years ago, she’s my daughter in every way that matters.”
“Except the ways thatactuallymatter,” Dominic Calabrese says with obvious satisfaction, leaning back in his chair like he’s watching dinner theater. “Biology, blood, the fundamental truth of what she is?—”
“Careful, Calabrese.” Matteo’s voice doesn’t rise, but if looks could kill, Dominic would be six feet under. “You’re walking averythin line.”
