“You’re right, it doesn’t. But it has everything to do with the non-stop bullshit you’ve inflicted on the people who trusted you and supported you, from your own sons to innocent women and children.”
He snorts. “No one is innocent.”
My finger tightens on the grip of my gun. “You want last words or not?”
Something flickers in his eyes. “You need to know: I didn’t kill your mother. Someone came for me and got her instead.”
The confession hits like a punch. All these years, and he never said it out loud.
“The same will happen to each of you,” Aurelio continues, his gaze locking on mine. “And your women. Starting with you, Vincenzo. The Irish don’t play games. You’re betrothed to marry the boss’s daughter. If you choose the Bellamorte girl, they’ll kill you both.”
Silence drops like a blanket.
I feel Matti and Tommy turn to stare at me. My jaw clenches.
“What betrothal?” Tommy demands. “What the fuck is he talking about?”
I don’t look at them. Admitting it out loud makes it real, and I’m not ready. But fucking Aurelio just forced my hand.
“There’s a contract,” I say, my voice rough. “An alliance with the Irish. I marry their daughter when I become boss or we lose all the work we’ve done to gain access to the ports.”
Understanding crashes across their faces as they learn the reason I pushed Sophia away, the reason I’ve been a miserable bastard for weeks. They glance at each other, then back at me, and I see the decision they make: solidarity in front of Aurelio. Questions later.
“He’s the fucking boss,” Tommy says, his voice hard. “He’ll marry who he wants.”
Aurelio laughs, the sound scraping against my nerves. “Then you’ll be at war again. You’ll lose the ports, all your income. You’ll be sitting ducks for the Albanians.”
“Fuck it,” Matti growls. “Vin doesn’t have to do shit, especially if it’s a deal you set up. He makes the rules now.”
“What do you know about who makes the rules?” Aurelio’s voice drips with venom. “You’re children playing at power. The Irish will—”
“Enough.” My voice cuts through the warehouse. I step closer, staring down at the man who raised me, who beat me,who taught me that love was weakness and loyalty was bought with blood. “I always knew I’d marry for an alliance, and this is the right one.” I meet his eyes, letting him see the truth. “I’ll always put the family first. Unlike you.”
I lift my gun and take aim, and Tommy and Matti follow suit. I know they’ll aim for his head. I’m aiming for his heart.
Aurelio’s face twists with rage. “Malocchio!” he spits. “The evil eye on all of you, your wives, your—”
The gunfire is deafening.
All three of us open up at once, emptying our clips into him. The sound echoes off concrete, brass casings hitting the floor like rain. The air fills with the silence of death.
I’m calm as I stare at his body. There is no struggle for breath, no wheezing through punctured lungs. His body is lifeless, his eyes wide, his jaw dropped open, half his head missing.
I feel nothing. Without Sophia, there is just this: family, violence, and death.
I walk over to Aurelio’s body, his lifeless gaze seemingly locking on mine. I feel no regret, no hate. Just absence.
I’ll never win his respect now, but I never would have been the son he wanted. It doesn’t matter now. Because I’m the boss, and I’ll be the boss the family needs. Starting with putting the final bullet in my father.
I press my gun to his forehead.
“You taught me well by showing me what not to do,” I say quietly. “I will have the respect of my men and my family because I’ll always put them first. If you had done that even once, we wouldn’t be here right now. I’m going to do it every day for the rest of my life.”
I pull the trigger.
The gunshot is quieter than the others, final and absolute.
Matti moves forward, presses two fingers to Aurelio’s neck. “He’s gone.”
