I want to argue. Want to point out that at least he loves Nora. But the words die on my tongue.
"You're not a Donna," Pietro continues. "You're just... you had the bad luck of being born into this shit. Same as all of us."
The fight drains out of me. Because he's right. None of us chose this life. We were born into blood and secrets and obligations that stretch back generations.
I pause, a thought nagging at me.
"Wait." I narrow my eyes at Pietro. "How do you know Baganov is available tonight?"
Pietro's expression shifts. Just a fraction. But I catch it.
"He asked for a dinner two days ago."
Two days ago.
"I refused." Pietro holds up a hand before I can explode. "You already had plans with Rogers. It made sense to honor that commitment first."
"But now things have changed." The words taste bitter on my tongue.
"Now things have changed," he confirms.
I turn away from him, staring out my window at the gardens below.
Two days ago.
Dmitri asked for dinnertwo days ago. Before James canceled. Before this morning's convenient "business emergency" at the Rogers dealership.
Coincidence?
I almost laugh. There's no such thing as coincidence in our world. There's only strategy and power plays.
"Vittoria?" Pietro's voice cuts through my thoughts. "What's your answer?"
I turn back to face him. My brother. The Don. The man who carries the weight of our family on his shoulders and never complains. He didn't ask for this either.
"Yes."
Pietro blinks. "Yes?"
"Tell Baganov I'll have dinner with him tonight." I move toward my bedroom door and open it pointedly. "Now leave. I need to sleep."
He doesn't move immediately. Just studies me with those dark eyes that see too much. "You're up to something."
"I'm tired." I gesture at the hallway. "Go."
Pietro finally walks toward the door, then nods and leaves.
The door clicks shut behind him.
I lean against it, pressing my forehead to the cool wood. My heart pounds in my chest. Not from fear, but from the adrenaline ofknowing.
James Rogers didn't have a business emergency. James Rogers got removed from my path like a chess piece swept off the board.
Dmitri Baganov has been orchestrating this from the beginning.
Stalker. Manipulator. Obsessed.
I should tell Pietro everything. I should demand that the Bratva alliance be dissolved and Dmitri Baganov be banned from ever contacting me again.
