Stefano, loyal to a fault, didn’t hold back. Told me I’d fucked up worse than Charlie ever could and asked what the hell was going to happen now. Carlo looked like he wanted to tear me apart for betraying the family. And maybe he was right. But what was I supposed to do? I’ve been loyal to Caterina for over twenty years. When she gives an order, you follow it. No questions asked. How the fuck was I supposed to know I’d fall for her daughter? There was something about Charlie I just couldn’t resist. Something that pulled me in.
Now I’m sitting alone on the back patio of the brothers’ house, nursing a drink, staring at the path that connects our homes. My mind’s been a mess, wondering what Charlie’s up to. Then, like the ghost that he is, Mattia appears out of nowhere. Sending my head flying.
“Fuck, Mattia,” I grumble.
“You’re lucky you’re my brother, otherwise you’d already be dead,” he growls. “How the hell could you do that to Charlie?”
“Do what? Follow Caterina’s orders? Our Donna’s orders?” I snap back, now hovering in front of him.
“You should have told her the truth when you started fucking her,” he fires back, loud enough to draw the others out. They watch us tensely, unsure whether to step in or let us hash it out.
“I wanted to,” I say quietly.
“She cried the whole way home. Not just tears—ugly, hysterical cries,” Mattia says.
“Where is she now?”
Mattia steps up closer to me, invading my space. “Asleep with Izzy. You’re not going near her.” He shoves my chest, making me stumble slightly.
“Watch it, Mattia. I’m still the Don,” I remind him.
“Not for long.”
“Where are you going?” I growl.
“Back to my girl,” he snarls.
I get in his face again.
“She’s mine. Keep your hands off.”
“I’ll give Charlie whatever the fuck she wants, Luciano. Sing to her? I’ll sing. Cook her dinner? I’ll cook. Cuddle her? I’ll cuddle. Fuck her to erase the pain you caused? I’ll fucking do it,” he yells, stepping inches away from my face, not backing down. “Charlie deserves the world, and you’re messing with her feelings. She’ll never forgive you for this.”
I shove him back and ask, “You love her?”
He nods, clear as day. “Of course. We all do,” he says, pointing to the others. “The difference is we love her like a sister. She’s part of our family. But you’re tearing this family apart, Luciano.” He taps theside of his head. “Use your fucking head. Why would Caterina bring Charlie here after all these years apart? She knew we needed her, and she needed us. But if I have to choose, I choose her.” With a huff, he storms off down the path.
I bury my head in my hands.
Gabriele’s voice cuts through. “He’s right, Luciano. Soon she’ll have access to everything, as long as we keep Vince away.”
Shit. If things were bad before, they’re about to get worse. “She needs our protection,” I say.
“She knows none of us had anything to do with the lie you and Caterina spun,” Stefano says. “I get keeping it from her, but how could you not tell us she was alive? She wasn’t just our Donna, she was family too.”
I’ve been summoned to the office. All morning I’ve been feeling like something is about to happen. You know, that gut feeling you get sometimes.
When I walk in, Joseph and Caterina are huddled over the desk. “Donna,” I say, letting Caterina know I’ve arrived. I shut the door behind me and take a seat across from her at the desk.
Since she found out two weeks ago that James, her daughter’s father, died in a car accident, she’s been a wreck—not sleeping, barely eating. Everyone’s worried, but they don’t know what’s wrong. I keep telling them she’s just caught something and to stay away so they don’t catch it. Anything to keep them from finding out the truth. Over the last two weeks, I’ve stepped up and taken over the duties she would normally perform.
“I need you to sign this,” Joseph says to me, pushing a stack of paper in front of me.
“What is it?”
“It’s Caterina’s will and authority to act on herbehalf,” Joseph says, unphased.
My head jumps back. “Caterina, what’s going on?”
