“Why not? You’re willing to give them everything else they want.”
“Luca, sit down,” Valentina snaps. “I swear, dicks make you all dumb as rocks. Pyotr was aware of a file. Who told him about it?”
It’s as if a light bulb goes off for my uncles. “You’re saying there could be more than one traitor,” Matty says.
“Yes.”
Murmurs erupt around the table.
Alessandro's face turns to stone. "This changes nothing.”
“Of course not,” I scoff.
Valentina shakes her head at Alessandro. “Luca is right. If we hand him over, we solve nothing. The attacks continue. Attacks that someone in the family is helping coordinate."
For the first time since I arrived, I see uncertainty flicker across Alessandro's face. "Let's not forget the reality of what's happened. You killed Pyotr Petrov. Blood has been spilled, and the Bratva won't simply let this go."
“It gets worse. I might have killed Dimitri Volkov. He was there?—”
“Fucking hell, Luca!” Salvatore bursts out. “The Pakhan's nephew?”
I shrug. “He was there. But I wasn’t made until I went inside. I can’t be sure he was one of the men I killed. Most likely, he lived and is the one who reported it was me who was there.”
I take in each person in turn. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same to protect your blood.”
Silence answers me. Even Uncle Salvatore, who minutes ago wanted me handed over, can't meet my eyes.
"That's what I thought." I straighten my shoulders. "Pyotr wasn't some innocent victim. He kidnapped my son. He threatened to use Enzo to destroy this family. And when I confronted him, he was ready to put a bullet in a six-year-old boy's head."
Adriano shifts uncomfortably. For all his loyalty to Alessandro, even he can't argue with that.
"The Bratva doesn't care about your reasons," Alessandro counters. "They want retribution."
"Then give them retribution," Valentina says, her voice calm but commanding. All eyes turn to her. "Just not the kind they're expecting."
Now we’re talking.
Alessandro narrows his eyes. "What are you suggesting?"
Valentina glances at me before returning her attention to Alessandro. "Luca built an empire from nothing in Chicago. He's proven he understands strategy, business, and when necessary, ruthlessness."
I watch my sister with newfound appreciation.
"We've been on the defensive with the Bratva for months," she continues. "Maybe it's time we stopped reacting and started acting. With Luca’s help."
"You want to reward him?" Alessandro scoffs.
"I want to use his strengths." Valentina looks directly at him. "Make him a member of the family again. Let him take point on the Bratva situation."
"You can't be serious," Alessandro begins. “We want to appease them, not light a fire.”
“Appease?” I ask, shocked. “Father is rolling in his grave?—”
Valentina cuts us both off. "Luca has more reason than any of us to want the Bratva threat eliminated."
I feel the room's energy shift as her words sink in. This isn't just about punishing me. It’s about turning their liability into an asset.
I’m not particularly interested in helping my family, but I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to eliminate the Bratva bastards who put my son’s life in jeopardy. “I’ll find who's betraying this family, and I will end the Bratva threat. For Enzo. For all of us."
