She looks up, her eyes glossy with guilt. “It’s my fault.” Her voice shakes. “All of it. Your mother’s death. I’ve lived with the guilt of it all these years.” She takes a deep inhale on her oxygen. “If you can call my existence living.”
The room goes so silent, I swear I hear my heart beating.
She grips the blanket on her lap like she’s trying to hold herself together. “My husband found out about the affair. He—”Her throat bobs, and she exhales, slow and shaky. “He wasn’t a good man. Your father was my only comfort.”
The weight of it presses down on all of us.
For years, I thought I was avenging my mother’s death. Thought I was putting down a monster. Thought I was right.
But now, standing here, I realise—I was just another player in a game that started long before I was even born.
A door slams at the front of the house. Elio’s heavy footsteps grow louder, but I don’t turn around. I keep my gaze locked on the woman who started all of this.
Elio storms into the kitchen, his face a mask of barely contained fury. His hands are shaking with the weight of betrayal.
Elio shakes his head, like he’s seeing me for the first time. Like he doesn’t know what the fuck to do with this revelation either.
He exhales sharply, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “I don’t know what the fuck this means. And I don’t give a shit about what should’ve happened. But know this—” He looks between me and Dom. “We might share blood, but we’re not brothers.”
A bitter snarl tugs at Dom’s lips. “You think we want to be your brother?”
He scoffs. “Good. Then we agree on something.”
“Regardless of this new information. You and I are tied together through Rose. She will be my wife as soon as she’s out of the hospital.” I don’t know if I’ll ever look at Elio and not see the man I thought was my enemy. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive my father for keeping this from us. But one thing is certain, I’m stuck with him and this family regardless of blood and I have to make this work for the woman I love.
“So, what do we do now? Play happy families? Thursday game nights?” He snarls at the two of us.
I check the time on my watch. “Right now, I’m going to the hospital to sit with my future wife beforeI go under the knife. And when I come back, we’ll figure this shit out.” My lips lift in the corner. “I prefer Monday nights for game night.”
I take the few steps to Angelos and hold out my arm. “Want to come and sit with your mum for a bit?” I need to get out of here. Need something to calm the chaos in my head.
Angelos nods and rises from the chair.
I look back at Dom and Elio. “Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.”
Dom chuckles, shaking his head.
Lucia watches me leave with a solemn expression, but a faint hint of hope in her eyes.
“D’Angelo,” Elio calls. He throws me the keys to his car. “Take the Maserati.”
I catch the keys. “You haven’t fucked with the brakes, have you?”
“You have my word. I’ll cooperate for now. Just bring my sister back to us.”
I nod, gripping the keys as I step out of the house, Angelos at my side. The weight in my chest doesn’t lift, but for the first time since this conversation started, I have something solid to hold on to—Rose and my son. They’re my anchor in this mess, the only thing that makes sense in a world that’s just been flipped upside down. Rose is the glue that holds all of this together, the only reason any of us are even trying.
I throw the Maserati into gear, the engine purring like a damn tiger. Beside me, Angelos sinks low into the passenger seat, his arms crossed tight across his chest.
“Well,” I say, tapping the wheel, “at least if the brakes give out, we’ll crash in style.”
Angelos snorts a tiny puff of air, almost a laugh.
I’ll take it. “Who knew Elio had a car that matched his personality?” I mutter, flicking on the indicator.
Angelos glances over. “What do you mean?”
I grin with a shrug. “Loud. Expensive. Unreliable.”
