Fair point. We'd been having weekly dinners since the RICO trial ended—all four partners and our... significant others. Though "significant others" felt inadequate to describe what Sandro, Matteo, and Elio had found. Those relationships had transformed them in ways I'd watched with equal parts fascination and wariness.
I wasn't looking for transformation. I was looking for control.
Valentino was about control.
I told myself that as I locked the Rodriguez article in my desk drawer and headed out to make the drive to Sandro's Westchester estate.
***
Sandro's home was everything mine wasn't: warm, lived-in, full of evidence that actual people occupied the space. Photos on the walls. Books scattered across surfaces. Emilio's sheet music stacked on the piano. The faint scent of something delicious coming from the kitchen.
I let myself in through the side entrance and found the usual chaos of family dinner preparation underway.
Emilio was indeed cooking—something that involved multiple pots and aggressive chopping—while Sandro hovered nearby with a wine glass, offering commentary that Emilio ignored. Stefan and Julian had taken over the dining room table,spreading out what looked like architectural plans. Matteo stood behind Stefan's chair, one hand possessively on his husband's shoulder while he studied the documents. Elio was on his phone in the corner, probably handling some crisis.
This was family now. Chosen family built from blood and betrayal and impossible circumstances. Four men who'd built an empire together and three younger men who'd somehow survived being drawn into our world.
"Luca!" Stefan looked up from the plans and smiled. "Come tell us if this makes sense from a business perspective."
I crossed to the table and examined the layouts. Stefan and Julian had been working on restructuring our operations for months—finding ways to make everything defensible, legitimate, clean. This looked like property acquisitions. A lot of them.
"What am I looking at?" I asked.
"Expansion," Julian said. His voice was quiet but confident. He'd grown into himself over the past months, the terrified runaway replaced by someone who knew his worth, even after his recent trauma. "We've identified twelve properties in Manhattan and Brooklyn that would be perfect for legitimate hospitality ventures. Hotels, restaurants, event spaces. All legal, all profitable, all designed to give us more legitimate revenue streams."
"The numbers work?" I scanned the financial projections.
"Better than work. Stefan built the models. They're conservative and still show twenty percent ROI within three years." Julian glanced at Matteo. "We're trying to convince the partners to approve the purchases."
Matteo's expression was skeptical. "It's a lot of capital tied up in legitimate business when we could—"
"When we could what?" Stefan turned to look at his husband. "Keep operating in gray areas that make usvulnerable? The FBI just raided us two months ago. Going fully legitimate isn't just smart, it's necessary."
The reminder of the raid made my jaw tighten. That had been chaos barely contained. Federal agents swarming Inferno. Evidence seized. And Valentino outside filming everything with professional precision.
Valentino, who I'd had to threaten into silence.
Valentino, who I'd been thinking about constantly since.
"Luca?" Sandro's voice pulled me back to the present. "What do you think?"
I focused on the plans. On the smart, careful expansion that would give us exactly what Stefan promised: legitimacy. Protection. A future that didn't involve federal raids and RICO trials.
"I think it's brilliant," I said. "How soon can we move on it?"
Stefan's face lit up. "Immediately if we get approval. I've already done preliminary outreach to sellers. Julian has the legal structures ready. We just need the capital authorization."
"You have mine," I said. "This is exactly what we need."
Elio joined us at the table, pocketing his phone. "Mine too. I've been saying we need to go fully legitimate for months. This gives us the framework."
"Matteo?" Sandro looked at his enforcer.
Matteo studied the plans for a long moment. Then: "If Stefan says it works, it works. I'm in."
Stefan kissed his husband's cheek. "Thank you for trusting me."
"Always."
