“I respect your loyalty to me and Lucy. It won’t be forgotten.”
“And the Sokolis?” I ask quietly. “Have there been any…repercussions from the wedding?”
Antonio and Giovanni exchange glances.
Giovanni’s expression darkens. “They’ve gone quiet. Too quiet. We’ve had our ears to the ground, but there’s been no retaliation. Nothing.”
“That’s what worries me,” Antonio adds. “After what Lucy exposed, they should be screaming for blood.”
Damiano’s hand tightens on mine. “They’re planning something.”
“Probably,” Giovanni agrees. “Gerardo has men watching the Sokoli territories. If they make a move, we’ll know.”
“We’ll deal with them when we need to,” Damiano says firmly, squeezing my hand. “For now, let’s focus on securing what’s ours.”
Antonio glances curiously at the man I once called my brother. “There’s a rumor going around that you two are not actually related. It’s true, isn’t it?”
Damiano smiles at Antonio, saying nothing.
“It has to be true,” Giovanni says. “What I don’t understand is why you’re not confirming it one way or another, Damiano.”
“It’s simple. Lucy and I don’t owe anything to anyone.”
Antonio gives him a shrewd look. “It probably doesn’t hurt our enemies to believe that Damiano Barone is borderline crazy, and your mom sure looks pissed off about the whole situation.”
He lets Antonio and Giovanni speculate about this, until Giovanni changes the subject by saying, “I heard a rumor that the Lucania don might be having a family reunion.”
Damiano turns to him in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Rafiel is being sent to prison,” Antonio replies.
“You’re kidding,” I exclaim. “Both Rafiel and Gabriel in prison. The Lucanias can’t catch a break.
Damiano gazes across the graveyard, lost in thought. “I’m sorry for Rafiel. I’ll reach out to him to see if there’s anything I can do.”
The following morning,we sit in Dad’s lawyer’s office beside Mom and Ariana for the reading of the will, though their chairsare discreetly drawn apart from ours. We’re all dressed in mourning black, and a somber mood hangs in the air. Mom’s hands are clenched in her lap, and her knuckles are white. She refuses to look at us, let alone speak to us.
As the lawyer reads the will, her hands start to tremble.
Everything goes to Damiano.
Everything.
The house. The money. The various properties. The investments. Damiano is the head of the Barones, both the domestic family and by implication the crime family. He has all the assets and authority necessary to wield power in Malus, though whether Don Carlucci’s capos will be loyal to his son or start a turf war remains to be seen.
Despite being a loyal wife to Don Carlucci for decades and raising his children, all Mom’s left to show for it is a handful of jewelry that he gave her over the years and some personal effects. There are provisions for her, and for his daughters, but they pale in comparison to the riches that have been heaped upon Damiano.
Mom is given an allowance, and she’s permitted to reside in the family home, which is now Damiano’s home, until her death. Ariana and I are provided with an allowance until we’re married, but it’s cut off as soon as we turn twenty-five. I suppose if we were still unmarried at twenty-five, Dad believed it would be an incentive for us to accept the next eligible man out of sheer desperation.
Mom kept a pretty smile on her face, her mouth shut, and her eyes turned away from Dad’s business dealings for all those years, for the sake of a few scraps at the end. If I were her, I’d be furious.
Mom turns narrowed, sparking eyes on Damiano.
Sheisfurious.
But not with Dad.
“Mr. Rosso. Leave us for a moment.”
