"Like you and Rina," I say, and the smugness disappears.
"Something about you has changed. You look different," he says, stepping closer. He's right, I have changed. I feel different and the same at the same time. I don't even know how that's possible, but that's how I feel.
I take the recording out of my pocket and hand it to him. He looks at me, confused, his brows knitting together. "What is this?" he asks, reaching for it. He takes it from me.
"It's a recording of Declan that will make him powerless."
Vito narrows his gaze at me. He plays the recording, and I wait patiently for him to finish it. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asks. He's right. I didn't call him here to give him the recording. I called him here for another purpose.
I want this long-term rivalry between the Irish and Italians to end. "Nothing... yet, but I need you to meet someone," I say with an even voice. On a normal day, I would tremble at the mere sight or voice of Vito, but now, I feel only confident.
"What?" he says, confused, and I glance at my watch. He should be here... now. I hear the screech of a parking car outside, and I know Liam is here. That day at the cafe, I made a deal with him. If I could get him what he wanted, he would put an end to this long-time hatred between our families.
He enters, and the air in the greenhouse grows thick like smoke before a storm. Vito stiffens, his posture sharpening, jaw locking as his eyes narrow with cold, measured hate. All of this, the blood, the betrayal, and the beef started with Vito, Liam, and Rina. "What is this?" Vito snarls, his voice razor sharp as his eyes flick to me. I step aside, moving out of the invisible battlefield forming between them. Liam stops just a few steps from Vito, his chin raised in defiance. This is just a meeting.
It feels like two strong forces colliding, neither one willing to flinch. They stare at each other, locked in a silent, dangerous dance. Power. Pride. History. The weight of it all makes the glass walls of the greenhouse feel too thin. I roll my eyes. Whoever said men were better rulers must have missed the ego check. I clear my throat, and they look at me, like they just remembered I'm part of the equation.
"Yeah, I'm here too," I say, glancing at my watch, meeting their eyes. "There's no need for an introduction," I add, stepping between them. "You both know who you are. It's why you're both here that we need to discuss."
"Gianna," Vito starts, but I cut him off.
"Liam will soon lead the Irish," I say, turning briefly to Liam before meeting Vito's gaze.
"And?" Vito asks.
"I know we've had a bad history together," Liam starts, tucking his hands into his pants pockets, trying to be casual but guarded. Vito raises a brow, scoffing.
"Bad history?" he repeats like it's a phrase that physically offends him. "You tried to kidnap and marry my wife."
Liam tilts his head. "Well... technically, she wasn't your wife yet."
"Is this a joke?" Vito raises his voice. Liam's eyes meet mine, and I raise my brow, silently reminding him he agreed to this part of the deal.
He exhales. "I apologize about that incident," Liam says finally, and I feel a quiet wave of relief in my chest. We're getting somewhere. Vito doesn't respond. He doesn't blink, doesn't flinch, just stares. It's the kind of silence that weighs more than words.
"Vito?" I press gently, urging him to say something, anything. Liam raises his hand, signaling me to hold off. Hesighs deeply, and when he speaks again, his voice is quieter, more human.
"I apologize for what happened to Elena under the watch of my younger brother. Kieran got what he deserved." I feel that one. I've heard stories of how Elena was treated by Kieran, and it's something that breaks my heart. Our families aren't just rivals. We're entangled in blood and betrayal, in a history built on scars. This is why I thought Finn and I could never work out. How could something grow from soil poisoned by decades of hate?
But I realize now that no matter how messed up the past is, I can't pretend that I don't love him. I can't bury what I feel. We've both sacrificed too much. This war... this stupid, generational war... needs to end. Right here, right now.
Liam takes his hand out of his pocket. His posture straightens, but there's no pride in it. For the first time since I met him, he looks like he's sorry. Not just performative guilt. Real, bone-deep regret. "It wouldn't have happened under my watch," he says, voice heavy.
Across from him, I see Vito visibly relax, just slightly. There's tension still coiled in his jaw, in the sharpness of his stare though. He's not convinced, but he's listening.
"Unlike my brother," Liam continues. "I know when not to cross the line, Vito. This feud... this hate, it's costing us all too much. Business is being disrupted, and people are getting hurt. Enough is enough."
Vito raises the recording in his hand, his fingers curling around it like a weapon. "So, what do you want from me?"
Liam takes a deep breath. "We agree to make peace and work together to take down Declan." The words hang in the air like a gauntlet thrown between them. Vito doesn't answer right away. He watches Liam, measuring every ounce of sincerity. Every unspoken threat.
Then, finally, with a slight nod, he speaks. "Fine." I close my eyes, the breath I've been holding finally escaping. A weight lifts off my chest. "I'll request a meeting with Declan," Vito continues, glancing at Liam now not as an enemy, but as a potential ally. "You know what to do." Liam nods once, his expression unreadable, but I can tell. He knows the stakes.
And just like that, the Italians and Irish agree to a fragile peace.
Liam and Vito speak for a while. Every second they spend talking, going back and forth, my eyes flick to my watch, and my mind is on Finn. Is he stable? Has he stirred? Does he know that he's safe?
"How is he?" Liam's voice pulls me away from my thoughts.
