His understanding that day means I’m still a part of the Cosa Nostra, but if he denies Lucia’s every wish this morning, I’ll once again be forced to take matters into my own hands.
There’s no rule I won’t break to love and protect Lucia how she deserves. I owe her the world when she saved me from being the villain of our daughter’s story and made me the hero instead. Camille’s eyes were far from the carnage since she had Lucia in her sights, and that is the sole reason I took my shot.
I return my focus to the conference room when Gabriele’s shakes vibrate the viewing glass separating the conference room from a child protection officer’s office. Despite the government’s beliefs, Gabriele’s adoption was never going to be handled by family court. The child in question has ties to a man who once belonged to our world. His placement on the bottom rung of the ladder has no effect on the decision being made today.
Only two people are capable of swinging this verdict in my favor. One is standing next to me, watching my soulmate interact with the little boy she’ll always love. The other is doing everything he can not to fall in love with my wife-to-be on sight.
I wish him luck, because it’s not something I’ve ever been able to do, further proving I should have known there was more to my instant obsession with Lucia. She broke an almost five-year abstinence with one twirl around a pole.
The only other time I’ve been that immediately smitten was the night I believed I was with Anna.
I wet my lips to ensure my words come out crisp. “Even without him being hers by birth, she protects him like he is. She loves him. That’s enough for me to do everything in my power to make him a permanent part of our lives.”
Henry glances up at me, his expression surprisingly composed. “Blood?—”
“Doesn’t make you family.” His jaw twitches. He doesn’t appreciate my curt tone, and the goons who hover their hands over their guns announce this on his behalf. I don’t back down, though. Lucia loves this little boy, and I love her enough to sacrifice any connections to make her dreams come true. “From what I’ve heard, you know that better than anyone.”
I have everything to lose, more than most, but the mountains ahead seem more like ant hills when Henry murmurs a short time later, “Very well.” He shifts to face my eldest brother, the don of our chapter. “I’ve reviewed everything. If there are no objections, I am happy to grant your request.”
Giovanni dips his chin in thanks. “There are no objections from us. We’re pleased for Gabriele to become a part of our family, if he’s happy to have us.”
They seal the deal with a handshake before Giovanni gives me the go-ahead to tell Lucia the news.
One look at my face tells her everything.
With a smile that would weaken any man, she turns back to Gabriele, her confidence the highest it’s ever been. “Would you like to live with us, Gabriele?” she asks gently, knowing he’s been through more in the past six weeks than many adults face in a lifetime. “We already have a room for you. It has lots of planes and transport toys. I think you’ll like it.”
Gabriele hesitates. His worried gaze dances between Lucia and me as uncertainty marks his face. His trust is fragile, painfully so, but I see the moment it shifts. Lucia’s love is impossible to ignore. It burns bright enough to heat even the coldest corners of a grown man’s fear, so a childdoesn’t stand a chance. He knows he will be safe with her, but she isn’t the cause of his sudden change of heart. It is Camille winding up the snow globe Lucia gifted her. She spins the crank as far as it can go before she holds it out for him to take, aware who her gift was originally for.
Gabriele takes it, albeit hesitantly.
He’s so immediately captivated by the magical castle setting that when Camille holds out her hand for him, welcoming him into our family, he slips his hand into hers with only the smallest tremble.
Lucia traps her sob halfway out before it startles Gabriele when Camille holds out her other hand for her. Camille never hesitates to include Lucia in everything we do. She runs into her mother’s embrace as often as she does mine, her arms wrapping around her thigh with age-old familiarity.
They bonded long before they knew who they were to each other, so the transition from caregiver to parent was seamless and natural.
My nails dig into my palm when I recall how close I came to losing the chance to see Camille bond with her mother. With Henry’s suspicions of abuse as high as mine, Carmela had to act fast. Her days were numbered, but instead of entering the ring with honor and respect, she came out swinging with a devious scheme.
It’s a known trait of adults who’ve yet to learn that the failures of a parent should never rest on the shoulders of their child.
Carmela blamed Lucia’s unexpected conception for her father’s gambling addiction that cost their family everything. When Mario succumbed to the pressure of his failures by turning his gun on himself, the loathing worsened.
Greed overtook everything she knew, and when her web of deception started unraveling, she continued to blame anyone but herself.
Her disdain ran so deep that she knew the quickest way to destroy Lucia for good was to kill her child—herrealchild, not the one she fabricated when funds dipped low.
If Camille had trusted Anna as the guards had since she was on thepre-approved visitors list, and drank the juice she gave, she wouldn’t be here now, coercing her brother out of his shell with a love someone so abused shouldn’t be able to give.
The juice was laced with far more sedatives than the candy Carmela had hoped would move her plan to exploit me forward sooner than later.
The only time the no-contact part of our custody ruling could be broken was if the child became unwell enough for hospitalization. A child hospitalized while under the care of one parent would have warranted an instant shared-custody arrangement. Carmela knew I’d never allow that to happen and assumed I’d pay to ensure it wouldn’t.
I had other plans, but since everything worked out how it should have, I’ll keep them to myself.
Carmela’s hate not only resulted in the loss of her only child, but it also lost her any claim to the Cosa Nostra. Her ties to Gabriele have been struck from the ledger, mimicking the verdict Lucia faced when Carmela found out about Mario’s affair, which had birthed a child outside their marriage.
“Co-come on, Daddy,” Camille murmurs, stealing me from my thoughts. As she leads Lucia and Gabriele out of the conference room, she glances back at me. “It-it’s time to go home.”
