I press a lingering kiss to Antonia’s cheek, another tear slipping free. “Go with Emily and play, sweetheart. I’ll come find you soon, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
I set her down gently. Emily takes her small hand and gives me one last reassuring look before they leave the room.
The door clicks shut behind them. Now the real fight begins.
I wipe the last of my tears away, straighten my spine, and look Carlo dead in the eye. “What do you want from me, Carlo?”
His scarred brow lifts, a mocking smirk curling his lips. “You’re not here to give me anything. You’re in no position to bargain. You’re here to pay your debt.”
“I cheated on you, fine. But if cheating had to be repaid with blood, half the men and women in this country would be dead by now.”
A shadow falls over me as he steps closer, his voice a low growl.
“You didn’t cheat on just any man or woman. You crossed a mafia capo. You dragged the name and reputation of the most powerful criminal in this country through the mud. Play with fire, and you should expect to burn.”
Lifting my chin as high as possible, I meet his gaze head-on. “You’re just a man. A regular man. And legally, maybe we were bound to each other, but you and I both know, in the eyes of God, we were never truly husband and wife.”
He understands exactly what I mean. His jaw clenches so tightly I can hear his teeth grind.
“IamGod, Lucia,” he seethes through gritted teeth. “And you were my fucking wife. The fact that I hadn’t opened you yet didn’t give you the right to spread your legs for my worst enemy. Stop wasting your breath. Your death sentence was signed the day you ran. And I’m the one who’s going to carry it out.”
Satisfaction gleams in his eyes as he watches my reaction.
“But we’re not there just yet. Tell me, do you recognize this room?” he adds and takes a step back.
I shake my head.
“This was Emily’s room when she first came into this house. You’ll stay here until your piece-of-shit husband shows up.”
He gives Maxim a nod before turning and walking out. As Maxim steps toward me, I back away. He might be a womanizing bastard, but he’s also Carlo’s most dangerous soldier. There’s a reason he’s been Carlo’s consigliere for years.
Ignoring the terror on my face, he grips my arm and drags me across the hall. Carlo is seated in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, a laptop open beside him.
He gestures around the room. “This used to be Tony’s room, too.”
With a flick of his fingers, one of his men presses a button, initiating a video call. The screen barely has time to ring before Tony’s face appears.
He’s in an airplane seat, eyes bloodshot, exhaustion and raw rage etched across his face.
The moment I see him, something inside me cracks.
His gaze snaps to me instantly, his voice tight with worry. “Baby, are you okay? Is Antonia okay?”
Before I can answer, Carlo rises from his chair and steps between me and the screen.
Tony’s lips press into a thin line of fury as he growls, “I’m coming, Carlo. If you touch them—”
Carlo cuts him off, voice thick with dark amusement. “You’ll do what, exactly?”
Silence.
Then Tony speaks again, his voice colder. “You want me. I’m coming to you on my own. Leave Lucia and Antonia out of this.”
Carlo lets out a low, cruel laugh. “As far as I know, it takes two people to fuck. It’s not like my whore of a wife justslippedand landed on your cock. So no, Tony, I want both of you.”
His voice drops dangerously. “As for your daughter…maybe she shouldn’t pay for your sins. But if you’re not standing in front of me by sunrise, she won’t be spared either.”
