VINCENZO POV ~~~~I didn’t sleep much that night. Lost in thought, I watched Valentina on the bed in the corner, the even rise and fall of her chest as she slept. A son. I hadn’t lied when I said I preferred a daughter. Sons brought too much heartache, too much worry. I had done everything to mold Dimitri into the man to lead my family, yet I’d failed. He didn’t want it.You have to let Dimitri choose. Two weeks ago, before I was shot, I wouldn’t have cared about his feelings. He was the Morreti heir with a duty to me, to the family, and his wishes didn’t matter.But I could no longer say this was still the case. As I bled out on the sidewalk, I thought of those I was leaving behind, including Dimitri. My good boy, who’d only argued with me once, and it had been over his lover, Alex. He would do whatever I asked, even at the expense of his own happiness. But did I want that life for him?I’d hated my own father, who hadn’t once shown any regard for my thoughts or feelings. We weren’
VINCENZO POV ~~~~~I was too weak for the dungeon steps, so I instructed Marco to bring Vic up to my new hospital room upstairs. In the middle of the night, they dragged him in and threw him on a plastic tarp spread out on the ground by my bed. He moaned and curled into himself, his broken and bloody body trembling from the pain. Va bene. This pleased me.“Can you hear me, pezzo di merda?”When Vic didn’t answer, Dimitri kicked him in the ribs. Vic dry heaved a few times, and after he quieted, I snapped, “Answer me.”“Yes . . . Don . . . Morreti.”“Know this, Vic Benedetti. I will make an example out of you. They will whisper about the horrors of your death for years to come. You will suffer, coglione. You will suffer for spitting in the face of my trust and for what happened to my wife. The wife and sisters you were trying to protect from Armani? They receive nothing from me after your death, not even my protection.”“No, please,” he wheezed. “Please.”“He put a gun in my wife’s mou
VINCENZO POV ~~~~~Leaning on my cane, I threw open my office door and hobbled inside. Marco and my wife were there, with Valentina sitting in my desk chair, and the two of them looked up from a laptop. Alarm bloomed on her face. “Vincenzo! What are you doing out of bed?”I didn’t answer, my full concentration required to keep me from falling on my face like a small child. My side hurt like a son of a bitch and sweat already rolled down my back.Marco reached me first, grabbing my arm to steady me. “You should go back upstairs.”“I’m fine. Just help me to my chair.”It had been just over two weeks since the shooting and I was impatient to be better. I needed work to distract me.“Vin, you should be in bed. David said—”“No.” I put enough strength in that one word to prevent anyone from arguing with me.Marco exchanged a look with my wife, which caused irritation to swipe across my skin. My cousin no doubt believed she could control me, as she’d convinced me to change my mind about oth
VALENTINA POV ~~~I couldn’t stop crying. Five of us were gathered in the foyer, surrounded by three suitcases.Vincenzo was on his feet, propped up by a cane, with Zia and Marco nearby. Dimitri and I stood off to the side, close to the luggage, and his arms were wrapped around me as I sobbed on his probably very expensive shirt. There was nothing left to be said. I had pushed for this outcome, hoped it would come to pass, but it hurt. Dimitri was the most composed out of all of us, which was understandable. It had been his decision to leave, after all. Vincenzo gave him a choice and Dimitri had grabbed the opportunity eagerly. Now he would start a new chapter in his life as a whole different person. When he walked out this door, he was no longer the Morreti heir. Not a Morreti at all, in fact. And I would never see him again.I hated it, but I understood the reasons why he couldn’t live happily here. And really, this was best for Dimitri, which was all that mattered. When he gave
VINCENZO POV ~~~Someone handed me a Campari and soda, and I saw it was Marco. I sent him a grateful look and drank half the cocktail in one swallow.Inside the room were the members of La Provincia, the board of control. The one person missing was Dante Armani. It was smart of him not to show up, because I would have strangled him on the spot.Finally all the leaders sat, with our men standing behind us. I was sandwiched between the dons from Reggio Calabria and Platì, both men I knew well.Pasquale Borghese was the capo crimine, also the diplomat and mediator of the group, so he called the meeting to order. “Signori, let us begin, as we are all anxious to return home. Some more than others.”“Yes, the ones with girlfriends!” someone shouted, causing everyone to laugh.Borghese held up his hand. “We must start with the most recent conflict among us, which has escalated and turned ugly. Too ugly, in my opinion, and I know many at this table feel the same. Morreti, would you care to ex
VALENTINA POV ~~~~I worried the entire time he was away. When Vincenzo was set to return, I paced in the entryway while Nestoleaned against the wall, watching me. He hadn’t left my side during my husband’s absence, except when I used the bathroom. I knew this was to keep me safe, but I would much rather have Vincenzo’s gaze on me. After scolding me for scuffing the entryway tile, Zia dragged me to the kitchen for chicken in lemon sauce and a side of roasted eggplant. She had a tartufo for dessert, which reminded me of Dimitri and our dinner way back when I was first in Siderno. I started tearing up.Zia shook her head at me. “He is better off. He’s a good boy but he never liked this life, not like he should in order to lead. Your son will take over when it’s time.”This was a conversation for another day. No way was I deciding my child’s fate like that. I didn’t care what Vincenzo said—our children would make their own decisions.“It’s the hormones,” I told her. “I cry all the tim
VINCENZO POV ~~~Four and a half years later.....The door knob rattled, followed by a thump. More rattling.As Marco started to stand from his chair, I put my hand up. “Wait,” I mouthed and hid my smile.A few seconds later my office door opened and the beautiful face of my two-year-old daughter, Noemi, appeared. She strode in like she was in charge. “Papà! Zio Marco! Mamma says it is time to come.”I pushed back from the desk and patted to my lap. “Polpetta! I’ve been waiting for you. Come, give me hugs and kisses.”“Ah, me first!” Marco scooped up my daughter before she could get to the desk and spun her around. She squealed with delight, her short blonde curls flying.When he set her on her feet, she grinned and wobbled. “I’m dizzy.”I gave her a second to get her bearings. “Now may I have my hugs and kisses?”She ran right over and jumped on me, squirming onto my lap. Noemi was aggressive and energetic, just like her brother. And her mother, now that I thought about it.Noemi stoo
VALENTINA POVToronto, Ontario; I met THE DEVIL the morning after my eighteenth birthday. Hungover and tired, I rolled over in bed, where my toes brushed against warm skin and crisp body hair. A friend of mine held a graduation party last night at her pool and my boyfriend, David, slept over after. We usually hooked up at his apartment, but I was too drunk last night and insisted on coming here.It hadn’t been easy sneaking him into the house under the watchful gaze of the cameras monitored by Papà’s men, but I was a pro. I’d been outsmarting the guards and the cameras for years now. The one thing the guards loved? Routine. Once you learned the routine, you could get around it and do whatever you wanted. Papà was the head of one of the seven families of the ’Ndrangheta in Toronto, a criminal network that stretched from Canada to South America to Italy. My father’s business was dangerous, so my two sisters and I weren’t raised as typical teenagers. Wherever we went, we were trailed