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“He did.”
Uncle Leo curses under his breath before hissing, “This is an absolute shit show, Dante. Which doctor are we supposed to believe here?”
Three negative tests with one doctor and a single positive with another. Unless I somehow became magically fertile in less than a year, someone’s lying, and my money is on the first doctor. Seeing as how I have no doubts now that Liam is my son.
“Bring me that first doctor, Leo, and we’ll find out,” Dad orders his brother, his temper slipping a fraction.
“Consider it done.”
Dad heaves a deep sigh before he reaches for a manila folder and holds it out to me. “Rose’s background check.”
I snatch it from his hand immediately. “There was no need for a background check.”
Dad huffs, settling back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest. “You must be joking. A woman you fucked almost a year ago claims her son is yours after you found her at a human auction. Did you really think I wouldn’t investigate her?”
I bite my tongue, holding back my retort because it should have been the first thing I did, but I can barely think logically when it comes to Rose. Even though his decision rubs me wrong in a dozen different ways, I know he means well and is just looking out for the family.
I thumb through the few documents inside. It’s the standard items; a credit check, criminal report, her education records, and her employment history. Nothing alarming jumps out at me as I skim the details. She graduated with a degree in creative writing from the University of London before moving to Italy, where she owns a house outside of Venice. Several medical reports of visits to an OB-GYN clinic in Italy are included, along with Liam’s birth certificate dated a little over six weeks ago. My eye twitches at the empty space listed for father. A mistake I’ll need to correct immediately.
I move on to the family records and frown at the lack of information. Her parents died in a car accident when she was young. She spent the years afterward living with a family friend before going off to university. No siblings or extended family to speak of. She’s completely on her own.
On paper, Rose Bennett is a lovely twenty-four-year-old girl from England…with no familial ties to a Mafia family.
Now I understand why the mood is so depressing in this damn house.
I close the report, toss it back on the desk, and sit back. “This changes nothing for me.”
“It changes everything,” Dad argues, knowing exactly where my mind is.
“The boy is mine, Dad. I know he is.” I soften my tone, hoping it will soothe some of the anger in the room and talk sense into my old man. “He has my eyes.”
Surprise flashes across his face at the news. He leans forward and rubs his temples like he has a growing headache. “A paternity test will still need to be done.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s unnecessary. But fine.”
“So what now?” Dominic asks in the silence that follows.
“There’s the marriage law to consider,” his father answers.
“What about it? It just states the leader of the High Table needs to be married and produce an heir within three years—”
“With a member of another Mafia family,” Raphael reminds our cousin of the small detail often overlooked because it’s never been a concern.
According to the law, if I were to marry Rose, I could never reclaim my position because she’s not related to a Mafia family. But I can’t bring myself to care. I can’t turn my back on Rose and our son because of a stupid law that only the leader of the High Table has to follow.
“Are you serious? You’re really going to enforce that stupid part of the law?” Dominic asks.
“It’s there to protect the ruling family, son,” Uncle Leo says.
Dominic snorts, throwing his father a heated look. “That law is there to keep control over bloodlines in a world that no longer needs it.”
“Enough.” Dad slams his fist on the desk, breaking the growing tension between his brother and nephew.
I meet my dad’s gaze with steely eyes. “Dominic is right, Dad. The law is outdated. I understand the reasoning behind it, I do, but surely you must understand the desire to marry for love.”
“I loved your birth mother.”
“I know you did.” I pause. “But not in the same way that you love Alice.”
