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Then Bruno.
My hug-a-thon stops when my father says, “Lombardi.”
Antonio appears in the room with a busted lip, and blood completely covers his sleeve. Leo and Damien stand to his left.
Benny drags me behind him. Antonio lifts his arms as if waving a white flag.
“Amara?” Antonio asks me, out of breath and in what sounds like desperation.
I walk around Benny, resulting in a glare from him. “She’s hiding in her closet with Eden.”
He glances up at the ceiling, as if silently thanking God, before nodding toward me in gratitude. But even though he knows Amara is safe, no tension has left his face.
Understandable.
He now has to deal with my father.
“My father won’t hurt her,” I assure him, and my dad rolls his eyes in annoyance.
No one says a word as Antonio’s gaze wanders to his dead mother.
“It was me,” my father says, making sure to get the credit. “She wanted my daughter dead, so for that, she needed to die. If I were you, I’d want her dead, too, especially with how she betrayed you.” A cold smile crosses his face when he points his gun at Antonio. “And now, it’s your turn.”
Leo and Damien, standing behind Antonio, immediately draw their guns.
So do my brother, Luca, and Bruno.
“Please,” I whisper to everyone in my family, “don’t do this here. His daughter is here.”
“I don’t kill children,” my father says, furrowing his brow while keeping his eyes on Antonio. “I also try to prevent them from seeing their parents murdered. So I’ll give you the courtesy of that, Lombardi. You instruct your men to back off, follow me, and I’ll make sure your daughter goes somewhere safe.”
“What?” I croak out, tugging on my father’s blazer. “Dad, please.”
Antonio clenches his jaw. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” He points toward the floor. “Kill me right here, right now, if that’s your wish. But if you want to kill Sonny, then I think it’s in our best interest to set aside our differences for a second and focus on him.” He holds up a finger. “But I want to make it clear: my daughter is off-limits and will always be off-fucking-limits.”
“But mine wasn’t?” my father fires back. “I don’t like double standards, Antonio.”
“Dad—”
He raises his hand to stop me from speaking. “No one is asking for your input, Giana. I’m actually concerned for your fucking sanity that you’re asking me to let him live. To teach you some sense, I should give you this gun and force you to shoot him. He fucking held you hostage.”
“Please,” I whisper, never feeling so helpless in my life.
“I’m not a forgiving man.” My father stares at Antonio with disdain. “You should’ve learned that when I murdered your brother.”
My mouth drops open. This is the first time I’ve heard him admit to killing Vinny. It was always obvious it was him, but he tends to stay quiet about his crimes. Not today, though. He wants Antonio to know it was him so he loses control, giving my father further reason to kill him.
But Antonio stays composed.
“He never hurt me,” I say, my throat scratchy. “I promise.”
“That’s enough, Gigi,” Benny barks.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Antonio tells him icily.
“How fucking ironic.” Benny sweeps his arm toward Antonio. “The man who abducted my sister thinks he can tell me how to speak to her.”
Tears gather in my eyes, but I’m trying to remain calm.
