“I should have known better.” My voice catches on the gaggle of tears lodged in my throat. “Ididknow better. From the very first night in that hospital cafeteria, I told him I didn’t trust him. I told him I thought he was playing me, that he wanted Dad’s empire. And he stood there and convinced me I was wrong. He promised he’d never lie to me.”
“And of course, you wanted to believe him,” my mother says. “There’s no shame in that. We all want to believe the people we love are worthy of that love.”
“I don’t know if I loved him,” I say, my voice flat and emotionless. “I don’t know what any of it was anymore. Howcan I trust anything I felt when the whole foundation was built on lies?”
Luna squeezes my hand. “You’ll figure it out. Not today, not tomorrow, but eventually. Right now, you just need to breathe.”
I try to take her advice, but every breath feels like I’m swallowing glass.
My phone buzzes in my purse. I ignore it. I can’t bring myself to pull it out because it’s him. I know it.
“Stay here today,” my mother says. “Rest. We can go see your father together later, when you’re feeling up to it.”
“I can’t hide from this, Mom.”
“It’s not hiding. It’s healing. There’s a difference.”
My phone buzzes again. And again.
“Oh my God, enough already,” I mutter, pulling it out. I grit my teeth, take a deep breath, and look down at the screen.
But it’s not Lochlan’s name I see.
It’s Vincenzo.
And the three missed calls were from him.
My phone vibrates in my hand.
“It’s Zio Vinnie,” I say.
Luna and my mother exchange a look. “Answer it,” my mother says. “It might be about your father.”
I take a breath and pick up. “Zio?”
“Adriana.” His voice is tense. “I’ve been trying to reach you. We have a big problem.”
My stomach tightens. Jesus. The last thing I need right now is another problem when my life is crumbling around me. But I keep any indication of that out of my voice completely. “What kind of problem?”
He lets out a sigh. “It’s Riccardo. He’s still running his mouth to anyone who will listen, saying your leadership is illegitimate. I think that he started in again because your father woke up. He’s pushing for the ‘temporary arrangement’ to end immediately.” Vincenzo pauses. “Some of the capos are getting nervousabout the Russians, wondering when they’re going to strike next and how we will handle it.”
Of course. Of course this is happening now.
“Riccardo’s been talking for weeks,” I say. “Why is this suddenly urgent?”
“Because the timing is dangerous. With everything in flux… your father’s recovery, the Russian threat… any sign of internal conflict makes us look weak. And weakness invites attack. It’s almost as if he’s trying to create a crack in the organization to make us susceptible to attack.”
That fucking bastard. My fingers tighten around the phone. Vincenzo doesn’t know about Lochlan. He can’t know. If word gets out that my marriage is falling apart, it will only add fuel to the fire. More ammunition for people like Riccardo who want to see me fail.
“My father will be taking back control once he’s well enough,” I say through clenched teeth. “Riccardo knows that. Everyone knows that.”
“Riccardo doesn’t care about facts. He cares about power.” Vincenzo pauses. “I’ve arranged a meeting. Just you, me, and him. Somewhere neutral where we can have this out, once and for all, without an audience.”
I press a hand to my forehead. “When?”
“In an hour. I know it’s short notice, but I don’t want to give him time to gather more support.”
An hour. I look down at myself, still in the sweatsuit I threw on at the penthouse, my eyes no doubt swollen and red from crying. I look like exactly what I am—a woman whose world just imploded.
