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“She thinks her mom chose to abandon her,” Nico said with pain in his tone.
He knew what it was like to have an absentee mother. Cara handed over Nico and went back to Las Vegas to be a showgirl without a second thought. At least we didn’t have to see her much growing up.
“It was for her benefit,” Dad explained. “Francesca wasn’t a perfect mother. Something inside her snapped after the pregnancy. Giancarlo kept her locked in the house, rarely allowed her to leave. And she took it out on Ava. Sending her away gave Ava a chance to learn from Giancarlo without her mother interfering.”
Dante tugged on his tie as if it were suddenly too tight, and he couldn’t breathe. “Are you sure about this marriage, Papa?”
Before he could respond, Paulie entered the room with his cell phone raised to his ear. “We’ll be there,” he muttered into the receiver and ended the call. He stopped beside my dad’s chair and put his hand on his shoulder. “Salvatore, I have good news. Vincenzo and his sons have agreed to meet at a secure location to discuss compensation.”
My dad handed him the DNA results. “I have a better idea.”
Paulie took a moment to analyze the results. “Is this real?”
Dad told his advisor about Ava’s birth certificate and explained how we obtained the results.
“What do you propose?”
He glanced up at Paulie. “Dante will marry Ava.”
Our father’s advisor folded the test results in half and stuffed them into his jacket pocket. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”
ChapterTwenty-Eight
DANTE
Being the underboss of the Boardwalk Mafia came with many responsibilities and a duty to my family. So when my father ordered me to marry Ava, I had no choice.
I gave Nico shit for having to marry Vittoria. We all made fun of him for being a good boy, the perfect son who never said no. By helping him end the engagement, I fucked myself.
A married man.
Me?
I still couldn’t wrap my head around the events of the past two hours. We went from my father’s penthouse to the secure location on Mississippi Ave. Another meeting to discuss marriage to a Vitale.
Ava Vitale.
Fuck.
If my dad was right, Ava was Vincenzo’s daughter—the spawn of our enemy. That meant we didn’t have to honor our deal with Ava on her birthday. Giancarlo wasn’t her dad and, therefore, fair game.
I sat on my father’s right side at a round booth at the back of Monviso, an Italian restaurant owned by a local chef. He was an ally of both families, which made it the perfect meeting place. It was well after hours, and we had the place to ourselves.
Angelo shifted beside me, tugging on his tie. He hadn’t spoken much since we left the Portofino.
None of my brothers did.
Nico was at the Portofino, keeping an eye on Ava. After all the drama with the Vitales, we couldn’t take any chances.
Someone had to stay with her.
So it had to be Pretty Boy.
Stefan tipped back a glass of scotch, surveying the bleak mood in the room. He was pissed about me getting to marry Ava. My little brother didn’t need to say the words aloud for me to know. Both of the twins were annoyed about our father’s decision.
Tough shit.
Paulie entered the dining room from the kitchen and set a plate of antipasto on the table. My brothers reached for the bread at once, knocking into each other. Angelo tapped Stefan’s hand and took the first piece of bread. Even though Stefan was older by two minutes, Angelo was the aggressor. When they were kids, Angelo would push Stefan around until he got his way.
