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“We do?” Enzo asked suspiciously.
“Sì, I need to get to know my future son-in-law.”
Chapter 25
Enzo
“Son-in-law? Aurora, what the hell is he talking about?” I looked at her in complete shock. I felt like I was in some weird dream where nothing was how it seemed.
Aurora took a deep breath. “It’s a long story, but it’s true. He’s my father. I’ve seen the DNA test to prove it.”
“How? I thought that your father was dead. I thought...” It was like my brain was short circuiting.
“My mom didn’t want anything to do with the mafia world so when she found out that she was pregnant, she broke things off with him and never told him about me.”
“Let’s go back to the dinner table. This will all go better with good food and wine. Lots of wine.” Fabbri said as he motioned for us to join him.
Once we were all sitting at the table, servants brought us dinner plates and wine, but I could barely eat as I listened to the full story. Once we were caught up, I only had a few questions left.
“So, how did Romano know that you were his daughter?”
“Apparently he’d had some of his men doing a deep dive on me when he was trying to find your weaknesses. They found a DNA test I’d sent to one of those ancestry sites. I’d gotten it as a Christmas gift from one of my good friends and sent it in on the off chance I might find out about a cousin or someone. It hadn’t been processed yet, but they bribed someone in their lab to do a rush on it and send the results to them instead of me.
“They found out who I was just before the meeting, so they planned the car bomb as an excuse to not give me back to you. They knew my father was a very wealthy man and would pay them a hefty reward forrescuinghis daughter.”
“And I did,” Fabbri added. “I was so grateful to them that I didn’t even think to interrogate them farther.”
“We will take care of the Romanos one of these days,” Matteo assured him.
“I have no doubt that you will. You’ve already taken out the eldest Romano brother, haven’t you?”
“You’ve heard about that?” Alessandro interjected.
“Of course. Taking out a family’s heir is big news. I may not be from your little side of Italy, but I make a point to stay informed.
“Well, we are very grateful that you were able to ensure Aurora’s safety and we’re grateful for this excellent meal, but we should probably be leaving,” I said, ready to get Aurora back home so that I could feel more in control of our surroundings. Even though Don Fabbri had been nothing but hospitable, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that came from being under another don’s roof. I’d had a long day worrying about Aurora and I just wanted to hold her in my arms to convince myself, as well as her, that everything was okay.
“It’s late. Please, let me offer you my guest rooms for the night. It’s at least a four-hour drive. Sleep here then, you can leave well rested in the morning.”
“We couldn’t impose,” Teo said politely but I knew that he felt the same way I did about staying in another man’s home. “Besides, my wife will be expecting me.”
“By all means, call her. Let her know that you’re staying here as my honored guest. Besides, it will give me a little more time to get to know my daughter.”
Don Fabbri wasn’t making it easy to politely refuse him and I couldn’t help the troubled feeling that had a tight grip on me. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was and to outright refuse him would be a slap to the face. I knew that Teo couldn’t afford to make more enemies when he was so worried about making Italy safer for his growing family.
Teo let out a reluctant sigh and nodded to the three of us before looking back at Fabbri. “Of course. Thank you. I’ll give her a call now.”
“Good. Then I’ll have my housekeeper, Luna, take you to our guest rooms,” he said in a jovial tone before turning to Aurora. “My dear, could I convince you to join me for dessert on the terrace? I would love a little time to catch up before you retire for the night.”
Aurora looked at me as if to check that I was okay with the situation and I forced a smile, nodding subtly to her and she smiled back at me. Before she could respond, Fabbri gently took her arm and led her from the room.
I waited uneasily for Teo to return. I tensed as someone approached, relaxing slightly to see that it was Teo.
“You get in touch with Mia?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t like me being gone all night. Can’t say I’m crazy about this idea either,” he whispered in a low tone.
“I don’t like this one bit. There’s something off. I know it. I just can’t put my finger on it.”
