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I’d know.
Gabriel will never tell the men in this room that he was doing the very thing he beat his only daughter for.
The very thing he exiled her because of.
He will never say a goddamn word about the true reason I am being appointed as the head of our family.
“I’ve been diagnosed with a heart condition,” Gabriel says.
Fucking lying bastard.
I wondered how he was going to spin this.
Matteo’s brows knit together as he shakes his head, and our underboss, Stefano, stands.
“This is the first you’re finding out? When did this happen?” Stefano asks, concern etched into his features.
I swear I can almost see a flash of disbelief cross his face, and I tuck away that small piece of intel for later.
Gabriel follows suit, standing and buttoning his jacket.
“I don’t have much time before Elena and I are getting onto the jet. Please know I’ve considered this greatly, and I’ve spoken with Niccolò about this. I have to go. I need rest, and my wife will be with me to aid in my care. I’m not bringing my phone or any other devices with me, so if you need me, you’ll have to wait for me to contact you.”
He could cover up his shit better, but honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. He doesn’t have to because Stefano and Pietro won’t question their beloved boss. At least not out loud.
“Please inform the rest of the family, and know that my eldest surviving son is now the man each of you report to.” He clears his throat and powers down his phone, leaving it to rest on his desk.
If Gabriel Jr. were still alive, I know things wouldn’t be working as much in my favor as they are now. Thank god for small favors.
I may not be a good man, but I’m a better man than Gabriel Amato.
The very thing I’ve been working toward is finally happening.
I’m finally the head of Gabriel Amato’s family, and I’m going to do one of two things:
Change the way these men handle their business, or burn this fucking legacy to the ground while trying.
18
EVELINA
I’m not a fragile woman.
Oblivious at times? Maybe. But who doesn’t want to look for the best in the people they love?
What is the saying? Insanity is repeating the same mistakes over and over again? Something like that. I suppose one could argue my insanity is due to the men I continue to fall for. Each of them evil, conniving bastards in their own right.
I think Enzo, and his covert deception, takes the cake, though.
So, insane—yes. But fragile…not in the slightest.
These are the thoughts that have been playing on an incessant repeat throughout my mind over the past four months while I’ve been locked away in a room with Sofia.
I’ve been kidnapped before. All those years ago. And while being locked in Gabriel’s home brought up some old fucking wounds I still haven’t worked through, I think I blocked a lot of it out as I tried to help Sofia. I lived every single day, every single moment, trying to get her back…but she’s so far gone.
Sofia was one of the first people I met in the DeSantis family. She was always so bright and outgoing, always quick to help and be someone anyone could lean on…but the moment I was thrown in there with her, I knew she was different.
And it makes sense. She’d been locked away for a year.
