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“Protecting you,” her mother adds with a frown.
“I don’t need protection anymore.” My sweet Lily laces her fingers through mine and Xander’s, then looks past me to West.
“You will always have my protection, mia dolce figlia, whether you need it or not.” Her eyes well up, but she blinks quickly until they’re clear.
Lily smiles at her. “Well, let’s hope I never need it.”
The man behind Ludovica bends his head. “Ma’am, you need to leave now.”
Closing her eyes, she nods, and when she reopens them, her ruthless Mafia mask slips and shows the woman underneath, laying bare all the sacrifices she made to become what she is. Fascinated, I watch the two women move together and stand facing one another as though they’re peering into a mirror. Ice reflects fire.
“Thank you, Mom.”
“Always, Liliana.”
They exchange a brief hug, then Ludovica turns and walks away. Before she leaves, she throws one last glance over her shoulder. “Remember this, mia figlia—although the world will never know, you are my legacy too.”
ChapterSeventy-Four
WEST
Everyone stayed quiet on the way to the jet. There are so many questions that it’s hard to know where to begin, and none of us want to bombard Lily after the day she’s had. We’re going to ensure she can’t sit down for a week when we give her the spanking she’s due, but for now, we’re going to give her space to heal and come to terms with everything that happened.
But after we take off, we’re all surprised and relieved that she breaks the silence. “I’m sorry I kept another secret.”
“Why did you?” I ask.
“Angelo Constantine wanted nothing to do with his family’s Mafia ties, so he created his own legacy. He built Constantine Holdings from nothing and turned it into the most successful hotel chain in the country. Carmine had him murdered, his own brother, so he could take control of my father’s wealth, and he killed everyone who knew my true parentage. Everyone except my mother and her uncle, Giovanni. And the only reason he didn’t go after them was because he knew he’d never get away with it. Do you think he would have thought twice about killing me or anyone he remotely suspected of knowing the truth? He was terrified I’d take it all away from him even though I never wanted any of it.”
“So Giovanni Santangelo was your great-uncle? And he wanted to marry you even though he knew you were his niece’s daughter?” Xander shudders. “That’s fucked up.”
“Yeah, well he was a fucked-up kind of guy.”
“And your real mom is the head of the fucking Mafia?” Zeke whistles.
“Yeah. Although when she had me, she was just an eighteen-year-old kid who was impregnated by a man who stood against everything her family represented. He was more than twice her age, but they were in love. He was going to marry her, and they were supposed to live happily ever after.”
“So Carmine passed you off as his own child?” I ask, trying to wrap my head around the whole fucked-up situation. “But why?”
“My mom was forced by her family to give me up in order to protect her marriage to Vito Morrone—an alliance that sealed the Santangelos position of power. Carmine offered to raise me as his own daughter. I guess he wanted to keep me close so that I’d never come after my birthright if I ever discovered who my father was. He would have had me killed if it wasn’t for my mom. She traded her silence about my father’s murder for my life. Stefano told me she begged her uncle to find me a better family, but he and Carmine came to an agreement and she didn’t get much choice in the matter. I guess she was as much a victim as I was. However, she knew better than anyone the kind of man Carmine was, and that’s why she sent Stefano to watch over me. He infiltrated Carmine’s organization and worked his way up to being his second.”
Zeke’s brow furrows. “So why didn’t she help get you out when you faked your death? Surely she was in a position to help you?”
Lily shakes her head. “She was still under Giovanni’s control back then. She didn’t take charge until after he died.”
“And what about now? Why does she still keep you a secret?” I ask.
“Because she’s still Vito Morrone’s wife, and the alliance between those families is decades old. If anyone were to ever find out she has lied to the Morrones all this time and wasn’t the virgin princess she was purported to be, then it would cause a rift that could tear the whole hierarchy apart.” Lily blows out a breath and sinks back into her seat.
This is all a lot to process, and I’m a grown-ass man. I have no idea how Lily dealt with all of this at just eighteen. “And it was Stefano who told you about your real parents?”
“Yeah. When I was eleven.” She bats away the tears on her cheeks.
“Come here, princess.”
She stands and I pull her into my lap. Banding my arms around her, I hold her like I’ll never let go.
“Carmine was the one who hurt you, wasn’t he?” Zeke asks, his voice low and dangerous.
