AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For a second, he holds me close and says nothing, but I feel the emotion between us as a tangible force. He is the head of the Vieri mafia. The supreme ruler of the Dark Lords and the most feared head of a well-respected family, but he will always be my grandfather to me.
* * *
We headout to meet the rest of the family, with two places vacant but set all the same. Two traitors who don’t deserve the recognition they are getting who turned against their family and suffered the consequences of that.
As we take our seats, I am warm inside as we celebrate my grandfather’s birthday like any other family in the country. My brothers have found love and appear happy, and so have I.
I turn to Alexei and reach for his hand under the table, loving that our adventure will continue. The threats have gone for now because every single person at this table knows the value of family, even a fucked-up one like this.
CHAPTER42
DON VIERI
Birthdays. How I hate them. The beginning of life and a milestone to be tolerated every single year.
I have experienced many of them in varying circumstances. This one will be remembered for a very important reason.
Serena has left already with Alexei Romanov, and I couldn’t be happier for her. He is an honorable, powerful man and will keep her safe. If I know anything, it’s the Romanovs are the most feared family in Russia and deal with their shit in a far more brutal way than we even do. I will never understand the way they operate, but I know Alexei will have a challenge with Serena. She is nobody’s fool and will keep him guessing. At least she is one less person for me to worry about.
My two grandsons sit before me, a glass of bourbon in their hands as their wife and girlfriend chat shit with Ariana and I sigh as I return to the business in hand.
I raise my glass and say huskily, “Today we mourn the passing of my daughter and your aunt Giselle. God rest her soul.”
They lift their glasses, and we drain them in one, slamming them down on the table and then face one another with serious expressions.
I stare at Killian and say firmly, “Are you good?”
“I am,” he replies, and I repeat the question to Shade, who nods. “Of course.”
If anything, it saddens me that there is no emotion in their hearts for their aunt’s passing. Her threat to murder their sister dealt with that. Their family loyalty is unquestionable and yet I have a huge gaping hole in my heart now both my children have gone. They betrayed me and sought to destroy both me and Ariana and I will never recover from that.
“We have a problem.” I get straight down to business and, as always, it captures their attention.
They lean forward with excitement, and it makes me smile inside. I trust my grandsons with my life and know they will never let me down. At least I did something right.
I lean forward and say gruffly, “Giselle had a child. A girl.”
They say nothing and I think back on a painful time in my life.
“She was the result of a savage act of rape. The men involved were dealt with, and Giselle saw out the term of her pregnancy on our island, Serenita.”
I still deal with the raw pain I experienced when Giselle gave birth and I say sadly, “It was a difficult birth. Your aunt was in a lot of pain and no meds appeared to help. She was angry, determined she would hate the baby and begged us to dispose of her.”
They say nothing but stare back at me with hardened expressions and I shake my head.
“The baby was born and struggled to breathe. It was only the quick reaction of the doctor that saved her life.”
“Saved her?” Shade leans forward. “I thought Aunt Giselle said she died. What happened?”
“That’s what we told her.” I say gravely, registering the shock on their faces.
“She survived, but your aunt was in no place mentally to care for her, and I was afraid for the small child. We have all seen the woman my daughter became, and we took steps to protect the child.”
Killian exhales sharply. “So, she’s still alive?”
“Yes. She is.”
I think back on the decision we made at the time and still experience the pain of regret at what we did.
