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Not that I’m not grateful for everything she’s done.
“Don’t forget Cesare and Nico’s wallets.” Maya laughs.
I entrusted Donna with all things wedding related, since she knows what I would and wouldn’t like. Maya, Lil, and the planner have also been helping her and coordinating with Marcella.
This allows me to work without being interrupted every ten minutes on colors, caterers and decor by my mother-in-law. The reception will be just as much a surprise for me as it will be for the guests in attendance.
We say our goodbyes so Maya and Donna can finalize secret wedding details I’m not allowed to know about.
I head to one of the meetings that brought me here. Taking a deep breath before getting into the SUV, I look around at the city I was born in, the one my parents grew up in.
* * *
“You look just like her,” Bo says as he approaches behind me.
Brushing the old canvas with my fingers, I trace my mother’s face, then my father’s. It was their wedding day. Mama looked so regal in her bloodred gown, and there was no denying just how powerful my father was. I couldn’t stop touching the painting. It felt like, at any moment, it’d spring to life.
“I don’t remember anything about my life here. I didn’t expect it to feel so... nostalgic.”
Needing something to anchor me to the present, I wish Nico were here right now.
“This is where your great-great-grandparents settled after leaving China. I’m not surprised you feel a connection to this place.”
“I can’t believe you saved all of this.” I look around the large storage unit.
My first time back in Chicago since I left at six years old has been one learning experience after the other. We’d just stepped out of a meeting with captains and members who wanted to meet me toshow their respects, but we all know why they were really here. They were curious about me. About what the transition would look like. Bo told me he had a surprise, and now, here we are.
“I want to keep this.” Looking up at him, I hang on to the painting as if it’ll disappear.
“It’s all yours, along with everything in here. Whatever you want. We can trash, donate, keep and move it all to New York. The more valuable items, your mother’s jewelry and collections, are all in a vault. Only Cesare, you, or I can access it.”
I spot a gorgeous bassinet in the corner, and before I know it, my feet are moving. I pull the plastic cover off of it to get a better look, but I’m too afraid to touch it in fear of ruining it. The gold fixtures almost resemble a carriage, and the cream fabric draping over it completes the fairy tale.
“My parents kept all this?” I ask, picking up a soft, plush pink teddy bear inside.
“Nina wanted more children. That wish didn’t die with her when Peter died. I think she was hanging on but then she got sick.”
“What was she like?”
A smile creeps on Bo’s lips. “She was easy-going, inquisitive, and I think she made it her personal mission to love as many things as possible in a world full of darkness. That’s what drew Peter to her. And Cesare.” When I don’t respond, he continues. “She loved them both. In her own way. Peter brought her chaos, where she thrived. But Cesare brought her peace, which she needed.”
“And my father? What was he like?”
“Fiercely loyal. Kind of a prick.” I let out a snort. “Always sure of himself. He knew his place in the world. Your grandfather was old school, an abusive asshole, same as his father. It forced Peter to grow up quickly, made him harder. Nina prevented him from losing himself completely. He loved her as much as a man like him was capable and then you came along.”
“I don’t understand how someone as notorious as my father went down so easily. He was known as theMad Dragon, and what does he have to show for it? No other heirs, no lasting legacy.”
“He has you,” Bo answers, and I can’t help but shake my head and laugh. “I’m serious. I think you’ll do things he never could.”
“Because of my husband and Cesare.”
There’s no point in denying it.
“Sure. But alliances can break as easily as they are formed. You have something no one else has.”
“And what’s that?”
“Loyalty. Unyielding, undying loyalty. By not one but two Italian sanctions.No one, not even your father, not Giuseppe Delucci, and not even your papa, who has the entire government under his thumb, could do that.”
