AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"She doesn't have to. She has a mother who holds her hand tightly so she doesn't get lost. And she has me so she can explore everything carefree. I don't see anything wrong with that." Only the worry that came with it. But that would probably haunt me even if I hadn't grown up in the mafia, so it didn't count.
"I'm just trying to give you alternatives. None of us want anything to happen."
And I wanted it least, whether it involved my wife or my daughter. But that didn't mean it was a great idea to lock her up in Tramonti in the villa and keep her away from daylight.
A psychopath might do that, as my father had done with Carlotta. But we were talking about a new generation here. An opportunity to do everything differently, and I would be hell-bent on returning to old ways when there were so many more options to discover and exploit.
Despite everything, it didn't mean I would knowingly risk her life. I was only risking enough to see her grow up under halfway normal circumstances.
"I don't think there's any child in all of Italy who has as much protection as she does," I replied, a laugh in my undertone.
No matter where she went, she had at least one overseer with her who would not hesitate to kill everyone in the immediate vicinity just to make sure she got out alive.
I had never asked Emilio if he remembered his other sister. Of her story and the cruel brutality that went with it. I doubted it; after all, he and Dario had been too young and protected to witness much of it.
Besides, it would not help him loosen up and worry less about his niece. On the contrary, he would probably only insist more vehemently on keeping her here while Amedea and I left for a business trip to the north of Italy.
"One day, she could cost any of us our lives," Emilio muttered.
He certainly didn't mean that Rina enjoyed the protection of all of us. It was more about what our lives would be like if there were more children. More little people to worry about and protect at all costs.
I would not regret it – to die so that my family survived.
"But today is not the day," I replied prudently, leaving Emilio and going outside to the terrace. We had talked enough about how wise it was to take Rina with us, and my decision stood. Nothing would change, no matter how long we talked and thought about it.
Amedea leaned against the railing and looked down into the garden, where Fiero was busy pushing toy cars across the lawn while Rina watched him with interest.
I put my arm around Dea's waist, pulled her close to my side, and allowed myself a brief moment of sentimentality. Part of me still wished I didn't have Dea standing next to me but Rina. That wish would probably never go away. Every piece of me knew that I had found something just as good after finally truly letting Amedea into my life. Into my closeness.
I had neither wanted this woman nor the child, but in the end, I could not help but admit that I loved these two people. And needed them.
"You didn't tell him what we were planning, did you?"
I snorted. "Of course not. He wouldn't let anyone leave here ever again." As I said this, I leaned toward Amedea, kissed her temple.
"It's better that way, too, if it continues to be secret," she replied thoughtfully.
We had not interrupted the hunt for all the human scum.. Not two years ago, when Rina was born. Not even when I learned the child was a daughter instead of a son.
This task was so deeply embedded in our lives that there was no way we could let it go. The villa was no longer the main scene, but there was a bunker deep in the forest that now housed all the men who fell into our hands but were not yet ready to take their last breath.
"As long as she doesn't see any of it, I don't care about the rest," I replied, nodding in the direction of our daughter, who wouldn't have to experience any of the cruelty of our world firsthand for a long, long time.
"She won't, Enzo," Amedea replied, reaching for my hand and squeezing it, "and one day she'll know that her father made the world a better place."
When you put it in that context she was probably right.
I pulled Amedea into my arms, rested my chin on her head, and was content to watch Fiero and Rina play.
In this little bubble, we were still in at the moment, our lives were more than okay.
