Page 117 of Mafia Mistress

I spentthe next few days setting up things for Francesca.

She presented me with a list of things she needed right away, like an obstetrician. The doctor, rumored to be the best in Calabria, would see her beginning next week. In the meantime, they recommended prenatal vitamins, which I had Marco pick up at the pharmacy.

Francesca’s list also included healthy foods, pasteurized cheese, and decaf espresso. Comfortable clothes and lotion for her belly. Pregnancy books and morning sickness relief.

I bought it all and rushed the delivery. Whatever my piccolina needed, she would have it.

She seemed to come to terms with having the baby. I knew she was working on her list of conditions for our legal agreement, which I would have drawn up and signed. There wasn’t anything I would refuse her, as long as it kept her happy.

I very much looked forward to the cravings and back rubs. Feeling my child move inside her womb. Seeing her tits grow larger as they readied to produce milk.

I was the luckiest man in Italy.

Of course, I had asked about sex during pregnancy, and the doctor reassured me it was totally safe for the baby. So I continued to fuck my beautiful girl every night in our bed, keeping her well satisfied.

Marco entered my office without knocking. “Rav, you’re going to want to see this.”

I didn’t take my eyes off my laptop. “Did your wife have one of these pregnancy pillows? It says they help with sleep.”

He glanced over my shoulder at the screen. “Don’t buy that one. Buy the one that hugs the whole body. It fits on both sides.”

“Ah.” I clicked on the one he recommended. The reviews called it the Ferrari of body pillows. Excellent. I added it to the shopping cart, then glanced up. “What do I need to see?”

He held out a flash drive. “It’s the camera we put outside the VIP emergency exit at the club.”

My stomach in knots, I took the small drive and put it into my laptop. When it mounted, I double clicked the video file and it began playing.

“Go to the three-minute mark,” Marco instructed.

I moved the player forward until I saw Giulio come outside the exit door. A man followed, the same man who I’d seen touch Giulio’s back. When the door closed behind them, Giulio grabbed the other man and shoved him against the wall, then attacked his mouth by kissing him.

I froze. My son was kissing another man.

“Che cazzo?” I whispered. The tips of my ears burned and I pounded my fist on the desk. Still I didn’t take my eyes off the screen. I had to know.

I was not homophobic. I’d seen men together before, and I was very unhappy when the last gay member of my ’ndrina had been killed by his cousin.

But we did not interfere in these things. The men in our world considered homosexuality shameful. A sign of weakness and an embarrassment for the family. And it was left to the family to handle it.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Giulio just liked kissing other men, but he still fucked women.

Praying this was so, I continued to watch.

When my son sank to his knees, his hands going to unfasten the man’s trousers, I shut my laptop.

Neither Marco nor I spoke. The silence said volumes between us. We both knew how bad this was for the ’ndrina—and for me personally.

Giulio was supposed to be my heir. To take over everything after I died. He was my only son—and he was gay. There had never been a gay man in a place of prominence in our organization. It was pointless. He would never have been respected enough by the other men to effectively lead.

“Rav, I’m sorry.”

I nodded once, but I couldn’t speak as my mind raced. How did this happen? What had I done wrong? All my plans for him were now ruined. It was only a matter of time before someone discovered this information and used it against him. Or me.

“He’s kept this a secret for a long time,” my cousin said. “Maybe it’ll stay a secret.”

“Not a chance. Eventually someone always talks. An ex-boyfriend, an ex-lover. Someone.”

Marco dropped into the chair across from my desk. “No one else knows. I destroyed the original video and I took the camera down. You have the only copy.”

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