Page 47 of Stolen Sin

I lean back, not sure what to say, because this was completely unexpected. I assumed we’d talk about the Santoro war, but for some reason, he’s bringing up Emily. I’m instantly on guard.

“I’m still serious,” I confirm.

He grunts, nodding to himself. “And you married her to prove a point, correct? You want to show me that you’re ready to step up.”

I lean forward, rubbing my hands together. “I married her to provide the Famiglia with continuity. Emily might not be the most politically expedient match, but she’s loyal and she’s clever, and we’re going to have children. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Another generation to make sure that the Bianco organization will continue on?”

Dad still won’t look at me. He shuffles the papers and takes a long breath before nodding as if he’s coming to a final decision. “I want you to divorce the girl,” he says, finally meeting my gaze. “She’s nothing. Give her what she wants and send her away. Once she’s gone, you’ll marry a match I’ve chosen for you, you’ll get her pregnant, and I’ll prepare to hand the Famiglia over to you.”

I sit back in my chair, stunned into silence.

This can’t be happening. It makes no sense. He refused to so much as discuss his retirement, and now suddenly he’s got a three-step plan. The first step of which is to divorce Emily.

It’s madness. It’s absolute insanity. “I already have a wife,” I manage to say. “I’m not just going to throw her aside because?—”

Dad slams his hands down on the desk. I grit my teeth to keep my anger at bay. I’m shocked by how much I want to strangle him right now. Even as an unruly teenager, I never hated my father, not even when he made me sacrifice my social life, made me destroy my childhood, all in the name of learning how to lead the Famiglia, but in this moment I despise him.

“The girl is nothing,” he says, staring at me, and I think he hates me just as much. I don’t know how we came here. I’m standing at the bottom of an impossibly large pit staring up at a tiny sliver of light up above me. “I have a better match. If you can do as you’re told, you’ll secure your future and the future of the Famiglia. This is the only way I will ever consider naming you Don.”

I swallow against my anger and force myself to sit forward. I try to picture leaving Emily, but can’t. I’ve wanted this exact conversation for so long now, and suddenly it’s poisoned, the only thing I’ve ever wanted rotting and turning into putrid muck.

“Who?” I ask, saying the single word as clearly as I can.

Dad’s face tightens. He sits back and looks at me like he knows I’m not going to like it. “Her name is Valentina Santoro,” he says. “She’s Luciano’s daughter.”

I sit back like he kicked me in the chest. My pulse hammers in my head as I try to make sense of what he just said, but I can’t do it. That’s insanity—it’s beyond insanity, it’s criminal.

“You have to be joking,” I choke out, my fingers digging into the armrest of the chair.

“This is how we will guarantee our family’s future.” Dad’s voice sounds distant as I shove myself to my feet. “I know you don’t like it, Simon, but you will listen to your father. No, don’t you dare turn away from me right now, boy. You will divorce that girl. You will marry Valentina.”

I walk to the door, feeling like I’m splintered wood. I leave chips of myself on the floor as I grab the handle and step forward into the hall. My father demands that I come back, but I can’t even look at him right now as the full horror of what he’s saying descends on me like an anvil from the sky.

I’m crushed. I’m beyond broken. I’m gutted and horrified.

My father wants me to marry the daughter of our enemy.

The daughter of the man who kidnapped my brother and kept him in the cage. The daughter of the man who betrayed our Famiglia in such a vicious way.

Santoro nearly killed my father. He caused the death of Rachel, and his scammers might’ve ruined Emily’s life.

And I’m supposed to marry into that family.

Chapter 28

Simon

I feel sick on the walk home from my father’s house. Davide’s waiting for me outside, but I can’t talk to him. When he pushes for details about what happened, I tell him to talk to Dad if he wants to know and try to ignore the hurt in his expression.

It’s not my brother’s fault. If things were up to him, I know he’d never make a deal with Santoro like this, not even with a gun to his head. I don’t know what my dad’s thinking, trying to make peace with the man who has consistently tried to tear our family to pieces, but it makes absolutely no sense.

There are a lot of unknowns in the Santoro situation. Nobody knows exactly why Luciano Santoro decided to betray my father after acting as his underboss and top lieutenant for years. There are rumors about power and money, but nothing’s certain. They were best friends, and we all grew up thinking of Santoro as an uncle. But then he turned his back on our father, kidnapped Davide, and blew the entire city to pieces. Things have been so damn bizarre since then, and I’ve always wondered what Santoro has on my father to keep them from ending things the way they should’ve a long time ago, with guns and blood.

It’s like Dad wants to be punished by Santoro. But whatever sin Dad might’ve committed, none of that should be more important than his own damn family, and at this point it’s clear that Luciano Santoro is the most dangerous person in the city.

And yet he wants me to marry that sick bastard’s daughter.

I shove my way back into my house and lean against the banister of the stairway, feeling lightheaded.

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