Page 24 of Beautiful Vows

“My mother told me who you are,” I say, swallowing back a lump in my throat, remembering the video and her words.

“What?” he grunts just before his head drops back and he stares at the ceiling.

I smile as I remember her words. Only three people know about me. Antonio, Dominic, and Rico.

“You are Fredrico Rossi. A man who is supposed to be dead.”

He sighs, shaking his head slightly before he pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

“Talk to me. I need to know.”

“I hated my father,” he begins, his gaze drifting upwards to the ceiling as he delves into painful memories. “He killed my mother when we were on vacation in Australia when I was ten years old. She was scuba diving. But I know he did it because overheard him telling her over and over what a failure she was to him only giving him one child.”

"I'm sorry for your loss, but I need—"

"I know. Ask me what you need."

“When did you really meet her my mother?”

“I was good friends with her. I helped cover up her secret relationship with Antonio. She couldn’t be with him. He was a second son.” His voice is heavy with sorrow.

I let out a sigh as I try to make sense of the complex maze of lies and forbidden romance.

“Did Antonio kill his own brother?” I ask, seeking confirmation. “So he could become a first son and have her?”

Dad nods solemnly. “But it’s not as simple as that with the Mafia.”

“Then tell me,” I push.

“When she found out she was pregnant, so did my father and Antonio's brother, Francesco Conti.” He sighs. “My father overheard us talking. The next thing I knew, she had to abort you, go through with an initiation with the five leaders, or he would put a hit on her head.”

Abort me?

Tears well in my eyes as I listen to my father’s heartbreaking revelation. “They’re Catholics.”

Dad sighs and shakes his head. “When it suits them.”

The realization hits me like a tidal wave, and my heart aches for the pain my mother must have endured. “And you and Antonio helped her escape from Italy?” I inquire, already aware of the answer.

“And Dominic,” he confirms.

“Dominic?” I question, my curiosity piqued.

“Dominic wanted her alive. His first son was promised to the first daughter of Aurora Moretti. It's an honor for your child to be chosen for a Moretti. Not only that, he knew she was pregnant with Antonio’s child,” he explains. “It made you powerful, and the reason some leaders wanted you dead.”

I really was promised to Dante. And they planned to get my mother out of Italy, away from the clutches of danger and vendettas.

“But my father decided he wanted her, but he was already married.”

I take a moment to process the gravity of his words. “He killed his wife to marry my mother?”

“But I thought he wanted her dead,” I interject, recalling the stories and the threats that have haunted me since I found out about my past.

“What you haven’t learned is that your mother’s family renounced everything to do with the Syndicate and that was accepted until rumors swirled about her being pregnant, and some wanted her and you dead to stop the Moretti bloodline once and for all.”

“And your father?”

Dad shakes his head. “My father wanted you aborted and then he was going to be the one who continued the Moretti bloodline. But Eduardo’s father wanted her dead, and now Eduardo believes his father was right. He prefers to keep the Moretti family at arm’s length.”

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