Page 20 of Mafia Heir's Broken Vows

"We still have to deal with Marco. With everything else. This cannot be happening; it won't happen again either."

He watches me carefully, eyes dark and intense. "And we will deal with them. But this—you and me—this isn't finished."

It was finished before it ever began. That's his fault, not mine.

I turn to leave, but his voice stops me.

"I won't let you walk away." I'll run then.

I hesitate for a breath, then walk out, heart pounding. My skin is still on fire where he touched me. I smell like him—like sex and bad decisions.

ALESSANDRO

Serafina stands in the doorway, arms crossed, buzzing with attitude. The fire in her eyes only feeds the anger simmering in me. I pace slowly, up and down, the polished floor creaking under my weight. The silence is suffocating, the only sound is the distant tick of the clock on the mantle.

"No more lies, Serafina," I say, my voice low and measured, but sharp enough to cut. "I need to know the truth." I am ready to fight today, I have been fucking patient enough.

Her expression hardens, but I see it—the flicker of something else beneath the surface. Fear? Guilt? Maybe both. Her grip tightens around her waist as if holding herself together.

"What truth are you looking for now, Alessandro?" she retorts, chin lifting in defiance. She thinks this is a fight she can win. That defiance used to draw me in, but now it only stokes the fire raging inside me.

I stop dead in front of her, the space between us charged and electric. The photograph of the boy—Leo—burns in my mind.

"Leo. Is he mine?" I ask her again. The timing doesn't lie—the nights we spent together before I left, the months I was gone. He's my son. He has to be. But I want to hear her say it.

For the briefest moment, her facade cracks. Her breath hitches—subtle, but enough. Enough for me to know the answer before she even speaks.

"It doesn't matter who his father is."

The words ignite something primal inside me, a fury I can barely contain. I step forward, closing the gap between us, my eyes boring into hers.

"It fucking matters to me. He is here in my house—you think I am stupid?" I can count, I know when I left, and when he was born.

Her silence is louder than a thousand words. I feel it—the truth hanging in the space between us, an elephant in the room. I won't let her bury it any longer.

"You have lied to me. Denied it and made excuses. Just stop!" The accusation leaves my mouth like a bullet, each word fueled by her betrayal.

"I did what I had to," she fires back, her voice unwavering, there's a slight tremor in it now. But her hands really betray her, fingers curling tightly at her sides.

"No," I growl, stepping closer, forcing her to tilt her head back to look into my eyes. "You did what was easy. You hid him from me." If I didn't love her, I'd kill her.

Her eyes flash with anger. "I hid him from them."

My family. Marco. The war that never ended. She wasn't protecting herself—she was protecting our son. From me—and all that I bring with me.

I rake a hand through my hair, pacing in tight circles. The weight of her words crushes me. Protecting him from me? Is that all I've become—a danger to my own flesh and blood?

"You still should have told me." My voice softens, but the fury simmers beneath.

"And what would you have done?" she challenges, voice rising. "Dragged him into your war? Into the D'Angelo legacy?"That's exactly what I would have done, she is right. "You killed my brother, your family annihilated mine. Where were you... while I brought a baby into that world."

Her words stab through me, each one sharper than the last. My jaw clenches as I remember the warehouse, the flames, the screams. Her brother's face as he died, cursing me.

I grit my teeth. "I would have protected him if I knew."

"He is fine, he never missed you, he didn't need protection. I was enough for him. Leo doesn't need you." The words are a dagger to the chest. He doesn't even know who I am—he has no father. "He is an innocent little boy, and I protected him from all the fucking bad things that follow you wherever you go. I saved him from being part of your legacy. He does not need you!"

I flinch, but I don't look away. She doesn't know how much it cost me to leave. But it doesn't matter now, she won't forgive me.

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