Page 47 of Mafia Heir's Broken Vows

Alessandro sitson the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees, staring at nothing. His hands are clasped so tightly I can see the white of his knuckles. I watch him for a moment, trying to gauge his mood, but there's something unreadable in his expression.

I shift beside him. "What's on your mind?"

His jaw tightens. He doesn't answer right away, and for a moment, I think he won't.

Then he exhales slowly. "I need to end this." My heart stops. Is he going to send us away again?

My stomach twists. "End what?"

"My family. The D'Angelos. I need to walk away from all of it." I'm relieved but terrified.

I blink. "Alessandro, that's not something you can just walk away from." The mafia won't let a man go, not unless he's in a body bag.

He turns his head slightly, meeting my eyes. "I know. But I'm done living by their rules. I'm done watching them put you and Leo in danger. I can't let it happen again." We both know it will happen again. There will always be another enemy.

I think back to his words when he first found us in the compound—'I'll kill every last one of them if that's what it takes.' Even then, there was something final in his tone, a hint of this decision already forming.

"You think your father will just let you go?" My voice is quieter now, cautious. I have had the displeasure of meeting hisfather. I can't see him allowing his eldest son to walk out on their family.

His mouth twists into a smirk, but there's no humor in it. "No. But I have to try. If I don't, my father… he'll keep using me. Using us." He will manipulate him by threatening me and Leo.

I reach out, placing my hand over his clenched fists. He is so tense, but he doesn't pull away. "So, what are you going to tell him?"

He swallows hard. "Tell him I'm out. For good."

My throat feels dry. "Alessandro, that could get you killed." If not by his father, then by others like him. They do not take kindly to anyone who is not loyal.

His eyes darken, as he holds my gaze. "I'm already dead to him. This way, at least I get to decide how I live."

"And what about Leo? About me? You think we can just disappear, and everything will be fine?" Marco had allies, men who would like to see us dead for his murder.

His face softens, and he turns his hands to cradle mine. "No. But if I don't do this, we'll never be safe. I need to cut ties completely. No more meetings, no more loyalty to people who would watch us burn. I'm done."

I search his face, looking for any hesitation. There's none.

"You're serious."

He nods slowly. "Dead serious."

A long silence stretches between us. I squeeze his hand, my heart pounding. "Then I'm with you. Whatever happens." We could all die.

His eyes close for a brief moment, and when they open again, he leans in, pressing his forehead to mine. "I don't deserve you."

I breathe him in, steadying myself. "You don't get to decide that. We're in this together. So, let's figure it out."

His grip tightens just slightly. "Tomorrow, I go see him. And after that… we're free."

"Free, or dead," I whisper, my chest tight. I can't shake the sense that this isn't just a goodbye to his father—it's a death sentence. The odds are stacked against us, but I don't let him see my fear.

I nod, though fear coils in my stomach. "No one is ever really free from all this." I manage my own expectations. Enzo knocks at the door, looking for Alessandro.

"Boss," he waits to be invited in, "You said you needed to see me." Alessandro nods.

"I'm going to see my father tomorrow. I thought you should know." He trusts Enzo. I think they might be friends in a fucked-up, we-killed-people-together sort of way. "I'm out—after I see him; we're leaving. I made you a promise that if I went, you could come too. That offer still stands. But you'll need to be ready. I don't know how he is going to take this."

Enzo's eyes narrow slightly, uncertainty flashing across his face before he masks it. "You think he'll just let you go?"

"He's going to pop his fucking clock and probably try to kill you if threatening you doesn't work." He knows the old man well. "I will be ready, and I'll make sure everything here is wrapped up before you see him tomorrow. Are we implementing your exit clause?" He asks, some kind of code between them.

---