Page 96 of Little Dove

“It’s possible,” Sofia agrees. “But who would have ordered this? I doubt this would be Nico’s father. From what I understand, he didn’t think women were good for anything, and there is no way that he would trust his wife with something this monumental.”

“I don’t think anyone ordered her. Nico said that she and her husband didn’t like each other, so maybe she felt this was a chance to stick it to him,” Rori offers. “I mean, I don’t like what she was doing, but I can also respect that she wanted a way to have control and money while also proving that she was far smarter than him.”

“It’s kind of like how our mother and Amara’s mother worked to get the other girls out,” Gia murmurs. “They managed to make baby girls disappear without the men in their lives finding out until almost three decades later. That was all about their own need to control how their daughters’ lives would turn out. They had a network. Men in this life really do underestimate women.”

“Because they only think with their dicks and believe it’s a magical appendage that gives them all the smarts in the world,” Rori says with a derisive scoff. “Which is exactly why women can get away with these things. Really, think about this. Nico’s mother was smart to approach Gallo first. If she went to Leonardo, it would have gotten out immediately, and Leonardo would have made sure to tell her husband, to hold it over his head. Gallo had a way into the territory, and they probablythought they would eventually be able to overthrow Nico’s father when they were ready.”

“I wonder why she didn’t approach the Russians?” Sienna asks with a frown.

“Maybe she did, but it didn’t work out?” Gia suggests.

“But wouldn’t that have been the same as if she had gone to Leonardo and the Russians would have told her husband what she was up to?” I point out gently.

“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Gia agrees, shoulders slumping sadly.

“Darling, no suggestion is wrong,” Sofia reminds her. “We’re just tossing around ideas. But you bring up a good point, Gia, that maybe she did try to approach a Russian. Maybe it wasn’t Ivan though. Maybe she went to someone else to test the waters and she realized it wouldn’t work out, so Seamus was the next best thing.”

Gia nods, seemingly mollified. “I’m just surprised that no one would have caught on before now,” she admits. “I mean, those kinds of things can’t stay secret forever. My father had so many mistresses, and it was always found out. One time, when I was young, he was feuding with Nico’s father over something. Nico’s father figured out who his mistress was at the time and had her and her infant son killed. My father was pissed, and he killed some of the guards that he felt let it slip who she was, or who didn’t hide his tracks enough. And then there were the times he would mention any of the other families and the women they were caught with. I think it was Ivan who once had a mistress that was obviously nothing more than a glorified escort who wanted the glitz and glamour of being with the head of the Bratva.”

“Did they have a lot of mistresses over the years that you heard about?” Sienna asks curiously.

“They all did. It’s accepted that all men will have an affair at one time or another,” she admits. “And the closer they are to the top, the more mistresses they’ll have. Faithfulness is not something that’s normal in my family. I’d like to think it is in other families, but maybe not.” She worries her lip, and I freeze at her implication.

My stomach sinks like lead at the thought of Lazaro going to another woman. I don’t think I could survive that. It would definitely break me.

“Nico would never do that, Gia,” Sofia tells her firmly. “He loves you, and any woman that might have had his attention at one time was before you. The same goes with Alessio and Lazaro. Both of them are loyal to a fault. They saw what their mother’s affair did to their father. Pietro was faithful to his wife, of that I’m certain. He was besotted with her from day one, and he spent as much time with her as he could, that I remember. That’s why it was so horrible to learn that she had betrayed him. Our father, he never once cheated on our mother. Not even when things were hard. I found my mother’s diary when I was a teenager and I read it, wanting to get to know her. They had some very tough times, but she said even then that she knew he wouldn’t step out on her. They had something strong, and any of my brothers will be the same.”

Her confidence in their loyalty allows me to relax. “Nico does look at you like you hung the moon,” I tell Gia. “I’d be shocked if he’d risk you for that. From what I can see, our family is a mess, but we can change that. I don’t know much about the mafia life yet, but I feel like out of all the scenarios, this is the very best we could have ended up with.”

“I agree with that completely,” Sienna declares. “Alessio might be a pain in my ass, but he’s loyal, and we have far more freedom here. I mean, look at this. We’re being trusted to look through all of this, and not kept away based on some stupid ideathat we shouldn’t know. We’re women, and we can see into the minds of other women more easily than they can.”

“And from the look of things, this woman was one fucked up bitch,” Rori says drily. “Listen to this.I sent through another shipment today. I have a buyer lined up that will take them overseas to some country no one has ever heard of for the rich to play with. My love will be so pleased. A large payday for a bunch of brats.”

My stomach turns at the thought of those children who were sent away to what I’m sure was their version of hell. Of the ones that either died or killed themselves, rather than suffer any more for what those sick fucks would have done.

“Well, I’m glad the bitch is dead,” Sienna says tightly. “I’d love to know the details of how he killed her. Hopefully, it was slow and very painful.”

“It was,” Nico adds almost absently, drawing our attention. “I spent hours torturing her for information. Obviously, it wasn’t enough.” He gestures at the papers spread out in front of us.

“It was something,” Sienna reassures him. “For the record, I hate your mother.”

Nico arches a brow. “Most did. She was an annoying woman that couldn’t hold her tongue.”

“I’m getting the feeling that was an act,” Rori tells him. She waves the stack of papers in her hand. “These are the workings of a very smart woman. One that knew how to run a business that is probably worth billions, and did so for many years without ever being discovered. Everything we’ve found shows that she was a calculating manipulator who knew how to put on a show. She acted like she had to be strung out to tolerate being married to a man that everyone knew she didn’t love, and they saw her as an inconvenience. She pretended to be a blathering drunk, and they were so annoyed by her that they eventually tuned her outcompletely. By portraying herself as an over-the-top hot mess, she was able to hide in plain sight. It was the perfect ruse.”

Nico tips his head in agreement. “Yes, I’m starting to see that now.”

A phone rings, and we all freeze. Aurelio answers, putting it on speaker. “Go ahead, Lazaro,” he orders. “You’re on speaker.”

“The first location is an empty lot,” Lazaro begins briskly. “Had Urso pull the records, and this used to be a warehouse everyone thought was abandoned. It’s in Seamus’s territory, and it burnt down not long after Nico’s mother was buried.”

“Gallo must have worried that she spilled their secrets,” Pietro says thoughtfully. “Burn it down, erase all evidence. Especially if it’s where they used to meet up.”

“There is evidence the whole site was dug up and asphalted over,” Lazaro continues. “Urso pulled pictures from old newspapers, and they dug down a good ten feet. They said it had to do with underground pipes that needed repair.”

“More like that was where the secret hideout was, and they didn’t want to chance anyone finding it,” Alonzo grumbles.

“What about the others?” Pietro asks.

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