Page 10 of Obsession & Oath

“You cannot do this to me. I am your mother, I have been sick with worry. Sick. You ungrateful boy, I have missed you so. You used to call me wherever you were but you go to America and what are we? Eh? Not worth your time anymore? I’ve been sick, Dante.”

“Have you actually been sick, or are you being dramatic?”

“How would you know!”sShe shrieks. “You do not care to call. You do not ask. I could be dead.”

I pinch at the bridge of my nose in an attempt to hold back the incoming migraine.

“I’m calling because I have a situation, and I need you to help me without asking any questions until I arrive,” I say firmly, cutting off her imminent rant.

The line suddenly goes very quiet.

“You will arrive? Where?” Her tone is suddenly quite chilling. Gone is my mother, arrived is the matriarch.

“Montecroce.”

“When?”

“About ten hours from now. Maybe more,” I say, double-checking the flight times. We need to move quickly if we’re going to make it in time.

There’s more silence that draws out far too long.

“You expect me not to ask questions? You have not been home in a decade, and now…do you bring danger to our door? This is your home, your birthright. Tell me you would not be so foolish.”

We don’t have time for this. “Listen to me carefully. I am coming whether you are prepared for my arrival or not.”

“You will not pass the city gates without my command.”

She’s still the don, still in control. No matter my birthright, she still holds the power.

I grit my teeth. “There is no danger. Only a hostage.”

“Per l’amor del cielo!For heaven’s sake. This is dangerous. We want no part in your American schemes.”

Time is ticking away.

“What do you want?” I say, throwing myself open and vulnerable. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

She wastes no time. “You will stay with me. For good, this time.”

“Madre.”

“You said you will do whatever it takes.”

Tick tock. I groan to myself. “I can’t promise you that. This situation is complicated. I will need to finish the job before I can commit to anything.”

“Then you will get engaged while you are here, and you shall return once the situation is no longer complicated.”

Fuck.

“Is there nothing else?Madre,I have money, I have connections. I can get you anything you want in the world. Please don’t do this to me.”

“What I want is for my son to be happy.”

“Iamhappy!”

“...and for him to take his rightful place as the don of the Grasso de Ferro. I am old,amore mio.Please give me this comfort. I will host you and your hostage without question. You have my word.”

And there it is, the perfect solution to an impossible situation. All at the expense of my un-marital bliss.

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