Page 78 of Mafia Don's Secret Heir
“We need to talk,” he says, his voice low but steady.
I cross my arms over my chest, leaning back against the wall. “You made that clear when you showed up here in the middle of the night.”
His lips press into a thin line, but he doesn’t snap back like I expect. Instead, he takes a deep breath, as if steadying himself.
“Your father died for me,” he says suddenly.
“What?” The word tumbles out of me, more breath than sound.
He steps closer, but I hold up a hand, keeping him at a distance. My legs feel unsteady, and I move toward the small chair near the window, sinking into it before I collapse.
Luca stays where he is, his hands clenched at his sides. “I need you to listen to me, Valentina. Your father wasn’t some broken gambler. He wasn’t just running from debts. He was working with us—for us—for me.”
My mind spins, my vision narrowing on him. “What are you talking about? Working with you on what?”
He drags a hand down his face, pacing a short line near the foot of the bed. “Antonio believed in what we were trying to do—what I’m still trying to do. He helped us plan ways to take the power and money we’ve built and funnel it back to the people who’ve been crushed under this city’s weight for decades. A redistribution, if you want to call it that. He saw a way to fix what we’ve broken.”
“That makes no sense,” I whisper, shaking my head. “He gambled everything away—he ruined us.”
“That was the cover, Valentina. A way to keep the Rossis from looking too closely at what he was doing. But they found out anyway.”
I stand abruptly, my arms dropping to my sides. “Stop. Just stop.”
His voice grows quieter, more measured, as he steps toward me. “They targeted him. Tortured him. Tried to extract information about me and my family. When he wouldn’t break, they killed him.”
I stumble back, hitting the wall behind me. The room feels too small, too suffocating. “You’re lying.”
“I wish I were,” he says, his voice cracking slightly. “But you need to know the truth, Valentina. He didn’t die because of his own demons. He died because he believed in me. Because he believed in something better.”
Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “And you kept this from me? You let me believe he was nothing but a failure. You let me hate him.”
Luca’s jaw tightens, and he looks away for a moment before meeting my gaze again. “I was afraid.”
“Afraid?” My voice rises, trembling with fury. “Afraid of what?”
“That if you knew the truth, you’d realize the debt I claimed you needed to pay was a lie,” he says, his voice raw. “And that you’d walk away. Nullify the marriage. Leave me.”
I stare at him, my chest heaving. “You lied to me, manipulated me?—”
“Because I love you,” he cuts in, his voice fierce. “I love you, Valentina. With everything I am. And if it means burning my empire to the ground to keep you and Leo safe, I’ll do it. If it means walking away from all of it just to be with you, so be it. I’m not asking for forgiveness,” he says, stepping closer until there’s barely any space between us. “I’m asking for a chance. A chance to make this right. To prove that you and Leo are the only things that matter.”
I close my eyes, tears slipping down my cheeks. When I open them, his expression is unreadable, his dark eyes locked on mine.
“Luca…” My voice falters, and he takes my hand.
“There’s something more you should know.”
Luca sits on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped so tightly they might as well be welded together. His head hangs low, his dark hair falling forward, a picture of restraint barely holding back a storm. “Donna Maria was behind the mishap with the brakes.”
Good grief.I’m standing near the dresser. The silence between us is unbearable, thick enough to choke on, and I feel like I’m waiting for something to detonate.
“I have no words,” I mumble. “I?—
“My mother is a woman of many talents,” he says, “but of late, most of these have become evil. Or perhaps that is who she always was, and I have been too blind to see things.” He pauses, jaw tightening as though the words physically pain him. “Maria has been exiled.”
“What?” The shock in my voice is involuntary, loud in the heavy stillness of the room.
Luca straightens, turning his dark, haunted eyes to me. “I should’ve seen it sooner, Valentina. She manipulated me—controlled me—played her games with you, with Leo, with this family. She was behind so much more than I realized.”
