Page 33 of Wicked Sinner
"Your family," Tristan says, "includes every made man who's sworn loyalty to the Genovese name. Every minor family who is waiting on decisions to be made about how the Genovese family moves forward. Your choices affect all of them. And marrying some random woman with no connections weakens everyone."
"She's not random," I snarl. "She's the mother of my child."
"Then pay her off," Konstantin says simply. "Give her enough money to disappear, to raise the kid quietly somewhere far away. Set up a trust fund if you want to be generous. But don't tie yourself to her permanently."
The suggestion hits me like a physical blow. "You're talking about my son."
Konstantin chuckles. “You don’t even know that she’s having your son. Only that she’s pregnant. And she isnotsuitable. Your position here is unstable, Caesar. Pushing forward with this will only make it worse. If you insist on marrying this woman, if you try to legitimize this child, you'll create problems that will haunt you for years."
“Marrying her legitimizes our child. That’s all that matters?—”
“It’s not,” Tristan says, a patronizing note in his voice. “You think the families will like the idea of following orders from someone whose son comes from nothing? Who will see theirown heirs lower in rank than this kid? You don’t have the clout to pull this off, Caesar, not after you ran away and then came back twenty years later. Maybe if you’d spent the last twenty years proving that you’re worthy of the role, but not now. Not like this.”
I stare at both men, trying to process what they're telling me. They want me to abandon Bridget, to abandon my child, to pretend none of this ever happened. The idea makes me physically sick.
"No," I say quietly.
"Caesar—"
"No," I repeat, louder this time. "I'm not abandoning my child. And I'm not abandoning the woman carrying it."
Konstantin sighs, looking genuinely disappointed. "Then you're making a mistake that will cost you everything your father built."
"Maybe," I say, standing up. "But it's my choice to make."
I know I’m pushing too far, too hard. That I’m making enemies I can’t afford to make. But all I can see is red, all I can hear is my pulse pounding in my ears from listening to them sit here and insult Bridget, insist that I throw away the one thing I’ve found since I came home that I truly want. "My personal life is my own business."
"Not when it affects the greater organization," Konstantin says. "And this affects all of us. Caesar, I'm going to give you some time to think about this. To consider what you're really choosing here. But understand—if you move forward with this marriage, you'll be doing it without our support. And without our support, taking over your father's territory becomes much more difficult."
The threat is clear, though unspoken. Fall in line, or lose everything.
“I’ll be in touch,” Konstantin says simply. “Think about what you’re doing, Caesar. She’s not worth losing it all.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Wouldn’t you risk everything for your wife?”
That strikes a nerve. I see his eyes pinch, his jaw tighten. “She’s not your wife yet,” Konstantin says simply. “I’ll be in touch.”
I know I’m dismissed. And frankly, I don’t want to spend another fucking second in the office with them anyway. I don’t bother shaking their hands, just give Konstantin a tight nod and stride out, back to the entrance of the mansion, where the valet is waiting.
A clock is ticking. I have to make a choice. And if I choose Bridget, I’ll be stepping into territory I know I’m not ready to navigate.
But I can’t just let her go.
11
CAESAR
Isit in my car outside Konstantin's mansion for ten minutes after the meeting, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles go white. The rage burning through me is unlike anything I've felt in years—a cold, calculating fury that makes me want to burn down everything in my path.
Konstantin wants me to pay Bridget off. Abandon my child and marry some vapid socialite who fits the criteria that he’s set out.
I’ve always been rebellious. But it’s not just rebellion that makes my jaw clench and every fiber of my body want to tell him to go fuck himself. It’s a protective possessiveness that I’ve never felt before for anyone.
The thought of abandoning Bridget and my child makes my stomach turn. But I know Konstantin well enough to understand that this isn't a negotiation—it's an ultimatum. Fall in line or lose everything. The empire my father built, the respect I've been fighting to earn back, the chance to prove that my father was wrong all those years ago when he told me I couldn’t come back. That I didn’t have what it took to inherit.
All of it, gone, if I refuse to play by their rules.
As I finally start the engine and pull away from the mansion, I'm already formulating a plan. I'll tell them what they want to hear, buy myself time, make Konstantin think I'm considering his "wisdom." Meanwhile, I'll figure out another way. There has to be one.
