Page 85 of Pietro
"Connor loved her, truly loved her," Finn continues. "But when I met Siobhan..."
The pause stretches between us, and suddenly I know what's coming before he says it.
"I couldn't help myself. I fell in love with her."
The air leaves my lungs in a rush. I stare at the phone in Pietro's hand like it's transformed into something alien.
"And Siobhan..." Finn's voice cracks slightly. "Siobhan fell in love with me too."
My mind races, trying to process what he's saying. My mother and my uncle. My father's brother.
"We had an affair for two years," Finn confesses. "Then she got pregnant."
I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.
"She told me it was better not to continue anymore," Finn says. "That we needed to end it for everyone's sake."
Lorenzo whispers, "Holy fuck," his composure finally cracking.
My legs give out beneath me, and I sink back into the chair, trembling uncontrollably.
"We remained separated for three years," Finn continues. "But we couldn't do it. We couldn't stay away from each other. Eventually, Siobhan asked Connor for a divorce."
I shake my head, trying to make sense of this revelation. All those years, all those memories of my parents…
"Connor loved her very much," Finn says, his voice growing harder. "He couldn't let her go. He threatened that he would take you from her if she left. He said he'd make sure she never saw you again. That's why she stayed, Nora. She stayed to protect you."
"I don't understand," I whisper, my voice barely audible. "What are you saying?"
"Nora, please," Finn's voice cracks through the speaker. "Let me finish."
I press my lips together, trying to control the trembling that's taken over my body. The three Sartori brothers stand frozen, witnessing the destruction of everything I thought I knew about myself.
"After your mother died," Finn continues, his voice heavy with grief, "her lawyer contacted both Connor and me. Siobhan had left letters for us."
My heart pounds so loudly I'm sure everyone in the warehouse can hear it.
"She had done a DNA test, Nora."
The room spins around me. I close my eyes, desperately wishing I could block out his words, but they pierce through anyway.
There's a long pause.
Finn's voice comes back, gentle but firm. "I'm your father, Nora. Not Connor."
I double over, a strangled sound escaping my throat. All those years? My entire identity?
All lies.
"I knew something horrible was coming," I manage to say through my tears. "But this..."
"That's when I made my one big decision," Finn continues. "You were so close to Connor. You adored him, followed him everywhere. I knew I couldn't take you from him too, not after Siobhan. That's why I left the mob, left Boston."
I look up, vision blurred with tears, to see Pietro watching me.
"Connor was ready to kill me when he learned the truth," Finn admits. "He had every right to. He's not as cruel as he seems, little fox. He couldn't kill his own brother, not even for this. But he couldn't forgive me either."
Little fox.The childhood nickname that always made me feel special, protected. Now it feels like just another lie.
