Page 95 of Corrupted Heir (Mafia Kings: Corrupted 1)

Her arms shook as she raised her hands to cup my cheeks, and I nuzzled into her touch. These were the hands that had carried me when I was young; the hands that had hugged me, and guided me, and chastised me when I’d needed it.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cried. But this… this threatened to rip the heart right out of my chest. I knew this pain; I’d lived through it once before, and I wasn’t at all certain I could do it again.

“My boy,” she croaked. The color had drained from her face. She was too pale. My mother had never been so pale in all my life. “My beautiful, beautiful boy. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I don’t know what to do. What do I do?” I looked at Fallon. “Call an ambulance.”

It was futile, but I had to do something.Anything.

“No, my boy. They won’t get here in time.La morteis near,” my mother said. “Just be with me.”

I sniffled. “Okay. Anything you need,Mamma.”

Carefully, I lifted her into my arms, resting her head in the crook of my elbow.

“I love you, and your brothers. And your father. You tell them that, all right? You tell them I love each and every one, and no matter where I am, I will never stop loving them.”

“I will.” I nodded. “I will. I love you too,Mamma.”

Fallon crouched beside me, gently placing her hand on my back. I sat in a pool of my mother’s blood, knowing the memory would be burned into my mind for all time. The heavy, coppery scent. The labored sound of my mother’s breathing. The warm, sticky wetness beneath my fingers.

“I need you… to do something for me.” Her body spasmed as she coughed, coating her pale lips with tiny droplets of blood. “You have to promise me something. Dominic. Find your sister.”

“What do you mean? Sofia’s…” I couldn’t say the word. I couldn’t force it past my lips while my mother struggled for breath.

“She is alive, Dominic. You must find her. You must reunite this family. Bring her home.”

“She’s…” I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t do that, not now. “Okay,Mamma. Where do I find her?”

“I don’t know. But you must find her. You must bring my baby back home, and you must tell her I never stopped loving her.” A single tear ran down her cheek, and I caught it with my thumb, cradling her cheek as she’d cradled mine. “Promise me, my son. Promise me you will find her.”

“I promise,” I said. I had no idea how I could possibly fulfill that promise, but I meant it. I meant it with every fiber of my being. “Everything’s going to be okay,Mamma.”

My mother nodded. “I know. Look after this family, my boy.”

I nodded back, shaking tears from my chin. They landed on her furrowed brow.

“Vito...” she whispered, “Costa…”

The words came out as little more than a breath. The last words my mother would ever say. Words that made no sense. Words that didn’t matter as I watched her chest rise and fall for the last time. I held my breath as the light left her loving eyes.

My mother was gone.

Epilogue

Fallon

Three months later

Dominic and I had just come back from a late lunch at La Grande Madeleine. I thought the day was over, but we didn’t take our usual route home. We were cozied up with one another, and I lazily stroked my hand through his silky, dark hair as he drove. It had been a difficult few months. We had a lot of mourning to do. Many men had fallen that day, and we all had an angel leave our lives.

I hadn’t known Leandro for long, but I missed him. And Maria…

My throat still clogged with tears every time I thought of her. Ihadknown Maria, maybe not for long, but in a way that perhaps no one else did. We’d shared a common beginning, a rocky initiation into this family. My heart mourned for my kindred spirit.

I could understand Dominic’s sorrow as well; I knew what it was to lose the woman who had given me life.

But we had shared such a wonderful day together, and I wasn’t about to ruin it by dwelling on the tragedies we’d endured.

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