Page 130 of Savage Temptation

Just a week after going to Detroit, everything was ready for my brother’s big day. One week before scheduled, and having her freedom cut short was showing on Francesca’s face.

It was a lot more than just a wedding for Matt. It was the first step into transforming what was once a promise of a dream into reality.

He would become the Don of the New York cosca.

Matteo Battaglia was a true mafioso. Unlike me, he had welcomed the darkness as a part of himself, wearing it like a damn badge of honor. He lived by the code, breathed power, and exuded command. This was ultimately what his marriage was about – finally claiming what was dangled in front of him like a carrot since he made his first kill at only twelve.

At least that was what he claimed. He could fool every single person who sat in this hall, feasting on the most expensive delicacies blood money could buy. But not me. I could see beyond the thick, fake skin he wore for deception.

Under what people saw as a ruthless smile for securing his seat in The Commission, I saw relief. He had gotten what he wanted, and it wasn’t a damn seat.

It was her.

Francesca.

I couldn’t blame him, though. I was obsessed with an Amato myself. Jamie sat beside me, her face shining bright with a smile I wanted to encapsulate and keep forever.

She looked absolutely stunning. My eyes stuck on her, thinking about how breathtaking she would look in a snow-white dress suited for a princess, walking down an aisle to make my dream come true.

We haven’t known each other for that long, but my heart knows what it wants, and by now I had made peace with the fact that even monsters deserved to be loved.

“I’ll be right back,” I whispered into Jamie’s ear, leaving her at our table with Alison while I sought out Don Amato for a much-needed little chat.

I had managed to snatch the ring from Jamie’s stuff. It was sitting in my pocket, almost burning a hole made of anxiety.

“Don Amato, a word?” He looked at me in suspicion, reluctantly standing from his seat and following me outside to a more private spot where no one could hear our conversation.

“What’s so important that you had to drag me out of my niece’s wedding?” He bitterly asked. He knew the truth about Amelia, but he still nurtured an obvious grudge towards me.

I took the ring from my pocket, figuring that maybe showing him was better than trying to convince him with my words. They seemed to mean very little to him anyway.

“Is this yours?”

I handed him the ring, watching his eyes widen in shock as he took it from me. In his disturbed silence, I found my answer. It was definitely his.

“How did you get this?” Don Amato asked, his eyes in a thin line that did nothing to hide his suspiciousness.

“From the person who it now belongs to.”

“Do you know Amanda? Where is she?”

Fuck, it was true. He really was Jamie’s father. His face had lit up with hope, turning his normally stern expression into a much softer one. That told me that he didn’t know what had happened to Amanda, meaning he most probably didn’t know anything about Jamie, either.

“I’m sorry, Don Amato, Amanda passed away about 25 years ago.”

I watched as disappointment and heartbreak took over his features, wiping the color from his face completely.

“How? Why?” He was lost, his visible pain unmatching the innate ruthlessness of a mafiosi Don.

“She allegedly died giving birth to a baby girl.”

“What?” He whisper-shouted in disbelief.

“The young lady I am here with tonight, my girlfriend,” I accentuated the word. “She’s the owner of that ring now. The ring you once gave to her mother, Amanda Harden. Am I right?”

It was as if I had shot the man in the gut. Don Amato couldn’t keep his strength, crumbling onto the chair behind him in a silent stare of shock. I gave him a moment, letting him absorb the information in silence as I took the seat beside him.

“You mean I… I have a daughter?”

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