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Chapter One
Mattia
The only thing that irritates me more than getting blood on my hands is trying to wash it off. Crimson stains the porcelain bowl of the sink as it mixes with the hot water swirling down the drain.
The acrid stench of the bleach I poured into the sink to clean up the fucking mess assails me, covering the metallic scent of blood.
"Jesus," I mutter, my upper lip curled in disgust. Next time I decide to get up close and personal when I kill someone, I'll put my fucking gloves on first.
I intended to do that this time, but Enzo Abate decided cooperating was too difficult for him. Now, his blood is all over my hands, his screams still ring in my ears, and his body is sinking to the bottom of the river where it belongs.
It's a fitting end for the pezzo di merda.
His filthy hands won't ever try to touch what belongs to the Valentino family ever again. As the consiglieri to the family, my job is done.
For the moment.
Rafe Valentino is the Capo dei Capi, so peace never seems to last long. There's a new goddamn problem every day. Since he, Luca, and Gabriel took a step back from the family to focus on their own shit for a while, Coda Passero, Domani Brambilla, Diego Butera, and I have had our hands full. Everyone in the city keeps trying to test us.
And if what Enzo said is true…well, we've got a serious fucking problem heading our way.
Somewhere in this God-forsaken city, Rafe and his brothers have a little sister—the daughter Vincent Valentino abandoned before she was ever even born.
"What the fuck was he thinking?" I mutter to my reflection, my mind still reeling. I knew Vincent was a prick, but this is a whole new level of fucked up. Abandoning a principessa is unconscionable.
Rafe is going to lose his mind when he finds out. Hell, they all are, including Nico, the twin who never swore the oath.
If I don't find her before our enemies do… well, we'll plunge the city into war ourselves. And if Enzo knew about her, chances are, he's not the only one. Secrets don't stay that way for long in this fucking city. No matter how deep you sink the bones, they always come floating back up eventually.
The door to the bathroom creaks open.
I flick my gaze over my shoulder in the mirror, watching as Coda ducks inside, his green eyes seeking mine out in the reflective surface.
He strides toward me, moving like a shadow. Hell, he might as well be one. The man is massive, but he moves with deadly grace. No one sees him unless he intends to be seen.
"Did you confirm his story?" I ask, pouring more bleach into the sink.
He nods, his nose scrunching as the strong odor reaches him.
I replace the cap on the bottle, processing that simple bob of his head.
It changes everything. Literally everything.
Enzo wasn't lying.
The Valentinos have a sister.
Cazzo.
"Where is she?" I ask.
"Living with Brio Cascella," Coda says, his voice level, as if he knows I won't like the news.
He's right. I don't. I digest it in silence, eyes trained on the sink as the last few drops of Enzo's blood swirl down the drain, disappearing. I keep the water running, ensuring every last trace of him is washed clean.
The fucking cops have been trying to take our family down for a long goddamn time. It comes with the territory when you're the biggest crime family in Chicago. But it won't be minute traces of Enzo Abate that land me in cuffs. He isn't important enough to have earned that honor. When I fall, it'll take a hell of a lot more than a prick like him to topple me.
Brio Cascella could be that man. Four months ago, his father, Elio Cascella, died in his sleep after a long battle with kidney disease, leaving Brio in charge of the Cascella family.
