Page 108 of Matteo

“We didn’t lie to you. Matteo is your father. Danny never wanted to be.” Amy argues.

“Bullshit. You didn’t want him to be. You met a rich guy and dropped my father.” Layla yells at her mother. Then she turns on me. “And you, you killed him.”

What the fuck? “Look, I’m sorry you found out this way. But his brother is lying to you. I had nothing to do with his death. He beat your mother often, and the last time, he was going to hit you. Your mother left to protect you. It’s the same reason I got him to sign away his rights to you—it was only to protect you from a very violent man who only cared about himself. All he wanted was money to sign away his rights, and I happily gave it to him.”

“No, you threatened to kill him if he didn’t sign. He was trying to stay alive. Then you killed him anyway. I hate you. I hate both of you.” Before I can open my mouth to argue, she slams out of the room.

I pull Amy into my arms. She’s shaking so badly, I wish like hell there was something more I could do. “We should have told her sooner.”

Shaking my head, I run a hand up her back. “She’ll calm down. And when she does, she’ll figure out he was lying.”

“You still have the recording of that day. Why didn’t you tell her that?”

Sighing, “I didn’t want her to hear it.”

“Protecting her is only hurting us.” Amy wipes her tears.

“Fine. When she comes back, if she won’t listen—I’ll play her the recording.”

The timid knock on the door pulls us apart. “Daddy?”

“Yeah, baby, you can come in.”

Alyssa’s eyes are wide. “Is everything okay? Why was Layla yelling?”

“Go get your brothers. I don’t want to repeat it.” I sigh.

“We’re telling them?” Amy’s eyes are wide.

“They deserve to know. The same way we should have told Layla. Better we tell them than them find out on their own.” I shake my head. “This was not the anniversary I planned for you to have.”

Her hand comes down on my chest. “All I care about is that we’re having another one. Twenty years with you…it’s flown by, and I wouldn’t have our lives any other way.”

“Even if we might have lost Layla?” I allow the fear to escape me.

“We won’t lose her. She had a shock to her system, that’s all. She’s a daddy’s girl, after all. Finding out she wasn’t yours biologically might not have been easy, but she’ll come around.”

I exhale slowly. “You’re sure? Two minutes ago?—”

“Two minutes ago, she scared the shit out of me. But now that I can breathe, I can see it from her side. Dan’s brother comes out of nowhere and spews a bunch of lies. You’re right. We should have told her sooner. For the last twenty years, we didn’t think of him or that she wasn’t your biological daughter because, in every way, that mattered—you are her father. She can’t erase twenty years, and she won’t. We just have to give her time.”

“I hope like hell you’re right.”

Three years later

Matteo

I finish reading the report and hand it to Amy so she can read it as well. Closing my eyes, I shake my head.

“Bratva? That’s like a gangster isn’t it?” Amy whispers.

Nodding, I sigh. “Russian mafia.”

“Maybe he’s not. Just because his father Milos is…maybe he’s not.”

“We can’t let her marry him.” I bite out the words.

Amy wipes the tears trailing down her cheeks. “We have to. If we try to stop her, we’ll lose her again. She goes all these years without talking to us only to invite us to her wedding happening two days after she tells us. I wish like hell we never got the condo in Chicago and let her continue to live in it after she refused to come home.”

“What if she doesn’t know what his father is? What Victor is. She admitted she’s only known him a few months.” I search for a way to protect my daughter.

“I think she knows. I’m positive it’s why she waited until the last minute to invite us to their wedding.”

“So what, we’re just supposed to smile and pretend we don’t know our daughter is marrying into a family of criminals?” I fight the urge to be violent.

Shaking her head, her arms go around me. “Why does this feel like a bad dream? If we don’t support her, we’re going to lose her for good. If we do…”

“I won’t lose her again. These three years without her were hell. All I care about is he protects her and treats her like the treasure she is. Maybe he loves her enough to do that.” I hope like hell he does. “And if he doesn’t, I’ll make him pay.”

My cell phone rings. It’s the hangar. “The jet is ready. It’s time to go to Chicago.”