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I want to say something. To say that even despite my recent revelation about his daughter, she remains the only one I truly ever loved. I want to say that I’ve wanted her since the first day I laid eyes on her. Instead, I just say, “If there’s anything I know, it’s that I truly love your daughter.”
“I can see that.” He eyes my face, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. “It’s written in your expression now. But if you truly love her, then you’ll let her go. We both know your kind of life isn’t suited for her.”
It looks like he wants to say more but he breathes and leans against his chair. “I still owe you a big one, Son. I will cover your tracks in the force and make sure your connection to the mafia is buried deeply.”
This would have been news for me if it had come at the right time, but right now...Losing Aria, whether it’s because of her father’s demand or her betrayal, if it’s true, doesn’t even compare to the cops on my tail.
“Thank you,” I say through a clenched jaw.
He smiles and gives my fist a light tap. “I’m glad you understand. I’m not against you, Donatelli. I’m just against the irony of the situation.”
***
Tightly gripping the steering wheel, my legs furiously press against the accelerator as I drive to my ruin. I’m furious that this can’t play out any other way. I’m furious that I have to do this even though it’s not what I want.
After swerving through traffic, I finally reach her campus. My fingers curl into fists as I mentally prepare myself for what I’m going to say to Aria.
My fingers tune the car stereo for some distraction, anything to clear my head so I can think straight when I speak with her, and that’s when I hear it.
“8-figure business mogul and CEO of Comfort Hotels has reportedly passed away from a brief illness...”
My heart swells with joy at the realization that, once again, I went into a tough battle and won.
Cortez and I had to pull many strings so that our surgeon could replace the one assigned to operate on Winston that day.Coincidentally,all the nurses available to assist in the surgery that day were amateurs, too.
R.I.P. Winston, the world misses you…not.
A sudden vibration jolts me back to the moment, and my hand instinctively reaches for my phone. It’s Cortez.
“What is it?” I bark into the mouthpiece.
“Capo, it’s all over the news. Marcus Winston is dead.”
A sigh of relief escapes my lips. “Good. How is Stella?”
“She says she’s leaving the country as soon as she’s done mourning. She sent me proof of having logged into her husband’s cloud account and having all copies of the footage deleted permanently.”
As he says it, I realize Cortez is more than my second-in-command, he’s almost my soulmate. “You should take the day off today, maybe spend a little time with your pretty girlfriend.” Cortez chuckles just as the line clicks dead.
For a moment, I just sit there watching students pass and processing the news that Marcus is dead until I summon the will to pick up my phone and dial her number.
“Aria…” I trail.
“Oh my God, Elio, are you okay? You’ve been unreachable. You had me worried−”
“I’m outside your campus. I need to see you.”
“Oh…” her smooth voice goes lower. “I’ll be out in a moment.” I’m thankful she doesn’t ask more questions.
I drop the phone into the armrest and dig a hand through my hair. She betrayed me...that’s enough reason to let her go...
A knock cuts me off and when I turn to the window, I see her looking as beautiful as ever. She’s wearing a flared sleeveless yellow gown. My heart breaks into pieces at her unsuspecting face before I open the door to let her into the passenger seat.
“Elio,” she greets me with a bright smile, but I watch it fade when her brows furrow. “What’s wrong?”
Releasing a deep breath, I shut my eyes. “You ratted me out...to the goddamn media.” My voice is cold and emotionless.
There’s silence for a moment as she stares at me. Then she speaks, her voice breaking. “No, Elio. I didn’t...”