Page 99 of Bellini Born

“You have to secure the bloodline. Without it, your family’s legacy dies with you.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Allegra and I understood the assignment. She was pregnant with Bianca only a few months after our wedding. But only boys can inherit.”

I bristled. “Well, that’s stupid.”

He huffed out a laugh. “My cousin, Gemma, would agree. While I want my girls to be able to achieve anything they set their minds to, I can understand the tradition to a certain extent. As a father, I would do anything in my power to protect my daughters. And taking a life? It steals a part of your soul. Do it enough times and, eventually, there’s nothing left.”

Brushing a lock of hair away from his forehead, I pressed a kiss to the center of it.

“Since Allegra was young, only twenty when she became a mother, we decided to hold off on trying again. Figured we’d wait and see if Gio and his wife, Rory, managed to conceive.”

Riveted by his story, I asked, “And did they?”

“No.” Matteo shook his head. “Rory disappeared.”

Rearing back, my eyes bulged. “Disappeared?”

“Well, that’s what we told everyone. The reality is that she just left.”

My head cocked to the side. “Left? Like, they got divorced?”

“The only way to divorce a don is through death.”

I cringed. “Great job sugarcoating what to expect.”

He didn’t show a single sign of remorse. “It’s better that you know now.”

“Yep. Got it.”

“To answer your question, Rory ran away, went into hiding. Gio’s been searching for her ever since. That’s what he’s off doing now; it’s why I’ve been left in charge.”

Something Matteo said at the casino came to mind. “Vengeful game of hide and seek, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Why is it vengeful?” I dared to ask.

“Our family is kinda big on settling debts.”

Wryly, I muttered, “I remember.”

“So, in Gio’s mind, Rory owes him an heir. And judging from the way he was talking the last time I saw him, he’s going to stop at nothing until she’s given him one.”

“Th-that’s—that’s—” I sputtered, trying to reconcile that in my mind.

“Psychotic?” Matteo supplied.

Reeling, I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go with that.” While it wasn’t particularly flattering, it was a hell of a lot nicer than any of the words I’d conjured up to describe his brother’s behavior.

“That’s Gio. Being the firstborn, he doesn’t deal with it well when things don’t go his way.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m good if I never get to meet him.”

The smile that stretched across his face reached his eyes. “No offense taken. Honestly, Rory’s been a ghost for three years, and while he might’ve discovered her location, there’s nothing to say she’s not leading him on a wild goose chase. That girl is a lot smarter than he gives her credit for. I think sometimes he forgets he’s dealing with the daughter of an Irish mob boss.”

Yeah, I was totally cool keeping a safe distance from that powder keg set to blow.

“So, anyway, after that, Allegra and I decided to try for a boy. It took a little longer the second time around, but eventuallySerafina was on her way.” With his eyes cast downward, he said, “And then there was the accident.”

“Accident? But I thought . . .” When he’d mentioned that his wife passed around the same time Serafina was born, I automatically assumed the two events were related.