Page 24 of Secret Baby for the Mafia Don

On her father's back.

The woman has become a thorn in my side, one I’d like to extract.

I think back to the meeting the other day, recalling the tension in the room after we'd finally removed Gabriella from the meeting.

The other Dons knew something was up.

"What was that about, Antonio?" Dominic had asked, youngest of the council but as sharp and deadly as the rest of us. “I’m having a sense of déjà vu. Another daughter accusing Marco of something.”

I'd watched Antonio straighten his shoulders, summoning the commanding presence that had once come naturally. "My daughter is passionate about our family business. Sometimes overly so."

“You indulge her free spirit too much, Antonio. She needs to learn her place,” Leo Ferraza stated, which was rich coming from him.

Last year, his daughter, Isabella, accused me of killing her mother.

I'd stepped in smoothly. "She’s not our concern.” I redirected the meeting away from Gabriella, and more importantly, away from Antonio and my agreement with him.

But I'm not naive enough to think the matter is closed.

Antonio and I are keeping important information from the rest of La Corona, a betrayal of our vows.

But Antonio isn’t ready to admit his growing mental decline.

Hell, he only admitted it to me when I confronted him.

But it won’t be long before Dominic and Leo notice.

Antonio deserves his dignity, but La Corona functions on absolute trust.

If Dominic and Leo discover the truth, that we've hidden Antonio's condition while making decisions that affect all our families, they’ll see it as the ultimate betrayal.

The deal was I’d help out and keep the secret until Antonio’s son Luca returned to take the reins.

Except Luca shows no desire to return to the United States or to take the reins.

And now with Gabriella stirring the pot, convinced I'm the enemy, this is quickly turning into a shitshow.

I review the intel reports my captains have gathered on Gabriella's movements.

The picture they paint is both impressive and infuriating.

She's managed to integrate herself into Antonio's operation with surprising efficiency, sitting in on meetings, reviewing ledgers, questioning everything.

In our world, women are kept separate from business matters, yet somehow, she's wormed her way in.

My guess is they don’t like it but don’t press it because of Antonio. They know, as we all do, that Gabriella is the apple of Antonio’s eye.

It's sexist to think, but if she were a man, she’d be perfect to pick up the reins of Antonio’s business.

But while Antonio and apparently his men are open to her leadership role, no one else would acknowledge her.

I think of Antonio's failing mind, how his moments of confusion are growing.

Is he aware of Gabriella’s actions? Is he encouraging it?

A new text comes in.She’s asking questions about recent breeches.

She’s getting closer to discovering there's a problem but still fixated on the wrong source.