Page 69 of Tragic Empire

“Take us through the events of today, Ana,” Dad requests, hands interlocked on top of the oak wood. “Don’t spare any details.”

Squeezing my hand to steady herself, Ana takes a deep breath and begins. She explains about meeting her old acquaintances, even giving notes about who the girls are and what their families do. She mentions the small talk, the donation made to the orphanage, sharing pictures of Sirius and more.

“And then Morgan opened her bitch mouth and said something she could never take back,” Ana mutters darkly.

“What did she say?” Apollo asks, pinning his deep gaze on Ana. I try to give him a warning glare, but he doesn’t spare me a glance.

Ana’s hand shakes and she flexes her fingers around my knuckles. “She made comments about Cassio being a widow. That I probably have him eating out of my hand by showing him any affection. And—” She stops, swallowing hard and flicking her eyes sideways to look at me.

“It’s okay,” I assure her, keeping my tone steady. “You can tell us.”

My wife nods and turns back to Dad and Apollo.

“She said that Isobel couldn’t do the one thing women were designed to do, and that if everything was in working order for me, Cassio and I would be fine.”

The echoed words of a dead girl don’t faze me, but something else does. The realization that Ana didn’t just kill a woman for insulting her or me or our relationship. She killed her for speaking ill of my deceased wife. Of mychildwho only lived for minutes after his birth.

And it’s now, with full clarity that I understand Ana Moretti isn’t just my wife. I don’t just care for her. Iloveher.

* * *

Ana

Just relaying those hideous words makes my stomach churn. A hot tear begins to roll down my cheek, falling into my lap as my eyes drop. A crack of silence follows my story, and I don’t dare look up from my hands, staring down at them folded in my lap.

“I couldn’t let her get away with that,” I add in a rasp.

I didn’t know Isobel, but no one deserves to be spoken about in such a way. Especially not someone who matters so much to this family. Someone who they all lost tragically. Someone who Cassio…

I needed her to never be able to say another word again.

“Good,” Dante finally says, the word like a declaration of law. “That’s certainly worth the sizable check I had to cut to the governor.”

I blink, looking up at him in surprise. “You already handled it? Even before I explained…?”

The man smiles softly, blue eyes crinkling at the sides. “I take Moretti Blood Marriages very seriously, Ana. You became my daughter the day you said your vows to my son, and spilled your blood for him.”

My heart gives a funny beat.

“I didn’t expect that you would fill the role so quickly nor so perfectly but I’m glad to see that you have.”

“Thank you, Dad,” Cassio says, noticing my stunned silence.

“Apollo would like a word with you, Ana,” Dante tells him, his thick Italian accent lightening up with his soft tone. “If that’s all right.”

“Why?” Cassio demands, tensing by my side.

“It’s okay,” I tell him, patting his hand. “You know I’ll be fine. He’s your brother, darling.”

“Come on, Son,” Dante encourages, standing up to head for the door. “Share a drink with me before I have to go.”

“Do anything to upset her, and I’ll kick your ass.”

Dante chuckles at Cassio’s threat, but Apollo merely rolls his eyes.

“You could try.”

“Armani would join me,” my husband promises. Pressing a kiss to the top of my head, he follows his father from the room, allowing the door to shut behind him.