11: THE PRESENT

LORENZO’S P.O.V. As I left the office, it took everything for me not to go back in there and make good on my threat. If the mayor knew about Leonardo then that meant others did too. I knew without a doubt that people were going to try to get to him to get to me. I cursed. I knew it was only a matter of time before the attacks started so I rushed to the house. Matteo was waiting for me at the door and he opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “Get me the best of your guards, I want them around the boy every second of every day. I want to know when he breathes wrongly and when he moves.” “Of course, but Lorenzo-” “The mayor will be sending his laptop to you. Find out the extent of his misdeeds that are on it and find out what link he tapped. If it is more trouble than it is worth, tell him that he is on his own and send a message to our second option. We need to ensure that whoever becomes mayor is someone on our side. I don’t care if you have to threaten people’s families to do it.” “Lorenzo,” there was an urgency in his voice that had me looking up. “Your father is waiting for you in the office. He is with the underbosses- your uncles.” I knew my father was going to come back but I didn’t expect it to be this soon. I had more important things to do than deal with the wiles of children in the bodies of grown men. Regardless, I knew I couldn’t leave them unattended to for long. They were seated in a perfect semicircle and they were facing my chair. It was supposed to be an intimidation tactic and all I could do was scoff. “Is there a reason for a last-minute visit?” I asked keeping my eyes on my father. He couldn’t stand his brothers, that was for sure. The fact that he had to go out of his way to call them meant that he couldn’t stand the idea of Leonardo being my son even more. “Your uncles and I are concerned, Lorenzo,” father began. “I suppose it is my fault since I allowed the wedding in the first place.” “You didn’t allow anything father, you had no say in the matter.” “The boy cannot be your heir. Even if he is the daughter of that girl, he is not a pure Italian. You have no idea how she raised him. You know nothing about the boy. You can forget about him and marry someone else, someone decent,” Uncle Felix began and the others hummed in agreement. “You can have new heirs with a good woman. What use is the bastard son of a whore-” In a second, I had my gun out and I shot the wall close to his head. Everyone froze and no one even dared to breathe. Three pairs of wide eyes watched me as I placed my smoking gun back in its holster. “Call him a bastard or call her a whore again, I dare you, uncle,” he couldn’t meet my eyes. “I have entertained this long enough. Get out of my house, now.” They wasted no time in filing out. My uncles had always been spineless. Left to me, they wouldn’t even have territories but there were some traditions that I couldn’t be bothered about overturning. It was a well-known fact that they were cowards but their men were loyal and that was more than enough for me. Once they had left, I turned to father. “Whatever this is, I need it to stop.” “I just don’t want you to make a mistake. You are blinded by what you feel for that woman. He might not be your son.” “Do you want me to do a DNA test?” “Yes. It will prove what I am saying. That boy is not yours.” “I will think about it. If that is what you wanted to talk about, you can end this conversation now before someone ends up pissing me off.” There was silence for a second. I thought the conversation was over but the door opened and Leonardo walked in with a guard behind him. “Thank you for bringing him,” father said and I felt red-hot fury climb up my chest. If Leonardo wasn’t standing there, I would have shot the guard instead, I turned to him. “Get out. You have one hour to leave my town.” He looked shocked but he knew better than to argue with me- everyone did except my father who seemed determined to piss me off. The guard left leaving Leonardo standing awkwardly in the center of the room. I gestured for him to make his way over to me and he did. He practically ran towards me and I made him sit on my chair. Father frowned at the action but I kept my face impassive. It was a sign and father knew it. Whether they liked it or not, I had accepted him as my son and there was nothing they could do about it. Leonardo sat there looking uncomfortable. He was fiddling with his fingers and then he grabbed onto my hands. I nearly jumped when he did it but then he smiled up at me softly. I wanted to pull away but another part of me wanted to offer him that comfort. I wasn’t used to having such warring emotions inside of me. I felt father’s eyes on me and they were almost accusing. When he opened his mouth, he spoke in Spanish. “Look at how soft he is. Is that who you want to make your heir? He will ruin our family.” I was grateful that he didn’t speak in English, at least Leonardo didn’t understand what was said. Regardless, I hated the fact that he said it at all. It had been a long time since someone had tried to stand against my decision. Most people were smarter than that but father had a longer leash because he was family but sometimes, even he needed to be put in line. “This conversation is over. You need to leave father, now, or I will not be responsible for what happens.” I could tell he wanted to complain but he must have seen in my eyes that I was not joking because he nodded. “Just be careful Lorenzo,” he paused before continuing in Spanish. “Our enemies have wind of him. You need to decide if that boy is worth going to war over.” I watched as he walked towards the door. His hand had barely touched the doorknob before I heard the loud bang.