The Don and His Russian Bride

XXVII

"Welcome, dear," Gianna greeted me at the door. Despite the short notice, Armando was able to set up a flight on the private jet back to Genoa and hire a driver to take me to Gianna's house.

"Thank you for letting me stay here."

"Of course!" Gianna led me into the family room where we could sit. "Is everything good between you and my son? Are you two fighting?"

"No, nothing like that. We're still doing great."

Gianna's look darkened. The whole weekend we had spent with her, Luc's line of work was not something we discussed. He once told me his sisters were unaware of what he did for a living. He had wanted to keep them free of that burden. When it came to Gianna, however, he couldn't keep it a secret from his mother. Not when she had experienced the dangerous lifestyle firsthand when she was involved with his father.

"Business always manages to get in the way of things doesn't it?"

I wanted so badly to sink into the couch cushions and cry. If I told her the whole truth, maybe she could provide me the comfort I sought after. I couldn't deny what she already knew was true, but something held me back from sharing everything with her from Luc's gunshot wound to his own family wanting to take him out for a horrible position. She didn't need to carry that burden with her as I did.

"Yes, there's an important deal coming up, but Luc has it under control. He simply didn't want me getting in his way."

In her deep hazel eyes that reminded me so much of Luciano's, there wasn't a shred of disbelief. Her skin was aged, showing she had lived a long life, but it didn't take away from her beauty. It was no surprise Luc turned out so devastatingly handsome after witnessing his mother's charm. She had accepted me into her home and her son's life wholeheartedly. I would have felt guilty holding back the truth from her.

She sighed before confiding in me, though I assumed it wasn't something she did often. "I thought I could avoid him being sentenced to that fate, but then he disappeared one day. When he called me, he said there was a business proposition he couldn't turn down in Sicily. That's when I knew his father's family got their claws into him."

Her tone revealed a deep resentment. Not intending to pry, I hoped to redirect her anger. "How did you meet Luc's father?"

"We met on the beach one day while I was in Sicily for a summer internship. I was still young, fresh out of school. I didn't have any money, but he did. My first thought was that Salvatore Martelli was incredibly handsome. He had more confidence than anyone I had ever met, and I fell for him immediately. He wooed me with expensive gifts and private yacht rides. We spent that whole summer together going on luxurious adventures together. When the summer was coming to a close, I found out I was pregnant. Salvatore was convinced I could stay in Sicily beyond the summer. We would marry and he could take care of the both of us.

"I wanted that life to last forever. We loved each other, but I had to know where the money was coming from. He wasn't much older than I was. When he told me of the crimes that had to take place to obtain that kind of wealth, I left without ever seeing him again. No amount of wealth could be more important than my son's safety. Turns out that life was inevitable for my son anyway."

"I'm sorry. I wish Luciano wasn't involved in it either."

"Maybe you could convince him to leave it behind. Once you two want to start a family of your own. Tell him it isn't safe to raise a baby in that environment," Gianna suggested with a hopeful smile.

"If only it were that simple. He doesn't enjoy that part of his life, but there's only one way to escape it, and neither of us wants to see that happen."