Pietro nodded.

“Then it’s decided,” I said.

“I have to return home now. We can settle the details at a later point.” Danilo glanced at me for confirmation and I gave a terse nod. “Just one more thing. I don’t want word about Samuel’s bond to my sister to get out yet. She doesn’t need to know this was a deal in exchange for Sofia.”

I nodded again. It really didn’t matter when we’d announce it. People would talk anyway.

He turned and stalked out but Samuel rushed after him.

I hoped they wouldn’t get into a fight but I didn’t bother getting involved. Instead, I walked up to Pietro who held onto the edge of the desk. “Ines will be furious.”

“Danilo is a good catch for Sofia.”

Pietro jerked his head up, angry. “He’d be a good catch for Anna too.”

I couldn’t deny it. An Underboss was the best possible match for my daughter at the moment.

“But you couldn’t let her go, could you?” Reproach carried in his voice, and it wasn’t unfounded.

“It makes sense to give Danilo your other daughter when Serafina cancels the engagement.”

“You can turn it whatever way you want. You didn’t want to give up your daughter. That’s all. Instead you force me to give up mine.”

“You agreed to a bond with Danilo years ago, Pietro. That wasn’t my doing. You wanted a bond between him and Serafina.”

Pietro sighed and straightened. “You are right.” He shook his head. “This feels as if I’m betraying Sofia anyway. Danilo isn’t the boy whom I gave Serafina. This ordeal changed him.”

“He’s not a man who’d abuse a woman, no matter how changed he is by what happened.”

“You’re right. But Samuel marrying the Mancini girl? I don’t know. I feel pity for the poor girl but Samuel needs to produce heirs. Can that girl even bear children?”

I didn’t know, but Carla had been infertile as well and I hadn’t loved her less because of it. “There are other options if it’s the case.”

“I hope now that this is settled we can all return to our normal lives. Ines has been suffering so much. She needs a break.”

“Serafina will heal, and with it our family.”

I wished my words had proven right.

A few months later, Serafina told us she was pregnant with Remo’s child and any hope to forget what had happened was crushed forever.

We’d all secretly prayed that Serafina’s twins wouldn’t show any resemblance to their father. It was our only hope at this point, our only chance to give these kids a future in the Outfit.

Ines called me shortly after Serafina gave birth to a son and daughter, Nevio and Greta.

Her breathing was labored, her voice low and desperate. “They look like him.”

I held my breath. “His hair?” I’d seen photos of Remo Falcone, the dark hair and even darker eyes.

“The hair, the eyes, everything. Especially the boy. It’s as if Remo modeled him after himself to torture us.”

“Ines,” I said softly. “These kids don’t ever need to know who their father is.”

She made a choked sound. “They are his spitting image, Val. People will talk. It’s impossible not to know whose kids they are. Heaven have mercy, what are we supposed to do?”

“We can’t do anything but help Fina deal with the situation. How did she take it?” Some rape victims couldn’t bear it if their children resembled their abuser but so far Serafina had recovered surprisingly well. She’d insisted she wasn’t raped. Dante and the others didn’t believe her, blaming it on Stockholm Syndrome. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I had no right to pry unless Fina confided in me.

“She’s completely smitten with them. It’s as if she doesn’t even notice that they look like Falcones.”

“They are her children.”

“I know I shouldn’t say it, but I wish she would have never gotten them,” Ines whispered.

I wasn’t sure if Ines had exaggerated about the similarities but when I saw the twins for the first time two days later, it took effort not to show my shock.

Their hair was pitch black and their eyes impossible dark. They didn’t look like Cavallaros or Miones. They were Falcones, at least by blood, but they’d learn to be part of our family, of the Outfit.

Later that day, I found Fina in the nursery with her twins, bent over their shared crib, a soft smile on her face. She looked up briefly when I entered before she turned her attention back to her kids.

“I know what everyone’s thinking,” she said fiercely. “I’m not blind. You all want them gone.”

I shook my head. “No, that’s not true, Fina. It’s difficult for your family to accept who their father is, that’s all.”

Fina chuckled joylessly. “Why can’t they accept it when I can? Why can’t they see them for what they are? Innocent children.”

I stopped beside her. Nevio and Greta slept close together, their hands touching. They had each other and they’d need their bond to brave the judgment of our world. “It’ll take time.”

“I’ll protect them no matter what it takes.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “You are their mother, of course you will.”

A knock sounded and Dante poked his head in. “Dinner’s ready.” He came in, his gaze striking the children before he focused on Fina. He couldn’t bear looking at them. I hadn’t noticed it before.

“I’ll be down in a bit,” Fina said with a tense smile.

I followed Dante outside and linked our fingers, facing him. “What was that?”

His brows rose. “What?”

“You couldn’t even look at the babies.”

Dante’s mouth tightened. “If you’d come face to face with Remo Falcone, and then looked at Nevio… damn, Val. That boy’s going to look just like that bastard.”

“But he isn’t Remo. He’s Nevio Mione. He’s a part of our family, a part of the Outfit.”

“I’m not sure the boy can ever be part of the Outfit, at least not in a position of importance. My men would never accept him.”

My eyes widened. “Don’t tell Fina. Not yet. She’ll never forgive you if you punish Nevio for his father’s sins.”

“I’m not punishing him, but I have to keep the Outfit in mind. A child of Remo Falcone will cause too much discord. Not to mention that the Falcone blood carries madness.”

I pursed my lips. “I think you let your hate for Remo overrule your logic, Dante. Don’t lose yourself in useless fury.”

He smiled darkly. “Val, whenever I think of Remo, and that is every time I look at Serafina or her children, all I am is pure rage and thirst for revenge. I won’t rest until I get my vengeance.”

I swallowed hard because his eyes showed absolute determination. Nothing I could say would change it. “Don’t allow it to destroy everything we care about.”

“I won’t allow it to destroy anything.”

Months passed and we returned to a tentative routine in Chicago. Dante and his men were diligently working on revenge but Dante kept his promise.