Chapter 20

“They’re pulling in now.”

Gabriella looked over her shoulder toward Matthew, who was standing just to the right of her father’s office chair. He was wearing a suit, looking clean and refreshed and not like he had spent the past week fucking her brains out. She could still smell herself all over him, their pheromones now very much entwined, but the stink of sex had vanished.

Amazing how a full night’s rest, a long shower, and clean clothes could wash away so much.

She was cleaned up as well, wearing one of her nicer dresses, with her makeup looking flawless and her hair twisted up. She had done that intentionally, wanting her unbroken gland on full display for her father.

As soon as he entered the room, he would know, of course, that something had happened to Petyr. Apparently, he had been waiting on the idiot’s phone call for confirmation that she was mated. A phone call he wouldn’t be receiving, given that Petyr was still lying in a cell, crying and stroking his own cock, begging for her to come back to him.

Now that she had her senses about her, she loathed the thought of her father. The fact that he could leave her, for years, unaware of her true nature... It was disgusting! Every time she had mentioned a sore throat that never turned into a cough, she now knew it was her glands aching to reveal themselves. Every time her body had changed, they’d up her dosage. He had kept her suppressed for years, planning on her finding out when she was being sexually assaulted by an Alpha, assuming she would be unable to say no.

How little her father knew about Alphas and Omegas despite years of research. How little her father knew her despite raising her by himself.

At least she had Matthew, the only person she could truly trust. He was her strength, as he stood at her side, his hand resting on the back of the chair.

He hadn’t touched her since leaving the apartment save to squeeze her hand in front of Alpha enforcers. She wanted to reach for him, to draw on his strength as she faced her father, but she would play one card at a time.

And she was curious to see what her father would do, when he realized his plans were falling apart. What he would do when she informed him of just how little control he had over his empire.

She longed for the apartment and their nest and the safety of Matthew’s arms. With his Alpha strength surrounding her, she had the confidence to do anything, to take on and take down anyone. But as she sat in her father’s chair, she felt more like a scared little girl than she ever had before.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” Matthew told her, his hand touching her shoulder.

There was no point in whispering it into her ear, given the other Alphas in the room and those standing guard in the hallway would all hear him. Still, she missed the intimacy of his closeness and turned her head to rub her cheek against his hand.

“And stop thinking like that,” Matthew teased with a chuckle. “Remember, we all know when you’re thinking that way.”

“Touch me like that again and they’ll be able to smell me before they enter the house.” Gabriella rolled her eyes. “At least they have the sense not to point it out.”

Alessandro cleared his throat, and she glanced over toward the Alpha and smiled.

Matthew had told the truth when he informed her that the Alphas would all stand behind her. She hadn’t doubted him or them, but she had still feared her unmarked status as an Omega would prove a test. The suppressant had to be strong, however, because other than some shifting in the room when she had entered and a couple sideways glances, no one had said anything.

Of course, Matthew had also informed them of his struggles to stay knotted before anyone could ask. That had been the true attention grabber until he had mentioned another injection that could clear the chemical from their bodies. That had settled the Alphas until she had asked them if they would stand beside her and shift their loyalty away from her father.

The question, apparently, was insulting.

Their loyalty was to Gabriella, the first person to treat them like actual humans rather than weapons. She was an Omega taking a stand against the Betas using them for their own ends. She was mated —or as good as—to their fearless leader, Matthew, who had led them, taught them, trained them, helped them come to terms with their new reality, taking the brunt of every attack, and always stood up for them.

They were her men, her Alphas, her enforcers. And with her making the decisions and taking charge, they would gladly follow, burning the city to the ground if need be.

Their support and confidence in her had washed away her self-doubt regarding whether taking a stand against her father was even possible.

Yet questions needed answers, and paths needed to be laid. Would they even be able to survive off the suppressants if they stopped taking them? Would they be able to return to normal lives? Was there even more of the injection Petyr had? Could she promise them a life outside of these walls?

She would have to figure out a new future for all of them, but their loyalty would be rewarded.

First, however, she had to make certain her own Alpha was taken care of.

There was so much to worry about and handle...

Petyr could remain in his cell until she had time to handle him, but his uncle and her own were on their way. While they had chosen her over her father, both men would want to have a position within her new inner circle. They both harbored secrets and answers she needed. If she was lucky, the two would arrive before she had to make her crucial decision. Their reactions would confirm or expose their true loyalties.

Everything was in action now, ever since her father had left dinner. Alpha teams not on assignment had been sent out to place all families in the inner circle under house arrest. She wanted no communications between anyone who could stand against her until after she had her father handled. Of course, they wouldn’t know they were in trouble—the Alphas were there for protection, as they would be informed something had happened. Her father wanted people locked down. No phones, no calls to the outside world, no way to communicate. A mole was in their midst, and her father was, of course, handling it.

For too long, her father had trusted the Alphas’ loyalties to be absolute and had instilled the same confidence with his inner circle. She would take advantage until she would her new order was in place.

With Marco, her Uncle Toto, and Matthew by her side, and her father no longer part of the equation, the inner circle would have no choice but to fall in line with everyone else. They would accept her as the new head of the family. It was either that, or they would be removed from it altogether.

Perhaps then she could fix her father’s mess, like members of the family stealing from her father. and Alphas outside of the enforcers receiving injections.

How far that went, she had no idea. She wanted to learn what the doctors and scientists were doing to them and what they had given to her father.

And, for fuck’s sake, she wanted to see a real fucking expense reports and if her father had even paid his fucking taxes...

With so much to handle, she couldn’t forget Petyr in the cell because Matthew was dying to get his hands on the man. Gabriella needed to bring her new friends to the table as well, and it was all...

“It’s going to be okay,” Matthew insisted, squeezing her shoulder. “One day at a time. The city doesn’t fall apart when your father sleeps. It will survive while you take over. One day at a time. Antorelli knows everyone. So long as he’s still with us and your uncle hasn’t killed him, he’ll help you sort this mess. Worry only about handling your father. He’s your first priority.”

Right. Her father. Handle her father.

She had never answered Matthew’s question about whether she wanted Matthew to shoot him. Deep down, she knew the only way to take her father off the board was to remove him from the game entirely. However, even after the betrayal and after the secrets and the lies... Even after he instructed Petyr to take her, she was struggling to accept what had to be done.

So long as her father was alive, he would be a threat to her and to her mate. That alone, the risk to Matthew’s life, was what had her not speaking against it. Still, when the time came... Would she stop Matthew, or would she fire the gun herself?

The front door opened, and Gabriella took a deep breath as she straightened her spine.

The Alphas with her father were all loyal to her and had been specifically chosen by Matthew to escort him to dinner. Her father would have no idea anything was about to happen as he entered the house with no one to protect him. In his eyes, everyone was faithful to him. He would have no cause for concern.

That was all about to change.

Renaldo Santorini, head of the Santorini Crime Family, entered his office, and froze.

Gabriella stared at him, face blank, as he looked from her to Matthew over to Alessandro and then down to her.

Never before had she sat in his chair save for when she was a little girl and had sat on his lap. Once she became aware of what his orders truly meant, he had told her about how his chair at the head of the table and behind the desk was a place of power. Others would be forced to stand in his office and look at him as a sign of respect.

She watched as her father, who was still staring at her, patted his pants pocket, searching for a phone he would not find. It was good to have a former thief as one of her enforcers. His hand then moved to press against his side, where he kept his concealed weapon. He rarely acknowledged it. He had to have been on edge to be touching it for comfort.

Good.

Because someone who was nervous was quick to anger, and someone who was quick to anger would slip up.

However, she would have answers before weapons were drawn.

“Good evening, Father,” Gabriella said, not rising from the chair, as she would otherwise be instructed to do. Another sign of respect she wouldn’t grant him. “I would invite you to sit down, but there’s only one chair and I do not intend on moving.”

The pheromones in the room were so thick Gabriella knew even a congested Beta would be able to smell them. It would send a Beta into panic. Easily. For Gabriella, however, only their presence could comfort her and alert her by way of their scents. She was safe so long as the Alphas were around her, a threatening presence ready to strike at any moment.

And her father knew that.

“Gabriella, my dear, I was not expecting you nor was this the company I expected to be with you. It seems something has happened but—”

“Be quiet,” Matthew said.

Gabriella wished he hadn’t said anything because she was curious to hear what her fumbling father had to say. But to hear Matthew speak up? To hear her stoic, quiet, formerly loyal-to-her-father Alpha tell him to be quiet?

Her hormones were going to smell stronger than the Alpha’s.

Her father, however, was neither amused nor curious as he looked to her Alpha. His shoulders rose as if ready to snap an order.

Matthew was no longer his to command, and the sooner he realized that, the better. It would be a mercy to her father to save him from Matthew’s wrath.

Her father grinned at Matthew and offered him his hand. “Matty, my boy, where have you been this week? I send for you but they say you are not well? I don’t like to hear of it. We should have you sit down with the doctors and... and...” Her father suddenly dropped his hand.

Gabriella glanced at Matthew.

His face gave way to just how angry he was. If they weren’t careful, she wouldn’t be getting any answers at all, nor would it be her decision in the end.

“You should know that Petyr is still alive and being kept in the very same cell he locked me in,” Gabriella stated, pulling her father’s attention back to her. “I wouldn’t be expecting a phone call from him any time soon.”

“Petyr, in a cell? What do you mean?” her father asked, sounding confused. “Why was he keeping you in a cell?”

“After I turned him down.” She lifted her chin. “I also shot him with his own gun, by the way. You shouldn’t have doubted my ability to handle a weapon. I’m your daughter. I knew what path my future held, even if you doubted it.”

“I have never doubted you—”

“You promised me no more lies and look at how that turned out. So, cut the bullshit. You have always doubted me. I assumed it was because I was a woman but that’s not the truth, now is it?”

Gabriella nodded at Alessandro. “If he lies again, shoot him.”

Alessandro raised an eyebrow while her father sputtered and Matthew grunted beside her.

She rolled her eyes. “Not kill him, please. I still need answers. The leg should suffice.”

Her father glared at her. “Gabriella—”

“I already know that you lied about Matthew’s team getting attacked. I also know the truth about Delgado and the Marinos. You told me yourself that you had no intention of allowing me any real power and that you regretted giving me any freedom. You have underestimated me every step of the way and every step I took forward, you tried to yank me back. So, I would think very carefully about what you say next.”

She didn’t know everything, not yet, not until after she sat down with Marco Antorelli, but he didn’t need to know that.

Her father was silent, for the first time in a long time.

Good. It was about time he started taking her seriously.

“Where should we begin, Papa? What lie should we start with? About my future as the head of the family? About who our enemies are? About letting me choose my husband? Or perhaps we should talk about you lying about the doctors’ visits and why you wouldn’t let me see a doctor of my choosing? Or maybe we should talk about my health and my heart issues? Oh yes, let’s start there. Let’s talk all about my issues .”

The word hung in the air as she stared her father down, waiting for him to speak. All of the lies he had told her over the years came back to that issue, to the issue of her heart . To the fact that he had kept her true designation a secret from her. To the fact that she was an Omega and that he had suppressed that part of her for years.

“This is your chance to be honest with me, Father.”

He shook his head before crossing the small room.

Matthew had shifted beside her, and she imagined he had reached for his gun, but she knew he wouldn’t pull it out. Not yet. Hopefully, not yet.

“Everything I have ever done was to protect you, from the beginning, always,” her father insisted. “Everything I have ever done was out of love for you and for this family.”

Alessandro didn’t move, so she had to imagine it was the truth.

That hurt, to think her father thought his actions had protected her. More proof her father didn’t know her.

“I held up my end of the bargain. Every step of the way. I went to university to learn business and numbers. I studied beside you and followed you to meetings. I stayed silent and tried to learn. And I went beyond that too. I tried to learn your business and how to protect myself and attempted to make connections with those you have long overlooked. I kept up my end, including an Alpha husband.”

Matthew’s hand moved to her shoulder, and she looked up at him.

His face turned down to look at her, and she smiled up at him.

She hadn’t used that word yet, husband , when talking to Matthew since realizing she was an Omega. Always her mate and Alpha, but this was the first time she had laid out her intentions to take him.

“Matty—oh. You’ve chosen Matty as your husband? That was... He’s like a son to me, so of course, this is a happy day.”

Her father was floundering, trying to take back control of the situation.

It wouldn’t work.

“Matthew. His name is Matthew, Father, save to his teammates, and how interesting, that you love your children so much that you leave them weak and struggling against their own nature. Suppressing an Alpha from being able to be with their mate? Suppressing me from becoming an Omega? Because oh yes, father, I am fully aware of what these glands on my neck are. You’ll find them unbroken, thanks to you, and the medication.”

His mouth opened to respond, but no words came out. He was floundering.

“And my mother? You lied about her as well, of course. About what killed her. An Omega begging for relief from an Alpha? From her Alpha? An Alpha killed on your orders?”

“It was her heart—”

“Yes, perhaps it was her heart, shattered and broken. After what you did to her, leaving her trapped, trying to force another child on her after she failed to give you an Alpha the first time around. Maybe it truly was her heart in the end, but that wasn’t the entire story.”

Renaldo Santorini stared back at her, his mouth open. Out of excuses, he had no way to squeeze his way out of this hole.

Yet she was willing to give him a few more seconds before she finished with him.

Matthew tapped her twice on the shoulder, a signal of something arriving. She would have to assume it was her uncle and Marco Antorelli.

She tipped a tiny nod.

“What I did for you was out of concern, Gabriella. She was weak, unable to function without an Alpha. You were so small and so young, just like any child. There was no reason you couldn’t be raised in that way. The medication, it was only to allow you to grow strong, to not have to rely on your baser needs. It should have kept you stable. Normal.”

“There is nothing abnormal about being an Omega, father. It is who I am; what I was always meant to be. I am not weak because of my nature. In fact, I would consider myself stronger. I can draw on the strength of my Alpha, and he is stronger in his protection of me.”

“No, you are weak and submissive and—”

“And if I told Matthew to shoot himself in the head for my pleasure, he would do so without question because it is what I, his Omega, desire. I am far from submissive, father but I can be vulnerable with him. And weak? You mean, weaker than an Alpha? Ask Petyr about that, if I choose to place you in the same cell as him. I shot him with his own gun. Don’t you dare call me weak.”

Her father took a sharp breath at the mention of a cell, and he shook his head, staring her down. “So, you will imprison me, then? Keep me hostage? And what will the family say? What will they think when they hear my daughter has seized control? I won’t hand it over peacefully and you can consider my approval gone if you continue with this little tantrum of yours.”

“It doesn’t matter what your inner circle thinks because there is a need for new blood in power but I think you will find some members of your most trusted council have already chosen a side. My side.”

Almost as if on cue, Toronto Bertino and Marco Antorelli entered the room, looking calm and casual, as if seeing Gabriella sitting at her father’s desk was the most normal thing in the world.

Gabriella rose so they could show her respect. She stepped in front of Alessandro just before they both nodded their heads, and she hugged both men and gave them a kiss on their cheeks.

“You are looking far better than the last time I saw you,” Marco mumbled. “And congratulations are in order, I think.”

They were going to need to have a large conversation when her father was no longer in the room. For the moment, she appreciated how normal he was making the situation feel.

“Another time, Marco. Matthew and I will have you over for dinner later this week, once things have settled.”

“Of course, of course. Business first, always. You can’t eat on an unsettled stomach.”

She would, in time, enjoy working with him.

“Uncle,” Gabriella said as she greeted her beloved Uncle Toto. “Please, forgive me for not heeding your advice sooner.”

Ever since Matthew had told her of the desperate phone calls, she had been worried for her uncle. She was pleased yet concerned when she found out that her uncle was with her father’s right hand, but it seemed the two had settled their differences, at least for appearance’s sake.

“All is forgiven, Gabriella. You are looking well but I shall still need to have a talk with your Alpha, man to man.”

The talk was the sort of thing her father should have done once she made her choice. Something he would never have a chance to do.

Gabriella stepped back around the desk and took her seat once more, only looking toward her father once she was settled.

His eyes were wide and his mouth agape as he stared at the two men.

Their presence had done something she could have only once dreamed of—they had shocked him to silence.

“You see, Papa, in this organization, there is nothing more important than family. That is something you have told me time and again over the years, that family is always most important, which is why Uncle Toto has always remained loyal and why you allowed Petyr’s odious presence. It’s why geriatrics were still allowed a say in the future knowing they would not live it through, all for the sake of providing better for their children and their children’s children. Family is what we hold most dear and what we must protect first and foremost. Any insult against family is an insult we cannot tolerate, correct? Family always first. It seems you forgot that.”

Her father seemed to finally find his tongue as he turned to look at her and slammed his fist on the desk. Gabriella didn’t budge. “I never once forgot that. Everything I did was for your benefit. For your good. For your future.”

“Keeping me drugged was for my benefit? Lying to me about my mother? Lying to me about my own nature?”

“You were weak and vulnerable! You were a danger to yourself! More than once, you wandered these halls in a trance, following your desires! I did it to keep you safe!”

Matthew stiffened behind her, and Gabriella knew in that moment it was the that seemed more a memory. So, it had been real.

They would talk about it later.

“You did it to keep yourself in power, promising my hand and your seat to the Alpha you chose to throw me at once the medication no longer worked and you chose the worst of the group. You barely allowed me any freedom, any education, any choice. You have kept Alphas who have never once budged in their loyalty hostage for years. You have allowed idiots to control your businesses, unable to keep up with the modern age. You have ignored the advice of others time and again and lied when pushed about what you wanted. Nothing you have done has benefited me or the family, only yourself. I have much to learn but that is not because of my weakness, but yours. Your time has come to an end, Papa, and you are the only one who does not see it.”

With every word, anger rose in her father’s face. His brows were furrowed, his cheeks turning red, and he was grinding his teeth as he glared at her.

His next words could only yield the truth.

“You were meant to be an Alpha,” he hissed, gripping the desk. “I should have had a son and heir. That was the point of having a bitch Omega wife, and she wouldn’t even try again because of that fucking Alpha she found after you. She had one fucking job, to give me an heir every other person would fear but gave me a weakling and died because she couldn’t handle the task at hand.”

“You played at being God and damned yourself in the process, father. There is no forgiving this. There is no way forward where you maintain any control.”

Her words were calm, although she could feel Matthew bristling beside her.

“No!” His fist slammed on the desk again, and Marco held her uncle back, but she still didn’t flinch. “You’re my daughter, and you will submit to me. You will obey me. You will get out of my chair, beg my forgiveness, and maybe I will let you keep your pet Alpha. But you are done! Done, dammit. You have played boss long enough, but you will—” Face turning white, he took in a gasped, and rose a clenched fist to his chest over his heart.

Gabriella could only watch in horror as she recalled having been warned of this by the doctors in regard to her own health, that overexerting herself would cause her heart problems. Her father had mentioned seeing the same doctor for issues of his own, but she had begun to doubt that over the years.

She didn’t know what to think save that it was not an act. Nothing could temper her father’s rage once he was set off, yet here he was, silencing himself.

“Papa?” she asked, rising from the chair slowly. “Papa, what’s—”

Feeling like a little girl all over again, she watched Matthew rush forward and catch her father before he hit the floor.

Marco and her uncle moved to him, and Alessandro had also gone still, phone in hand, looking at her.

“Shit,” Matthew muttered, pumping chest compressions. “Gabriella, it’s a heart attack. It started racing and then it just stopped.”

A heart attack. Her father was having a heart attack? His heart wasn’t beating?

“Gabriella, this is the moment to decide. Tell me what you want me to do.”

She stared at her father’s pale face, angry and red just minutes before.

“Gabriella. Does Alessandro make the call, or do we let this happen? What do you want me to do?”

She looked at Matthew, who was looking up at her while doing chest compressions, but also not giving him mouth to mouth. At her uncle, standing over her father and looking at her with a blank expression. To Marco, who was clearly upset and telling her father to breathe. And finally, she turned to see Alessandro, phone in his hand but not dialing.

“Gabriella. Omega. Look at me. ” She did as Matthew ordered and looked at him, trying to use him for strength but finding none. “We can let him die here. You can claim you found him like this. Power will pass to you. It’s that simple. But you have to say the words. You have to give the command. You’re the boss now. That means you make hard decisions. Do we call for an ambulance or do we let him die?”

Gabriella peered at her father and took in a deep breath.

She was angry. Furious, even. Unforgivingly furious. She couldn’t let him remain in power if she wanted any sort of freedom, and his death would keep them all safe. If she let him live, he would always be a problem. There would never be a moment of peace for any of them so long as he had a voice.

If he died in this room, though, people would ask questions. Where were his Alphas, and why had they not called for emergency services? Why had he been alone? Where was the security feed? And where had Gabriella been, if not at home, as he had been telling the others within his inner circle while she had been with Matthew?

Could she even let him die like this, in his office, with his heart giving out, rather than dying by her command as punishment for all of the wrongs he had done to her? Dying without a chance to right his wrongs or understand why she had to take a stand? Dying before she could speak her peace and before he had a chance to plea for his life?

It wasn’t the sort of ending she would have planned for him, yet...

The choice was hers. A hard choice. A choice lives depended on and, if she were to make the wrong one, could damn them all.

She knew what she had to do.