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Chapter Twenty-Three

The envelope feels heavier in my hand all of a sudden.

I set it down on my desk and sit down, staring at it. Emelia's words echo in the empty room.

I thought money was at the root of this whole scheme of hers. I know that her father tries his best, but they definitely don't have the highest net worth. So why would she choose to leave the money behind?

I hear the door open and see Grazia walk in. She's also done a brilliant job of pretending for the Mexicans, and I can see in her face that she's tired after the recent drama.

I'm so grateful that she and Emelia could put aside their fight for the weekend, and that neither of them tried to confront the other. I worried when they ended up seated right next to each other for dinner, but they were cool and collected.

"How are you doing?" she asks. I shrug in response.

I honestly have no idea how I'm doing right now. Then she spots the envelope with Emelia's name on it, picks it up and looks inside. She whistles when she see just how much cash is in there.

"Emelia left this behind?" she asks. She puts the envelope back down.

"She did, but it was on purpose," I say. I'm still surprised at how things went down just a few minutes ago, and I know I sound dazed. I barely slept last night, what with Emelia and the baby right next door.

"Are you paying for an abortion?" Grazia asks carefully, clearly unsure of the full situation, and not wanting to step on any toes. But her comment takes me by surprise.

"No! God, Grazia. I offered her money in return for coming here to handle the Mexicans. I told you and Enzo, they still think that we're together and I needed to keep up the pretense."

I haven't even thought about the possibility of Emelia thinking about an abortion. I can't see her wanting to give up the baby, but I'm not sure I want her to, either.

"Oh." Grazia seems to understand a bit better now. "Sorry. So, why didn't you give it to her, then? I saw her coming out of here."

"I did give it to her." I sigh. "But she told me that she doesn't want it. She said she's in love with me and she did this for me, for the family." Saying the words out loud doesn't do much to help me understand them any better.

Could Emelia really be in love with me? I know that I was falling in love with her, but that was before I heard about her and her father scheming to join our family for all the wrong reasons.

"Do you believe her?" Grazia asks me the million-dollar question. And I look up at her, searching her face for how she feels about this whole situation.

"Do you believe her?" I ask.

"You've been friends with her for a long time, and you two seem to know each other inside and out. I know it's probably unfair of me to ask this, after we lied to you, but do you think she's being genuine?" I still feel terrible for the way I treated my sister, even after the fight when she confronted me. She deserves better, and I'm glad we can talk now.

Grazia thinks for a moment. "It is a bit unfair. You were both shitty for doing that. But, yeah I think she's being honest. I believe her." Grazia sits down on the other side of the desk and picks up the pen Nonna gave me for my twenty-first birthday. It has my name engraved on it.

"Emelia has had a crush on you forever. At first, I thought it was just because all the girls had a crush on you." She rolls her eyes and I laugh softly.

Grazia was forever chasing away the girls who thought they were my next true love. I hardly ever encouraged these girls, but every now and then I was guilty of accepting what they were offering (mostly just sex), which caused them to become a little obsessed at times.

"But now…after Nonna, and this deal, and your baby…" She sighs, resigning herself to this new reality that is about to be her life. "She probably does love you, Luca, and I'd bet she has for a while."

"But what about what you heard her and her father talking about?"

"Well, she's also always wanted to please her father. So, yeah, having a Baldini baby would probably make her father love her a little more—or that's what she'd be thinking. But I don't think it's all about that anymore."

I purse my lips and rub a finger over my temple, trying to sort out the contradictory ideas mulling around my brain.

"Do you love her?" Grazia asks, making a gagging sound right after that makes me laugh.

"I…uhm, I might. Is that okay?" I smile at her and tilt my head. She may be grossed out by this thought, but I have no doubt that my sister would put my happiness above her feelings of betrayal. It's one of the things I admire about Grazia and the way she lives her life.

"Mmm, it's not ideal. But maybe it's not the end of the world." She winks at me.

"Look, Nonna and Em did get really close, and I was super grateful that she was here to help with things, especially as Nonna got worse. It was hard to see Nonna like that, but Emelia brought some sunshine into the house. And we would often have movie nights, where Nonna would make us promise a bunch of things for the future. One of those things was that we make sure you don't hole yourself up in this office, alone forever. And Emelia gave Nonna an extravagant plan of exactly how she was going to make sure you got out once a week."

Grazia laughs, remembering the moment. "Nonna was pretty happy after that, fully believing you were being left in good hands."

Every time I think about Nonna and Emelia, my feelings get even more confused. There was no one whose opinions I respected more than my grandmother's so why would she have trusted Emelia if she truly was someone who was just trying to manipulate us all? There was no way she would have been able to con Nonna.

"I just can't be sure that all of that wasn't just pretending, though," I say, tapping the envelope in front of me. "Look at how good she was at acting like my girlfriend last night." Emelia's acting seemed too good sometimes.

"It could have been part of a grand plan. But, Luca, Em isn't that good of an actress. And I think she has a bunch of flaws, but she's not a terrible person. I never would have been friends with her if she was."

Grazia's defense of her friend is not unlike her. She's a fiercely loyal person, but I am surprised at her thoughts after the huge fight that she and Emelia had.

I nod, about to agree with her, but my phone ringing interrupts our conversation. "Sorry, I have to take this."

Grazia gives me thumbs up and leaves the office.

***

"Sonny, give me good news, my main man!" I answer my cell phone as I'm entering the mansion for the first time in a week.

I've spent most nights at my apartment, alone, since it's closer to the warehouse and I could get more work done and meet with my distributors.

I also haven't wanted to be too close to where Emelia might be lurking. I need to clear my head before I see her again, and I didn't want to have any distractions taking me away from the deal.

Once I have the drugs stateside, I'll have more time to think about the other things going on in my life.

"Boss, we got it! The shipment came in late last night. It's in the warehouse, but we've already sent out the pre-approved orders and payments are all made." This wasn't just good news, this was great news.

A smooth delivery was all we were hoping for. Now the product will basically sell itself.

"That's good to hear. Keep me updated, but I will need to make payment over to the Mexicans so I might be away for a couple of days." I've promised Carlos that I will deliver his money in person, and this time I'll be going back to his home in Mexico.

"All right, will do, boss."

I put the phone down and bump into Enzo coming out of the office.

"You're smiling." He says it like he's surprised, but he probably is. I save my smiles for good days, like this one.

"I am. My big shipment came in. It's safe in the warehouse, and we have our first lot out on the streets already. Now I just need to take payment to Mexico." I brag to him, hoping he sees that this has all been my work.

"Well done, Brother." He slaps my shoulder and his phone rings. "Don?" He answers.

I watch him listen to the person on the other end of the call. It"s one of his guys, and from the look on his face, he's not getting any good news.

"Shit," is all he says when he finally does reply. He listens a bit longer and then gives instructions. "Get everyone back to base, and send a message to the chief of police about what's happened. He got his payment yesterday, and he needs to do his job today." Enzo's business voice is always so much more serious than his usual voice, and I wonder if my tone changes as well in moments like these.

"What happened?" I ask as he puts the phone down. Something is clearly wrong, that"s obvious, and my good mood is almost immediately dampened.

"Another hit. They got into the club this time, and took off Tim's left hand. This has to be a rival family trying to fuck with us. I'd put your guys on high alert too," Enzo answers, already walking towards the door to leave.

"I will. Be careful!" I shout after him.

"You too!" he says, then stops at the door. "Luca, ask Grazia to stay home for the next week or so. Let her know what's happened but don't go too far in detail. I'll bring Loridana and the kids here while you're in Mexico."

I nod at him as he leaves and go to find Grazia and fill her in on what Enzo has said. She's never been one to fight when we ask her to do something for her own safety, and this time is no different.

Grazia agrees to stay at home, and take a driver and guard with her if she does need to go out. Thankfully, we've set up this house with everything she loves the most.

"Also," I say before I leave. "I have to go back to Mexico one last time. I promised Carlos that I would take his money to him personally. But they are going to expect Emelia to be with me. So, I will need to ask her to accompany me. I still haven't made any decisions, but this is important to finish off the deal." If I have learned anything in the last few weeks, it's that I need to be more honest with my sister.

"That makes sense, Luc, I understand. Maybe you two can talk while you're away, too," Grazia says, an honest look on her face. I can't believe that after we lied to her, she's willing to try to help the situation.

"Maybe. Just make sure you're being careful here, okay." I shrug, leaving her to go and finalize my travel details.

After sorting out the jet and letting Carlos know I'd be coming, I pick up the phone and dial Emelia's number. I'm not thrilled at having to make this call, but I know it'll be the last time we have to smile at each other and use fake pet names for the sake of securing this deal.

"Hello?" she answers quickly.

"Emelia, it's Luca." She knows this already, I'm calling from my cell, but for some reason I'm nervous to call her.

"I need a favor. Final one, I promise. I have to go to Mexico to drop off payment and Carlos expects you to be with me."

"Oh," she says, and I can't tell if it's a good or bad "Oh".

"After this, you won't have to do this anymore. Once this payment is made all of our pretending can end."

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