Chapter 570: He Will Spot It

Valentina, he believed but he did not say it.

"Please tell me you didn’t agree to that madness."

"Actually, I did."

"You...You... are you insane? You agreed to give my father thirty million dollars?"

"Would you calm down and let me finish? It will make tracking him easier. I am putting the idea of thirty million in front of him."

"Okay," she said slowly. "Maybe I phrased my question wrong, because it seems you are hell-bent on testing me for the entire duration of my pregnancy. You are not going to hand Vito thirty million, are you?"

"No," Luca said calmly.

"Good... good... so whats your plan?"

"Agreeing to his plan will help me find him easily," Luca said. "Right now, it has been quite hard getting any sort of information because Voss has not breathed a word to anyone. No movements my people can trace. And the man is already paranoid enough. I do not want to place surveillance on him. He will spot it."

Vee folded her arms carefully, mindful of her bandaged hand. "So you are using Vito’s greed and his stupidity."

"Mostly his greed."

"So," Vee said slowly, "Vito will not be testifying?"

"No."

"You are sure?"

"Yes."

"And here I was thinking I would have to punish you."

His eyes warmed immediately. He leaned a little closer, wickedness returning to his mouth. "You could still."

She pulled him closer by his shirt. Their mouths met in a firm kiss.

When she pulled back, her eyes remained serious. "I was beginning to worry you were hesitant about doing what needs to be done."

Luca’s hand settled at her waist. "It is a tricky situation, but I have it handled."

Vee tilted her head. "Do I make you weak, Luca? Tell me the truth."

"Where is that coming from?"

"It is just something Don said."

"Ignore him. He just does not like Elio taking over the famiglia in Italy."

"Luca."

He sighed and touched her face gently. "You make me vulnerable. People know how to hurt me now. Before you, they had to come for me. Now they know your name. They know your face...They know I will burn through hell itself to get to you. But it does not make me weak...As much as they know how to make me bend, they know what hell I will bring with me."

This was the sickness of loving Luca Genovese. His devotion was absolute. He did not promise peace. He promised aftermath. He promised that anyone who reached for her would regret the hand they were born with.

"I think you should take over Italy, Luca."

"Vee..."

"Just hear me out."

"I know what you are going to say. You spoke with my father, and he gave you that charming speech about duty, and how Elio will turn the famiglia into a buffet for rival outfits. I take over the famiglia and the cycle continues. You want our kid to do what I do?"

"You had a plan, Luca," Vee reminded him. "Surely, you can achieve that before our kids are grown."

"I don’t want to talk about this," he said, turning away.

"We cannot keep pushing this aside," she said.

He swung back too quickly. "I will not raise my child the way I was raised!"

Vee took a step back. The force of his voice startled her. His anger collapsed instantly.

"I’m..." He swallowed, his voice breaking at the edge. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I cannot, Vee. You know the sad part? It is what is normal for us. What other parents get arrested and jailed for is what I will have to be." He dragged a hand through his hair. "You want to watch me teach our child how to survive our world? How to read fear? How to punish betrayal?"

"You want to watch me torture our child?" He had not been raised; he had been sharpened.

Massimo had made him strong. Massimo had also broken things in him.

"No," she said softly. "You are not listening to me. Things can change. You can do things differently. That way was Massimo’s way. It does not have to be yours." She pressed on gently. "Carve your own way. Leave behind a legacy you will be proud of for our kids. You had a plan...A way out, slowly. You told me that."

Then Vee asked the question that had been sitting in her chest since Massimo’s suite.

"If you had not met me, who would you be? What choice would you have made?"

"But I did," he said. "I met you. And everything changed."

She could almost see the war inside him. The father who already loved a baby too much to breathe around the thought of failing. "Think more on it...Marco can continue your work here."

"Marco cannot take over New York."

"Why?"

"He just can’t."

"Why not?"

His patience snapped. "Because."

"Because what?"

"Because Valentina is not part of the famiglia." that was the first excuse he could reach for.

"Marco is capable," she said. "He is loyal. He understands your businesses. He has bled for this family over and over again. Valentina will understand what her husband has to be and would be quite ready to support him. If Valentina not being part of the famiglia is the problem, then let her be."

"That is a decision for Marco. Not us."

She stepped closer and hooked her finger into the edge of his trousers, pulling him towards her. "You do not have to decide anything now...But I would like you to think about it. Okay?"

"Fine," Luca said.

Truly, marriage was a cruel institution. All one needed was one determined wife. Then she turned away and pulled up her shirt, preparing for a shower.

Luca’s attention, naturally, followed.

She paused and looked back at him. "Will you be coming with me tomorrow for the check-up?"

"Wouldn’t miss it." He would not miss the sound of their child’s heartbeat.