Broken Beauty - Stella Andrews Page 0,38
freedom of the world outside this room.
They wait for me to speak and I turn and stare at them long and hard. If they are nervous, they make a good show of disguising it as they wait for me to speak.
“It has come to my attention that you have designs on the Moretti empire.”
Lucian nods. “We are expanding, Lorenzo. Business is good and we need to capitalize on that. As you know, there are four of us and it’s time to use our resources to expand. Word is, Tobias Moretti has lost interest and is strengthening his legitimate businesses over the family one. It would be foolish of us to allow another family to step in and take what could be ours, so we have decided to make them an offer.”
Romeo laughs. “We just haven’t decided which one of us gets the prize.”
I glare at him with menace in my eyes and he looks interested. Dante shakes his head. “Enough, what we need to know is why you’re back, Lorenzo? You walked out of here three years ago and turned your back on this family. You left us to pick up the pieces and now you arrive back with the woman we want the most. What’s your plan?”
They all look to me and I shrug. “I don’t have one. Sophia Moretti turned up at the place I live, running from this very problem. She refused to go back with her brother because Carlos Toledo told her the only way she could prevent a war between our families was to marry one of us. I thought it best to bring her here and settle it once and for all.”
“And that’s it, you really expect us to believe that?”
I stare at Romeo with a hard look and he throws it right back at me. Slowly, I move off the window I lean against and head toward him and say in a dark voice, “You got a problem with that?”
Dante jumps up. “Enough. We’re family, we don’t fight among ourselves. He’s got a point though, Lorenzo. What is this, are you ready to take your place, or have you not finished playing soldier yet?”
The mood is deteriorating fast and Lucian says roughly, “Enough. We’ve been in the same room for five minutes and we’re already fighting. Now, we are brothers—family and that counts for everything. Miss. Moretti is our key to her brother and taking over where he no longer wants to be. She needs to marry the two families to prevent a war. It’s up to each of us to persuade her it’s in their best interests.”
Dante shakes his head. “If Lorenzo agrees to return, he gets first choice, it’s only fair as he’s the eldest.” He turns to me and says coolly, “This is your rightful place at the head of the family and the only way you can be considered is if you agree to take it. If you pass, it falls to Lucian as next in line to step up and marry the girl.”
I feel as if I’m being slowly strangled to death. On the one hand, I have Sophia who I would die to protect but the price is one I am unwilling to pay. Will I sacrifice my freedom to save her? I knew this was coming and I brought her here, anyway.
My brothers look at me awaiting my answer and I feel as if I can’t breathe. Fucking mafia, how I hate that word and everything it stands for. If I marry Sophia, they drag me back to a place I hate with a passion. If I don’t, I lose her to my brother.
Hobson’s choice. Whatever happens, I lose.
A knock on the door interrupts our meeting and Lucian says tersely, “What is it?”
The door opens and the woman, who glides into the room, has us all to our feet in an instant. She looks at me and the tears in her eyes bring a lump to my throat as I whisper, “Nonna.”
She moves toward me, her arms outstretched and as I wrap mine around her, she cries in my arms. “Lorenzo, mio angelo.”
“It’s good to see you, Nonna.”
As I hold my grandmother in my arms, my heart beats a little faster. She’s the one remaining part of our past left and the only person alive who would dare interrupt us. She has always been there, a light in a raging storm. She has seen and suffered so much and of everyone here, she is the one