“Our father—si, our father,” he emphasized when Vincenzo flinched, “drove away two good women who could have turned him away from his destructive path.
“See this through and you’re truly his son. More than Leo and I have ever been.”
Massimo’s words ate through Vincenzo like acid, eating away at his resolution, corroding his certainty.
Destroy the name Brunetti and everything it entailed in this world. That had been his goal for so long. A number of people were counting on him.
But the Brunettis were men he was coming to see as more than honorable. Despite all his aggressive tactics, there had been no attempt at retaliation from either.
In fact, they had invited him into their home, the very home he wanted to ruin.
All the evidence only pointed to the fact that they cared about what he did to Alessandra. Not to them.
He had started on this path to right a multitude of wrongs, yes. But he never wanted to hurt an innocent in the process. He was beginning to feel like a man caught uncomfortably between his past and present. A man caught between his promises and his own selfishness.
And the woman he’d married so impulsively, who’d looked today as if he was breaking her apart, she was caught in the middle of it all with him.
* * *
Alex stood inside the huge BFI office that Leonardo occupied, indecision cleaving her in half. She had a decision to make. Vincenzo had been right. And the fact that she’d turned up here meant a part of her had already made it.
But she couldn’t just leave things in limbo anymore. Not after she’d learned about Antonio and all the people who’d been harmed by Silvio Brunetti. Not after finally understanding the burden Vincenzo had been living with for so many years, the burden that fueled his need for justice.
Now she knew what fired him. He was still wrong, but God, she couldn’t just walk away from him. She couldn’t just sit tight while there was still a chance that she could do something to help him heal.
“Did you mean what you said at the villa yesterday?” she asked the question before the vulnerability she felt swallowed it up. Before she second-guessed herself again.
Leo and Massimo turned as one, Milan’s skyline behind them a beautiful blend of orange and blue. Shock and concern played on their achingly familiar faces as they took her in.
“Alex? Is everything okay?” Leo asked, coming away from his desk. His tie had been undone, and his jacket discarded. Alex saw the lines of worry that had deepened on his face and felt guilt slam into her yet again. God, he was already worried about Neha and the babies she carried since her blood pressure was too high. Now she…
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”
Massimo moved like lightning, blocking her before she could take two steps away. “No, bella. Don’t run away.”
“Of course I meant every word,” Leo said behind her, his words ringing with conviction. He clasped her shoulder and squeezed. “This is not, and never was your battle to fight, Alex. You don’t owe us anything.”
Alex took a deep breath and turned around. For as long as she’d known him, Leonardo had been fair and honorable, determined to be different from the man who’d sired him.
His gaze swept over hers with concern, and he sighed. “Say what’s on your mind, Alex.”
“I know you can’t forgive Vincenzo for what he’s doing. For everything he’s already done. But I understand his reasons now. For years, he’s been caught up in this, fighting for justice for people who can’t demand it for themselves. And while he’s laying the blame at the wrong feet, his reasons are…painfully just. I need you guys to believe me that he’s not…a monster. I can’t…go on with my marriage if you think that. I just can’t. You are both too important to me. You’re family.”
“And nothing will change that, Alex. We already know he’s not a monster, bella,” Massimo interjected, coming to stand by her. “Even if we forget, Natalie reminds us daily. Any man who willingly helps a lost teenager couldn’t be one.”
“And will you forgive me if I…stay with him?”
Massimo whistled and Leo sent him a glare. “You don’t need forgiveness. Alex, this is your life. Your happiness. Whatever choice you make, we’ll still love you.” Leo sighed. “As long as he doesn’t hurt you.”
“He won’t,” Alex said, not knowing where the words came from. Where the trust came from.
But she’d done enough running in her life, lost enough by not staying and fighting. Her mother was never coming back. And she couldn’t bear to lose this chance with Vincenzo too.
When she spoke, her words rang with conviction. “He won’t hurt me, Leo. He has reasons for his actions. So many of them. He can’t see anything else right now. But there’s more to him than this revenge. He’s a man worth standing by. And I want to try.”
Massimo wrapped his arm around her, as if he could sense how tightly stretched she was. “We’ve been preparing for the worst for a long time, bella. Before he stepped into your life.”
“And even if he takes everything we have built, we’ll rebuild again. He’s not going to make us destitute, Alex. I hope you have that much trust in us,” Leo added archly, and Alex smiled, despite the tears in her eyes.
How could Vincenzo not see what these men were made of? How could he not see that despite Silvio Brunetti’s horrendous actions, these men shared the same code of honor he himself lived by?
“In the big scheme of things, BFI and the villa matter very little. Both Massimo and I have learned that lesson the hard way. Neha and the babies, Natalie…the people who matter the most to us, we will still have them even if Vincenzo takes everything else, si?
“So you do what feels right to you. You do
