Page 72 of Mine Again
He claimed responsibility for Mari and Mateo’s deaths and stepped into Mateo’s place as Don. He produced two pieces of the De Marco necklace as proof of death; the same ones Mateo wore the last time I saw him.
I want to believe Mari and Mateo are alive. I need to.
Mari told me they might go dark after the escape, but every day without a sign from her chips away at that hope.
It’s the Luca saga all over again.
The waiting. The silence. The hollow helplessness.
I’m so done with that.
Mamma was destroyed when the news broke. Mia was too. She and Mari were always thick as thieves. I couldn’t keep it to myself. I told them what I knew and swore them to secrecy.
We haven’t spoken about it since and grieve for Mari like we’re supposed to.
But with her gone, at least for now, I’m more determined than ever to hold on to the family I still haveandget out of the Mafia for good.
I’m going to see Plan NUPTIAL through till I’ve got a ring on my finger and a new last name.
And I don’t seem to be the only one thinking along those lines.
Mamma’s phone rings on the side table, and she reaches for it with a smile already curving her lips.
“Hello, Aldo,” she says, her tone light, a smile blooming in her voice.
I glance at Mia, who quickly bites her lip to stifle a grin.
Aldo Marino has been calling every day since he and Maximo came for Gualtiero De Marco’s memorial service a few weeks ago. Now, his calls are a regular part of our evenings. It’s sweet, in a weirdly formal way. Like he’s courting Mamma.
We slip out of the living room to give her privacy, and, if I’m honest, because none of us wants to hear her giggle like a teenager.
Aldo is charming, attentive, and clearly taken with Mamma. The way he talks to her, always respectful, always warm, is like something out of another time. It’s lovely. And a little weird to witness.
“It’s good to see Mamma like this,” Mia says as we climb the stairs to our rooms. “After everything she went through with Father, I expected her to swear off men for life.”
“I sure wouldn’t have blamed her,” I reply. “She must see somethingin Aldo. Or perhaps this is about something more than romance.”
“What do you mean?” Mia asks.
“With the way things are in Sicily, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“Niccolo Romero is consolidating power faster than anyone expected. He’s ruthless, unpredictable, and only respects tradition when it serves him.
"Two capos have already vanished since he took over, and no one dares ask where they went. The rules are changing, and not in our favor. We might not be on his radar, but that doesn’t mean we’re safe.”
Mamma’s family was one of the original bloodlines, but without a male heir, we don’t hold power anymore. Still, that could shift.
“Niccolo might decide to forge new alliances. And marrying off one of us to one of his American capos would be an easy way to tie our name to his reign.
“Mamma knows that. I’ve seen it in her eyes, the way she takes in news when it trickles through to us. Have you not noticed how she stares into the distance after some phone calls end? She’s deliberating. Weighing things. Maybe Aldo is part of her plan to get us out of here.”
“I hate the idea of her relying on a man as the solution.”
“Well, her options are limited. She can’t leave without a good reason. And if Aldo is good to her… maybe it won’t be so bad.”
Still, I’m not waiting around hoping someone will save us.
It’s time I get Plan NUPTIAL back in motion.
