Page 104 of Hostile Love
Mama dabs the corners of eyes. “I knew your father well, Daniela. He would never plot against Angelo. Your father was like family to us for years. But after the explosion, I couldn’t trust anyone. I guess he couldn’t trust me either,” Mama confesses. “Elias took control of the Souza cartel, and the rest is history.”
I stand there, turning everything over in my head. “So, Elias murdered my father…because of me?”
Air shoots down Mama’s nose. “No, son. All that man wanted was power and control. He already had my family’s support and sons to help build a global empire. But the thought of Angeloalways being on top and then raising a son––a new threat to his big plans. Well…” she scoffs. “…that was all the ammunition he needed to finally wipe out his brother and become the boss.”
“And I’m guessing grandfather didn’t react, because Elias stepped into Angelo’s boots which gave you status.”
“Precisely,” Mama agrees. “Back then, Elias couldn’t kill me—or my baby. He needed the Irish mafia on his side while he was trying to make a name for himself. Eliminating his own brother and raising you as his own was his way to the top.”
“He didn’t raise me,” I declare through clenched teeth.
“No, he didn’t,” she agrees. “I did, Matheus. And I flew my boys home to Ireland after he murdered Angelo. I was heartbroken. For you—for Tomás—and for myself. I needed time.”
A lump forms in my throat, emotion thick in the air. I run a hand down my face, a sudden prickle of realization crawling over my scalp.
It was her.
30
MATHEUS
I move beside Dani, standing shoulder to shoulder with her, the two of us facing my mother.
“You paid a hitman to assassinate Elias, didn’t you, Mama?”
Her watery green eyes darken like they’re filled with poison.
“I had to stay married to that bastard and wait patiently for the business to outgrow him,” she mutters. “Those were the orders from the Hennessy mafia… from my father.”
She uncrosses her legs and sits poker straight, raising her chin high.
“I focused on the end goal. I knew my boys would rise behind him. That one day, he’d be in his crypt. As a mother, I would never turn my back on my children. I stuck it out because I had you…and your brothers.”
Her eyes cut to André. They glitter under the light and her edge of fierceness sharpens.
“No one threatens my boys. Not even Elias fucking Souza,” she hisses. “You kept pushing him to have a part of the business. To get involved. As any dutiful son would. But that eagerness and confidence fed his paranoia. He knew you were graduating…that you were hungry formore.”
She shakes her head and sighs.
“After he almost killed Tommy, I took my children and left. I only went back to him, because my father agreed I could live elsewhere…away from Elias.”
“I remember,” I say thoughtfully. “We moved to the coast the day we got back to Colombia, didn’t we? And Elias lived at the plantation.”
Mama nods. “I had to go between the two houses to keep the bastard sweet, but over the years, I spent less and less time with him. I still had loyal men at his plantation, though. Men who reported to me regularly. It helped me balance his cruelty. When he murdered Giovanni’s dog, I made sure Mag Mel had animals everywhere. When he called André stupid, I sat with him through his ADHD assessments so my boy could understand his strengths. When Elias persistently pushed you away, I hugged you closer.”
Mama runs the tips of her painted nails along the curve of her neck, teasing the thin gold chain next to her pale skin.
“Imagine how I felt when I heard Elias was actually arrangingyourdeath, son.” Our eyes lock. “I did what any mother would do…I got to him first. The only regret I have is not doing it sooner.”
My blood boils. Mama had suffered for years. Her life was ruled by men and all she could do was go along with it.
She was trapped.
And rather than disappear in the middle of the night or numb her sorrows in narcotics, she rose to the challenge and made me the man I am today.
My brothers and I are a product of this woman’s devotion.
We all know it.
