Page 8 of Sins of the Father
Luc stilled his fingers and pinned his stare at the man seated before him. “Explain it again.Slowly. My father did what?”
John, his consigliere and one of the last men left from his father’s crew, held a file as if it were scripture.
“A deal with Ettore Bonino,” John said carefully. “This is a marriage alliance. Your father owed Bonino a blood debt.”
“How and when?”
“Bonino saved his life in Sicily, thirty years ago.”
Tension coiled through Luc’s muscles, but he forced himself to remain still. What the hell had his father been thinking?
“The agreement binds you to Mia Bonino,” John continued. “Your father agreed not just because he owed Bonino for saving his life, but also because Bonino offered a compelling dowry.”
A low, mocking sound escaped Luc. “Tell me what bait caught my father.”
“Bonino was offering his empire. If you have a son with her, he will inherit both dynasties.”
Luc scoffed. “He was barely a king. What did he have? What dynasty is there for my son to inherit?”
“Intel networks, port access, shipping lanes, and political alliances, unique to him. Power the Commission can’t ignore.”
Luc’s heart jolted, and he let out a slow breath, drumming his fingers on his desk, his thoughts snapping from one possibility to the next.Interesting. This just wasn’t about a wife and a typical marriage alliance. It could be a bloodless takeover, expanding his reach. The Boninos once controlled a good portion of the East Coast. If Luc absorbed them, he wouldn’t just hold a seat on the Commission. He’d own the table.
But there was a snag.
“Bonino’s dead,” Luc said flatly. “He flipped on Greco, testified and got clipped. The family lost some of its holdings and power at that time. They have no power to enforce this contract and little territory to fight over.”
John nodded. “The contract was signed before all that, but walking away now looks like spitting on your father’s name.”
Luc’s jaw tightened. His father had bet their future on a man who later betrayed the life. Now Luc was expected to honor the deal.
“Bonino had also promised all the intel he had on those powerful men he controlled through blackmail,” John said. “The information was left behind on a chip, and there have been no whispers over the years to suggest anyone else got their hands on it.”
How interesting. “And the girl?” he asked, calculating. “What role does she play in her family?”
Luc knew women in this life could be as deadly as men—often more cunning. What kind of snake would he be letting in if he married her? One he’d eventually have to behead? “Mia Bonino. She has lived away from the life and was raised in a convent.”
Surprise jolted through Luc, and he frowned. “A convent?”
“Yes. I found little about her.”
Luc tapped a single finger atop his desk. Unknowns were dangerous.
John scoffed, a sound tinged with disbelief as he flipped a few more pages. “She was kept completely out of the life since she was about seven. Never named, never touched. Incredibly, Bonino pulled that off. But the bloodline’s real.”
Luc stared at the ceiling. His father, who preached transparency, had kept this secret. He analyzed the why, turning every possible angle over in his mind. There was no logical reason for his father to keep this from him. A cold, ugly twist coiled in his gut.
What else did you hide, Father?“Why didn’t I know?”
Though Luc tempered that dangerous sensation crawling through him, his voice came out bitingly cold.
John didn’t flinch. “Bonino wanted her to be of age. Silvio agreed and planned to revisit it once you were settled in power. He died before he could.”
Luc studied him. “You sat on this.”
An unreadable emotion flickered in John’s gaze, and his shoulders tensed. “I followed orders and kept it buried until now. I only followed the instructions left by your father.”
Luc didn’t like the answer but respected the honesty. He nodded once, eyes back on the file. “My father had all the confidence that I would honor his words.”
