Chapter 24

I didn't nod or talk to any of them. Not only was it not my place but also, as a principessa, there were certain etiquettes that were taught to me at an early age. Now, as the future queen of Miami's underworld, the stakes had risen, and new unsaid manners had to be followed.

Thankfully, this was the easiest part for me.

There was one particular place where men emerged before leaving through the front door. "Where does that lead to?" The long corridor had a few doors to its left, but only two on its right.

Talia's chatter stopped, following the direction my eyes had landed.

"Um. That's the training room." Her explanation was clear to me, but the hint of question in her tone gave her a sense of uncertainty about what really occurred behind that door. It was best if she didn't know, and I didn't pique her interest any further.

"You should show me the outside areas before the sun rises too high."

Thalia laughed and forgot her doubts as she turned toward the back of the house. "It's not even summer yet, Ms. Alessandra."

"Expect a summer wedding."

I forced a snicker. "I'm in no rush."

No rush at all, Talia.

We found Talia's dad, Alvize, on the other side of the pool. He was pulling a few weeds and sweating underneath a beige colored floppy hat. Alvize gave us a small wave and continued working in the garden.

A few yards to the far left, a full-sized home rested inside the perimeter of the property. A small grass road connected a trail to the front of the house. It would be quite a walk to make, but a golf cart by its entrance explained how the path had been created.

"Does everyone live on the property?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Well, yes, we do. But ours is hidden behind Mr. Ferretti's."

"Leonardo Ferretti?"

Thalia struggled with her reply. Uneasy, her fingers wiggled, rubbing against each other.

"Yes. After it was built, Mr. Lombardi moved him in a few years ago."

Moved him in?

As if Leonardo had no choice? I've been aware of Leonardo's ill condition. Hell, it was the reason Massimo had taken the seat before his time. Right?

I wanted to keep her talking, ask about Leonardo. To piece together the memories of the man I remembered as a child and put the missing pieces together. The godfather of not just one of my brothers but both, until one day I never saw him again. Instead, I left it alone. Thalia was just too pure for me to use for information, and my questions will be answered with time.

As we walked back inside and the tour neared its end, there was one thing I wanted to know. Something that wouldn't compromise her by saying too much.

"How did you end up working here? You don't have to answer me." I gave her the option.

We paused near the courtyard, and she looked at the flowers inside, but her attention wasn't fully on them. For a second, I thought she wouldn't reply, but then she began.

"There's not much to it, really. My father had known Mr. Lombardi for a longtime. He used to landscape the home Mr. Lombardi lived in. Then one day, dad came home and announced he had gotten another job with better pay." Thalia shrugged. "Nothing really changed except for the size of our pantry." She chuckled, but it quickly faded. "Then my grandmother passed away a few years ago. I didn't cope with her death too well. I wasn't my best, but now I am here, better, and with my dad."

There was certainly much more to it.

"I'm sorry for your grandmother's passing."

Thalia smiled faintly with fondness in her eyes. "Thank you."

I found myself inside Massimo's study. Not once had he hinted that I couldn't come in without his presence. After all, this room housed my prized belongings. It was hard to grasp Massimo's limits and difficult to understand his unsaid boundaries when mistrust was the root of our arrangement. I'll push until there is no room left to give. Even as we shared the same roof, we were still strangers who communicated as well to remain so.

A part of me had hoped he would be inside. To play the game and start scheming for my future. Wrap him in a craft of beliefs until achieving my goals. But the only thing inside was his lingering scent.

I glanced at my case before I dragged a chair near and sat with my tablet in hand. In silence, I sketched with the peace of my blades next to me and allowed the straight lines and angles to distract me from the shackles I'd been given.

The door busted open in a rush, and my eyes were drawn to a different hair color than what belonged in this room. Ready for whomever felt comfortable enough to rip the door open with such haste. My posture automatically tensed, alert.

Fair blonde hair and icy blue eyes hesitated when they caught me watching from the corner. I'd met them once on the same night Aldo had sealed my fate. However, since that night, his eyes had hardened along with his appearance.

He was the selfish bastard that had trapped an innocent life into this world with the belief of love, but I guess, in his eyes, it was a better outcome than death at the hands of my family.

Vadim Vodanovik.

To my understanding, the youngest of the four brothers whose blood were all apart from another but maintained a bond stronger than kin. He was also one of the few that had infiltrated the Cosa Nostra with no Italian lineage. His Russian blood ruined what many stood for as an Italian Mafia and what the word Mafioso meant for many. But I couldn't care less. In the end, we all bleed the same color.

In a way, I agreed with Massimo about something.