Page 128 of The Don's Secret Heir

“You kicked out my daughter and my grandson,” Angelo says coolly as she struggles. “We’re done. I’ll set you up in an apartment, I owe you that much, but otherwise, stay away from my family.”

“You sonofabitch,” she sneers.

He just gives her an unbothered smile and the men drag her out to her car. She wrenches away from them, throwing her suitcase in the back. She gets in with a huff and speeds away.

Good riddance, I think.

I guess that’s what Angelo’s thinking, too, because he looks down at Liana with a smile.

“I guess I owe you an explanation.”

She sniffles, pulling away so she can look up at him.

“Damn right, you do.”

“First, you have to know I had no idea Felicia would kick you out.” He takes hold of Liana’s hands, squeezing them. “You and Sonny are so important to me, and I’m divorcing her right now. I was going to do it anyway, this just cemented it.”

Liana nods. “But where were you? Why didn’t you call?”

He sighs, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.

“I just got... restless. I thought I could settle down with Felicia but as you’ve seen, she’s not the woman I thought she was. I went on a bit of a bender.”

“Forweeks?”

“It’s been a while,” he says, almost defensively. I rub a hand across my mouth to hide a smile.

I’ve been on weeks-long benders myself, in my younger days. I guess some wiseguys don’t grow out of it, since Angelo is pushing sixty.

“All this time, and you’ve beenfine?” Liana frowns. “I should hit you again, but I’m so happy you’re back.”

“I’m sorry,caro. I should have called or texted you to let you know I was okay.” He hugs her again. “Tell me everything about the last few weeks. When did Felicia kick you out?”

Liana draws in a sharp breath. “Two weeks after you went missing. She said you must be dead and everything’s in her name, so she had every right.”

He curses. “There are ways to get property out of her name. Don’t you worry.”

Angelo looks over at me for the first time, his eyes widening.

“Conte? What are you doing here?”

Liana bites her lip. “It’s kind of... a long story.”

I walk up to Angelo and stick my hand out. He raises an eyebrow but shakes it firmly.

“I married your daughter.”

Liana gapes at me, mouth open.

Angelo blinks. “You did what now?”

Something cold and hard drops into the base of my throat and I swallow around it. It’s slowly dawning on me that this is the end. Liana will have no reason to need me anymore. She has her father back. She has her status back.

Why would she choose to stay with me?

“I wanted to help her,” I say honestly. “And Sonny. So I took them in, married her so she’d have the protection of my name and access to my finances.”

Angelo scoffs. “Seems like a bit of an overreaction. You could have just financially supported her.”