Page 59 of The Hidden Heir

“It was just a joke,” Alex laughs, but his humor fades when tension comes off Luca’s broad shoulders like an electrical current surging through the entire banquet hall.

“I didn’t know the Caputos thought they had the power or the authority to make tasteless jokes while targeting a Petrucci queen,” Luca says. “Is this some kind of new extreme sport in our world?”

“It was just a joke,” Alex insists, growing increasingly aggravated.

Luca scowls. “You are no longer welcome in our circles, Alex. If I see you at one of our events again, there will be consequences you won’t like.”

“Mr. Petrucci,” Anne Marie gasps, utterly shocked.

Caroline leans in. “Luca, please…”

“The Mancusos are more than welcome to keep trading with the Caputos, mind you,” Luca politely assures her. “But as far as my associates and I are concerned, your business is no longer needed.”

“You can’t do that,” Alex protests.

Mauro frowns deeply. “The Camorra won’t let it happen.”

“We’ll see,” Luca replies. “Last I checked, I still have the majority vote.”

“I just opened a new location. I bought trucks and equipment,” Alex whines. “You can’t blackball me like that. It will ruin me.”

“Pardon me if I give less than a flying fuck,” my husband says. “You’re done.”

Luca is relentless. Merciless. And I’d be tempted to feel pity toward the Caputos were it not for their many previous remarks regarding my figure. For as long as I can remember, people like Alex and Anne Marie have taken pleasure in shaming me for my body, in telling everyone in thinly veiled terms that I’m too much woman.

Too much and never enough.

“Keep shutting our allies down, and you’ll see that majority of votes get thinner before the year’s end,” my stepfather warns Luca.

However, Luca has a slice of wisdom for him, too. “Keep coming after my wife and nephew, and you’ll see your entire syndicate engulfed in flames before the month’s end.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, it’s a fucking promise.”

He pulls me away from the group, leaving my stepfather to curse and hurl his insults at us while we move through the crowd.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” I tell Luca in a low voice once we’ve stopped at one of the cocktail bars.

“What, exactly?” Luca asks. “Defend my wife’s honor?”

“Not that I’m not thankful, I am, but I handled it.”

“You absolutely handled it. I also know that it wasn’t your first rodeo with the Caputos.”

He lowers his gaze, staring at the glass in front of him, while I inch closer, suddenly driven by desire and curiosity.

“What do you mean, Luca?”

“From the moment I learned of your existence, I looked into everything about you. Every detail, every piece of information, gossip and anecdote that I could get my hands on while my investigators combed the city and its surroundings to actually find you. Before I even came to your door, Valentina, I already knew most of what you had gone through growing up in the Mancuso family.”

“Oh,” is the only word I can manage.

“I knew what we were walking into tonight, but we had to do it anyway,” he adds.

“I understand. I do.”

“We’re stronger together, Valentina. Especially in front of these people,” Luca says. “While you can certainly handle yourself, they need to be reminded that you’re not alone anymore. You saw Mancuso, the old dog. Still baring his teeth but with barely any bite. Caroline is a complex and delicate ally, at best. She’s a shaky bridge between our families perhaps. But the Caputos and anyone else who stands with the Mancusos are still our enemies. And we don’t let our enemies insult us, not even as a supposed joke.”