Chapter 117

Layla

I fought back a sneer.

“Why are you so hell-bent on this mentality?” I asked through clenched teeth. “Do you realize how many of our people they hurt and killed in the last few weeks?”

Aldo kept his gaze fixed firmly on me.

“I am well aware of the casualties, Layla,” he said evenly. I could tell he was trying to hold back the hostility in his voice. “What I’m trying to do is prevent more from happening in the upcoming future.”

I didn’t want to tell him that his way of thinking was foolish. But he had to know that such an idea was utterly impossible. More impossible than he realized.

All because Vannessa wasn’t exactly out for literal blood, didn’t mean that she wasn’t fully prepared to see absolute carnage take place. She’d proven herself to be many things—stupid wasn't one of them.

She knew that people were going to get hurt. People could very likely die in this endeavor for power that she was after. If it meant preventing another family from rivaling our own, I wasn’t going to play nice.

I tipped my chin downward and shook my head. “I can’t imagine how something like that could be possible,” I told him. “Why exactly did you want to meet with Ethan?”

“I wanted to know if he’d be willing to work with us to get Eli back,” he said.

I raised my brows and kept the sarcasm out of my voice. “How did that go for you?” I asked. “I can’t imagine someone as pristine and morally sound as him would want anything to do with people like us.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Ethan has his reservations on the matter, yes.”

“Did he also happen to tell you that he called me?”

“He may have mentioned it.”

“He decided it was wise to give me a lecture on what I ought to do when it comes to getting my son back,” I stated bitterly. “He claims there’s a better way to go about saving Eil.”

“I think you should have heard him out.”

“I think he’s fucking delusional,” I hissed. “You’d put the life of our son in the hands of a bunch of police officers who can’t even track down a single one of Rossetti’s men?”

“If it means preventing anyone else from getting killed, then maybe...”

Oh my God. I couldn’t stop the scoff that slipped from the back of my throat.

“I can’t believe what you’re saying,” I whispered. “You’d invite the goddamn police into our business because you don’t want someone to get hurt—people who are more than willing to put a bullet through your head. Through our son’s head!”

I saw the anger starting to rise in Aldo’s eyes. He clenched his jaw and curled his hands into tight fists at his sides.

“I’m not going to let that happen, Layla!” he shouted back.

“What you’re hoping for is nothing more than a hopeful dream,” I said angrily. “Peace isn’t possible in a world like this. There are always going to be people coming after you and wanting to destroy everything that you have.”

Suddenly, my vision was becoming tunneled again. That pain and pressure I felt in my chest returned with a mean vengeance.

“Well, I’m not going to let that happen. And it’s obvious that you don’t give a shit about any of it,” she seethed.

Aldo

My eyes widened in disbelief.

I couldn’t believe a single word of what I was hearing. Layla—my wife was accusing me of not caring about the life we had. About Eli and the trouble he was in...

What really startled me was the desolate look in Layla’s eyes. It was a look I’d never seen before from her. It was like I was looking at a complete stranger.

No. Worse.

It was as if I was staring into the eyes of some mindless killer. That wasn’t the Layla I fell in love with. It wasn’t the Layla I knew.

Something was wrong.

Her pupils were terribly dilated and had lost their glimmer. That loving brightness and kindness was gone. They were void. It was like staring into two black holes that were endless.

I knew she was going to have an issue with my meeting with Ethan. She’d reached a point where she considered him as nothing more than just another police officer.

“Of course, I care about it,” I said, fervently. “How could you think I don’t care about my own son’s life?

“Could have fooled me,” she snapped. “For hours, I’ve been doing nothing but trying to work the best possible plan to try and get my son back—”

“Our son!” I threw back. “Eli is our son, Layla.”

Something dangerous flickered across that empty stare of hers.It was primal and venomous.

Layla took two strong steps forward. She jutted her chin out; her mouth twisted into a vicious sneer.

“Eli is my son. Before there was us there was him. Just him and me against everything,” she said coldly.

She hadn’t said these things to hurt me, yet they stung nonetheless. She was right. While I was off, trying to run the family and pick up where my father and brother left off, she was raising Eli. She’d carried him, birthed him, and raised him all on her own.

It was an issue we hadn’t visited in a long time. They were wounds that would always remain deeply scarred.

It will forever be one of my deepest regrets.

She had a bond with him that I would never fully grasp or potentially have myself. Granted we’ve been together as a family for a year, but there were still times when I felt this disconnect between Eli and me.

And I had a grim feeling that it had everything to do with the nature of our family’s background. He always remained so strong and fearless in the face of danger. He was a natural when it came to learning defense and other skills.

But, in the long run, a large part of me always hoped that he would never have to use them.

“I will never forgive myself for not having been there when you were pregnant and when Eli was first born,” I said firmly. “We’re together now and I’m trying to look out for his future.”

I wanted a future for him that was bright and promising—not dismal and filled with constant gun violence.

“How can you expect to do that when he’s currently in the hands of someone who wants nothing more than to see the Marcello family fall apart?” she asked.

“If we give Ethan a chance, then it won’t have to be done with violence and blood.”

“Ethan made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want to have any part of my life or anyone else’s here,” she bit out. “He’s already confirmed that should I go any further down this path, he and I will become enemies. So be it.”

“Layla—”

“You’ve clearly made your decision. You’d rather work with a cop than your actual wife. Fine. I don’t need you to stand by me if all you’re going to do is dream of a life that will never exist.”

I narrowed my eyes and ignored the ache in my chest. “You’re making a mistake. Whatever plan you have with Carlo, stop.”

“I don’t need weakness, Aldo. If you’re not able to own up to the real roots that your family has then maybe you don’t need to be the head of the family anymore.”