Chapter 10 - THE BROTHER WHO WOKE UP TO TWO DAUGHTERS
Luca woke two days later.
Anna was sitting beside him.
Sofia slept against her chest.
Lucia rested in a bassinet near the window.
I stayed outside the room at first.
Some reunions don't need an audience.
Through the glass, I watched Luca see his daughters together for the first time.
He cried.
My reckless brother.
The man who once laughed during gunfire.
Cried so hard a nurse handed him tissues.
Anna laughed through her own tears.
Then she carefully placed Sofia against his arm.
Luca stared at the baby.
“She's tiny.”
Anna smiled.
“You're observant.”
He laughed.
Then looked toward Lucia.
“Both?”
“Both.”
His eyes closed.
For a moment, their strange, impossible family looked peaceful.
Then Luca saw me.
He raised one finger.
I entered.
“You look terrible.”
He smiled.
“You too.”
I sat.
Then punched his uninjured shoulder lightly.
“Never hide my nieces from me again.”
He winced.
“You're very emotional.”
“I’m considering unplugging something.”
Anna laughed.
That sound mattered.
Four days earlier, she could barely speak without fear.
Now she was laughing.
Then Luca became serious.
“Marcus?”
“In custody.”
“Matteo?”
“In custody.”
“Vincent?”
“Alive.”
He nodded.
“And you?”
I frowned.
“What about me?”
“Still planning to run Chicago like Dad?”
The question landed harder than he intended.
I looked toward the twins.
“No.”
Luca studied me.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Anna looked surprised too.
I took a breath.
“I gave federal investigators the original ledger.”
Luca’s eyebrows rose.
“All of it?”
“Yes.”
“Our accounts?”
“Yes.”
“Operations?”
“Yes.”
He stared.
“That could destroy us.”
“I know.”
For a long moment, Luca said nothing.
Then he smiled.
“About time.”
I laughed.
“You knew?”
“I hoped.”
My brother had spent weeks investigating because he didn't trust me enough to tell me Anna existed.
That truth hurt.
“I made you think I’d choose the empire over her.”
Luca looked down.
“You had before.”
I knew what he meant.
People who disappeared.
Businesses seized by threats.
Orders I'd given without looking closely enough at consequences.
I couldn't defend it.
“So I change.”
Luca looked up.
“People will say you're weak.”
“I've been called worse.”
Anna smiled faintly.
Then a nurse entered with paperwork.
The hospital needed legal information for the twins.
Parent names.
Emergency contacts.
Insurance.
Ordinary things.
Luca stared at the form.
Then whispered:
“Elias?”
“Yes?”
“If something happens to us—”
“No.”
“Listen.”
I did.
“We want you as their guardian.”
My throat tightened.
“Both of you?”
Anna nodded.
I looked toward Sofia.
Then Lucia.
Two lives that had entered my world blue-lipped beneath a bloodstained coat.
I had held them before I knew who they were.
Before blood mattered.
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
Luca smiled.
Then Anna added:
“But there’s something you need to know before you agree.”
Of course there was.
She looked toward me.
“Matteo wasn't the only person who knew Victor Vance was my father.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who else?”
Anna glanced toward Luca.
May you like
Then answered:
“Your mother.”
