Christmas Shadows: A Mafia Love Story

15 | Forgiven

D O M I N I C

I stare at my phone, wondering if I should call Gianna again. I've been calling for days, and she hasn't answered. I dial her number, hoping this time she'll pick up, but she doesn't.

"Fuck." I say, tossing the phone away in frustration. Since my mom left, it's been hard for me to care about anyone, but Gianna's different. She's the only one who makes me feel something.

I love her, and my stupid half-brother messed everything up.

A few minutes later, my phone rings, and I grab it off the floor. My heart skips a beat when I see it's Gianna calling.

I answer the call. "Gianna," I say, my voice soft, afraid she'll regret calling and hang up.

"Um I wasn't sure if I should call, but I heard something the other day. I thought you should know," she says, her voice shaky.

"What is it? Are you okay?" I ask, worried.

"Yeah I'm fine. I saw your stepmother and half-brother the other day meeting with a strange man I've never seen before. But that wasn't the weird part, I heard your brother call him dad."

"What? That doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, but they actually look alike. I thought you should know since they were talking about taking over your family's business."

"Thanks for telling me, Tesero," I say, but before I can say more, she hangs up.

I start thinking about what Gianna said. It all clicks - my dad had always suspected Nathaniel wasn't his.

I try calling my dad, but he doesn't answer.

I need to do something.

I call my friend Emma, explaining everything. "Dom, you know your mom always wondered if Lilith was pregnant even before she came in your dad's life?"

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Your mom told my mom that she suspected she just needed money for her unborn baby. She thought it was the reason Lilith tried to get with you dad. Obviously your dad didn't know and she convinced him the baby was his."

"Shit if what you're telling me is true, have to warn my dad before it's too late. But, we're going to need proof first. Lilith has been planning this for almost two decades. She's gonna have a backup plan for her backup plans."

"What do you want to do?"

"You know how that idiot always had a crush on you?" I ask her.

"Yeah?" she asks, confused by where I'm going with this.

"I need you to take advantage of that. Find a way to get his hair, or saliva. Just get me something I can use for a DNA test."

"That's disgusting, but I'll do it for you." She tells me.

"Can you do it tonight? The sooner, the better. I have no idea what they've got planned," I urge her.

"I'll call him."

"Thanks, Emma." I say before hanging up.