By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers #4)(104)

I let out a shuddering breath, feeling a little lost. Mom stretched out beside me and hugged me. She cried against my hair and I gripped her tightly. Finally, I cried too. I cried for a loss of something I’d never really had, a loss for a piece of me that had seemed irrelevant. The loss of a future that could never be. I wasn’t sure how long Mom and I cried together, how long we mourned the loss of a piece of my future, a life that might have been.

The ache was a new kind of pain. One that I’d carry with me for a long time, maybe forever.

A new thought crossed my mind. “Amo needs an heir.”

Mom pulled back, her eyes swollen. “Oh sweetheart. This should be the last of your worries.”

My brows puckered. “But it’s the truth.”

“I saw how he looks at you. He loves you so much. He won’t care about an heir, trust me.”

Maybe. I was so confused, so lost.

“Can you send him in? I want to talk to him.”

“He knows, okay? He knows what your surgery means.”

I shook my head. Maybe he thought he knew. Mom got up and gave me an encouraging smile. “I’ll get him and he’ll tell you what I told you. That it doesn’t matter to him.”

Mom walked out and less than a minute later Amo came back in. His eyes swam with concern as he walked over to me.

I patted my mattress.

Amo perched on the edge as if he was scared of hurting me but I leaned against him, needing his closeness despite how fragile my body felt. He wrapped me in his arms, surrounding me with his warmth and strength like a cocoon of consolation. It felt wonderful, like something I never wanted to miss again.

I wanted a future with Amo, wanted nothing more but he needed to know that it wasn’t a future he’d always had in mind.





Greta’s body tensed in my embrace. I pulled back slightly and looked down at her pale face. Traces of tears shone on her cheeks. I wiped them away with my thumb.

Greta peered up, those dark eyes forlorn. I couldn’t imagine what the news of her surgery had done to her.

“You can’t ever have kids with me Amo. This time nothing can change that. My body can’t hold a baby anymore. If you want an heir, you must choose someone else.”

What the hell was she talking about? I cupped her cheeks and softly kissed them. Nothing in this world would separate me from Greta again. “I won’t be without you again, Greta. You are mine until I take my last breath. I love you more than everything else in the world.”

“The Famiglia is your destiny, Amo. You are meant to be Capo.”

I nodded because deep down I knew it to be true. “I’m also meant to love you. I don’t need an heir. I need you. Marcella is pregnant with a boy. She’s the oldest. He can become Capo. That’ll carry on the bloodline too.”

I’d always wanted children, but I wanted Greta more, and maybe there were other options to explore eventually. “All that matters now is that you heal quickly so we can marry.”

Greta let out a whispy laugh. I kissed her temple. “I love you so much. It kills me that you had to suffer so much. You have the kindest, biggest heart of anyone I know. You don’t deserve this.”

“Maybe I did.”

I cupped her cheeks. “Fuck no. Don’t ever think like this, okay? I need to know that you’ll be okay.”

“I think I’ll be okay, eventually,” she whispered. “I want to dance again. I want to see my animals again.”

I kissed her forehead. “I know you’ll be. I’ll be with you every step of the way you have to take to heal.”

“Won’t you have to return to New York? You have responsibilities, especially at a time like this.”

“Dad, Valerio and Matteo handle the situation for now. Officially I’m here to negotiate peace.”

“Will there be peace?”

I smiled. “Of course. Our families don’t have a choice. Soon they’ll be one family.”

I had already bought a ring for Greta but had left it in New York. But once I got it back, I’d ask Greta officially for her hand.




For the next ten days, I didn’t leave Greta’s side, but it was time to settle things in the Famiglia. Our soldiers were starting to grow impatient, eager for an explanation for the many arrests. Antonaci and seven of his soldiers were waiting for their punishment in our Famiglia cells. Rumors were making the rounds, especially because of Cressida’s disappearance. The body hadn’t been found. I assumed Nevio had chopped her into tiny pieces.

“Don’t worry about me,” Greta assured me for the hundredth time. At first, I’d refused to leave her in Las Vegas, especially less than a week before Christmas. But my father had insisted I needed to be there during the probably bloodiest meeting in the history of the Famiglia. I knew he was right.

“She’s safe here,” Nino assured me.

“We’ll make sure of it,” Savio said.

Remo had upped the protection surrounding the mansion. I’d slept in the hospital for the last two weeks, only separated from Greta when I went to the toilet or showered. Leaving her now felt wrong.

Adamo touched my shoulder. He’d arrived a few days ago with his wife and son, and he would come to New York with me, Fabiano, Remo and Nevio. The rest would stay in Las Vegas to protect the women and children.