DANTE’S POV We headed toward the waiting vehicles.
I opened the rear door of the lead sedan, and Alessia slid in first, moving across to the far side.
I climbed in beside her, and she immediately wrapped her arm securely through mine.
Mother took the front passenger seat next to our driver.
Behind us, Rico escorted Gabriela into the secondary SUV, joining our security team for the convoy.
The drive across the city was short and took us straight to Saint Jude Private Hospital, where the Moretti family held a majority stake.
Our group packed into the private elevator, taking it straight to the VIP wing.
The hallway, with its polished marble floor, was steeped in absolute silence and led to a heavy double door at the far end.
Mother walked in front alongside me, with Alessia keeping stride at my right elbow.
Rico walked a pace behind us, his arm lightly surrounding a quiet Gabriela as our boots echoed off the walls.
As Alessia reached for the handle to open the door, I froze.
My boots felt nailed to the floor.
Behind me, Rico and Gabriela stopped in their tracks.
“Wait,” I managed to say.
“Just wait a moment.” Alessia paused, her hand hovering over the brass handle.
Mother turned around and raised an eyebrow at me.
“Are you scared, Dantino?” Mother asked softly, an amused smile playing on her lips.
“You know what Nonna’s like,” I whispered, my heart pounding against my ribs harder than during any shootout in Chicago.
“She’s going to give me an earful.” Mother let out a soft laugh and shook her head.
“She’s missed you terribly.
We all have.
Don’t worry, just go on in.
She hasn’t slept a wink since we told her you were coming.” I swallowed hard and nodded once.
Alessia pushed open the door.
The heavy suite door swung inward, revealing a spacious, dimly lit room that smelled faintly of antiseptic and lavender.
Sitting propped up in the center of the bed was Nonna.
She looked smaller than I remembered, frail beneath the hospital blankets, but the moment her sharp brown eyes locked onto mine, the air left my lungs.
Before I could say a word, she opened her arms.
“Come here, mio bello,” she rasped.
I crossed the room in two strides, sinking to my knees beside her bed and wrapping my arms around her shoulders.
She smelled like her familiar floral perfume mixed with modern medicine.
Nonna gripped the back of my neck with surprising strength, burying her face into my shoulder and letting out a long, shuddering breath.
I closed my eyes, resting my forehead against hers as she cupped my cheek, whispering fierce Italian blessings into the quiet room.
Suddenly the heavy oak door swung open, and the breath hitched in my throat.
I squeezed Nonna’s hand reassuringly before standing up beside her mattress.
My father stepped into the room.
Tall and broad-shouldered, his dark hair was graying at the temples.
His light brown eyes swept over us with cold precision.
Even after all these years, I still flinched when I looked at him.
The muscle memory of my childhood was a hard thing to kill.
“What an unwelcome surprise,” Dad said, his eyes scanning me with cool disdain.
“If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve stayed away until you left.” “Same,” I replied sharply, my jaw tight.
“Enough,” Nonna barked from the hospital bed, her voice raspy but carrying the weight of a drill sergeant.
“Both of you just stop.
Can’t you see that I’m dying?” “Nonna, stop saying that,” I said, leaning down over the edge of her bed.
“Mom, please don’t talk that way,” my father added, stepping closer to the other side of her mattress and crossing his arms.
His brown eyes assessed me, but I focused all my attention on Nonna.
Nonna turned her head toward my father with a sharp glare.
“Don’t you ‘Mom’ me.
You drove my favorite grandson out of this family, now you see him after five years and you can’t even welcome him properly,” she snapped, glaring at him.
A smile tugged at my lips, seeing my father cower in front of his mother without being able to say a word.
“But I didn’t tell him to leave.
He—” my father started, pointing an accusing finger at me.
I bristled, standing up while still holding Nonna’s hand.
“You think I just left on my own?
You practically—” I said, anger taking over my voice.
“ENOUGH!” Nonna said in her strongest voice.
“I will not have you two fighting when you haven’t seen each other in five years.” She squeezed my hand.
“Dantino, don’t mind your father.
He might be stubborn and proud, but he’s still your father.
Be a little more understanding,” she said, looking up at me, her brown eyes full of affection.
I nodded, too choked up with emotion to speak.
She turned her gaze to Rico, who was standing near the armchair in the corner, her expression softening just a fraction as she adjusted her oxygen cannula with an annoyed flick of her fingers.
“Rico, tell the stupid doctors I need to get discharged ASAP.” “Nonna, the doctors said you’re not good to go yet,” Rico responded, stepping closer.
“Do you think I don’t know my own body?” She snapped her fingers and said through the mask on her face, “Call them now, before I take matters into my own hands.” Alessia snorted into her cup of water.
“You heard her, Dante.
She’s already tried to bribe two nurses with her vintage jewelry to get her clothes back.” “They were terrible nurses anyway,” Nonna muttered.
“They’re top-tier specialists, Nonna,” Gabriela said smoothly from the armchair, crossing her legs as she glanced up from her phone.
She looked entirely unbothered by the family drama, though her eyes flicked to my side with a sharp, calculating glint.
“And you’re a terrible patient.” Nonna shot Gabriela a fiery look before waving a dismissive hand in her direction.
“I am getting out of this damn hospital, period.” “Okay, okay,” Mother chimed in, stepping between my father and me to break the invisible wall of tension before it shattered.
“Dante, let’s go home and get you fed and cleaned up.
My love,” Mother turned to my father, placing a gentle hand on his arm, “please take care of your mother, and we will see you both soon.” Mother leaned in and kissed Dad on the cheek, but he stood rigidly, his eyes locked on mine until I turned my back on him.
“Rico, grab his bags,” Alessia called out, sliding her phone into her pocket and smirking as she walked past us toward the door.
“Unless Mr.
High-and-Mighty forgets how to use his security detail.” Rico rolled his eyes, scooping up my duffel.
“I’m a trusted lieutenant, not a bellhop, Alessia.” “Tonight you’re a bellhop,” she called over her shoulder.
We took a convoy of three blacked-out SUVs from the hospital to the family estate.
The moment the high wrought-iron gates receded into the perimeter walls, a familiar ache settled deep in my chest.
Five years had passed, but every inch of the multi-acre compound was ingrained in my memory, the sprawling Tuscan architecture, the dark hedge mazes, the marble fountains, and the limestone pillars illuminated by hidden floodlights.
Dobermans paced the perimeter fence alongside armed guards dressed in tailored black suits, just as they always had.
As our car pulled up to the grand front portico, a line of six guards stood at rigid attention.
The moment my door opened and my boots hit the gravel, every single one of them bowed their heads in synchronized, quiet respect.
“Welcome home, Don Dante,” the head of security murmured, stepping back to hold the massive double doors open.
I didn’t answer, merely giving a brief nod as I stepped into the familiar foyer.
High vaulted ceilings, hand-painted frescoes, and crystal chandeliers threw light across polished travertine floors.
Returning here felt like stepping back into a world I had spent five years trying to outrun, yet every corner still belonged to me.
Rico fell into step beside me, looking around at the soaring archways and the servants moving silently through the halls to take our coats.
He let out a low, breathless whistle.
“You know, man…
I look at all this, and I gotta ask,” Rico murmured, keeping his voice down so Mother and Alessia, who had drifted toward the grand staircase, couldn’t hear.
“Don’t you miss any of it?
The empire, the comfort, the absolute power?
How the hell did you just turn your back and stay away from all this for so long?”