I stare back at her. “Go ahead. But she’s staying right here.”
“Zeke.” Lily shoots me a warning look. Acquiescing to my girl’s request and not her mother’s, I allow her to climb off my lap. She sits in the chair next to mine and directs her attention at her mom. “You can say anything you have to say in front of Zeke, West, and Xander. I trust them.”
Xander and West sit on either side of Lily and me, and Ludovica eyes us all before finally taking a seat. A tall man with a neat gray beard stands guard behind her. Tossing her long hair over her shoulder, she fixes Lily with a hard stare. They might have the same bright green eyes and dark curls, but where this woman has ice in her veins, my girl has straight fire.
“Tell me. What now, Liliana? Carmine is gone, and Nico will take his place as the new head of the family. But you are the rightful heir to the true fortune, the Constantine hotels and casinos.” She arches one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “A simple DNA test will prove it.”
Lily leans back in her chair. “I’m going home. To New York.”
Her mother frowns, and an inscrutable emotion flashes in her eyes. “You don’t want any claim over your father’s legacy?”
“Nico is the rightful heir because he’s the best man for the job. Even if not by birth, he’s my brother in every other sense of the word. I’ll have some papers drawn up renouncing my claim on everything related to Constantine Holdings. And I’m sure he’ll have a fairer and more tolerant reign than his father ever did. My father’s legacy isn’t the money he made or the casinos and hotels he built. Those things are tainted with the blood of all the people Carmine killed to get his hands on them. My father’s legacy is sitting right here in front of you.” Her back straightens and she tilts her chin up. “And I am going to change the world.”
Fuck yeah you are, buttercup.
Ludovica’s eyes crinkle at the corners, and her lips curl into the faintest hint of a smile. Maybe the woman is human, after all. “Then I look forward to watching that happen, Liliana. Or is it Lily now? Lily Sloane.” The name rolls off her tongue like she’s testing it to see how it tastes.
Lily hesitates, but when she speaks, her tone is totally confident. “Liliana is fine. I told you it was time to show the world who I truly am.”
I look over at West and Xander. They look as confused as I feel, but we keep our mouths shut and continue to watch this scene unfold.
“Liliana Constantine is back from the dead then?” Ludovica asks.
“She is. A lot of good can be done with a name as powerful as mine. And like I said, my father’s legacy will be greater than the things he built.”
Ludovica’s lips twitch. “And your mother?”
Lily fixes her eyes on the woman who birthed her and lets out a breath. “I’m sure she’ll continue to watch from the sidelines like she always has.”
“Protecting you,” her mother adds with a frown.
“I don’t need protection anymore.” My sweet Lily laces her fingers through mine and Xander’s, then looks past me to West.
“You will always have my protection, mia dolce figlia, whether you need it or not.” Her eyes well up, but she blinks quickly until they’re clear.
Lily smiles at her. “Well, let’s hope I never need it.”
The man behind Ludovica bends his head. “Ma’am, you need to leave now.”
Closing her eyes, she nods, and when she reopens them, her ruthless Mafia mask slips and shows the woman underneath, laying bare all the sacrifices she made to become what she is. Fascinated, I watch the two women move together and stand facing one another as though they’re peering into a mirror. Ice reflects fire.
“Thank you, Mom.”
“Always, Liliana.”
They exchange a brief hug, then Ludovica turns and walks away. Before she leaves, she throws one last glance over her shoulder. “Remember this, mia figlia—although the world will never know, you are my legacy too.”
Chapter
Seventy-Four
WEST
Everyone stayed quiet on the way to the jet. There are so many questions that it’s hard to know where to begin, and none of us want to bombard Lily after the day she’s had. We’re going to ensure she can’t sit down for a week when we give her the spanking she’s due, but for now, we’re going to give her space to heal and come to terms with everything that happened.
But after we take off, we’re all surprised and relieved that she breaks the silence. “I’m sorry I kept another secret.”