King of the Empire ✓| #2 |

45 - The letter

"Not quite. Well maybe we did talk once in a while but we never met up to simply talk." I nodded, caressing Ce's head. "We never ended on bad terms, Liam. It was all about the circumstances. I wasn't allowed to marry a woman that wasn't of Italian descent and she wasn't able to leave Francesco if I couldn't take her in with one hundred per cent certainty that we would last," he explained. "I loved her. I really did and when she told me that she was pregnant all those years ago, I tried to act calm. We both agreed that there would be nothing wrong with giving you a chance if no one other than us knew the truth. I sent her money, although she clearly didn't need it. She, in exchange, sent me photos and videos as well as made sure you'd learn to speak Italian for when the truth came out.

"Once I moved on and had to marry my wife, I let her know of your existence. So she was the third person that knew about my involvement in your life." He smiled as he looked down at his lap. "I was always there, Liam. And don't think that just because you didn't know about me, that I don't know anything about you," I smiled as his eyes met mine once again. "But I didn't know anything about the way he treated you, son." That one word made my heart skip a damn beat. It was the first time I actually felt as though the one calling me their son actually meant it and didn't feel even slightly ashamed to admit it.

"If I had known, you would've been out of that place in a heartbeat," I nodded, understanding why he couldn't step in.

"What about Audrey?" I asked. Audrey was the spitting image of my mother. And although I've always tried to find any aspects that she had shared with Francesco, since then I believed he was our father, I couldn't. And always wrote it away by thinking it was just the fact that she failed to adapt even a bit of him to her.

"She is my daughter. There's no doubt about that. I don't think you want to know how it happened," I smiled, looking away for a second. "But she's one hundred and ten per cent, my daughter."

"So do I change my last name?"

"Your name legally has always been Liam De Niro but to keep the secret, the falsified documents show Martinelli. If you decide that you want to keep the name you were given at birth, then I'm more than happy to take care of it. However, if you think you want to keep the name you've had for years, then I won't blame you," I took a deep breath.

"So in my official birth certificate-"

"It says Liam De Niro," he finished. I hadn't thought of this at all.

Changing the name I've had my entire life, would be a change I wasn't sure I was willing to make. Francesco gave off his duties to me and it was only fair I didn't let my first family down. But now, I was the heir to a family in the Cosa Nostra. And for some reason, I wanted to change my name to honour my actual father that cared for me. I couldn't blame him for not knowing what I had to endure with Francesco and knowing he was always there, helped my mother as much as he could and was willing to save her from Francesco's wrath was enough for me to make a decision.

"It's your choice, Liam," I looked down at the girl laying right beside me and wanted to ask her for her opinion. But I didn't dare to wake her up.

"Don't you want to give Enzo the throne?" I looked at him before he shook his head.

"As much as he is my kid almost as much as you are to me, I'll be old school. I've always known that you would take over. You're my firstborn and Giana wouldn't allow me to put him in that much danger."

"Giana is your wife, right?" He nodded.

"She knows about the both of you. And she's trustworthy, trust me. She's excited to finally meet you on different terms," I smiled, nodding.

"And Audrey. Have you spoken to her?" He nodded before clearing his throat.

"She was confused. Like a lot. But she liked me. As far as she told me," I smiled, a light chuckle coming out of me. "And just like with you, Alessia kept me updated. At least after her tenth birthday," my eyes slightly widened. "I found out once I was visiting Francesco. Most of the time, it was just for the sole purpose of seeing you but once Francesco introduced me to his daughter, I knew she was mine. It didn't take much to piece together since math did the work. And she looked like me when she was younger. Now, I'm glad she takes after her mother. She was beautiful," I smiled at the memory of her.