The Deep End

Chapter 21

That'll never happen.

"Lorenzo DeLuca the second." I answered reluctantly.

"The second?"

I nod. "He was named after his father, my Grandfather."

She ponders my reply for a moment before asking, "What did he do to be named a traitor?"

Acid burns in my gut at that word. I turn my head, her hand falling, taking her warmth with it and leaving me numb. I contemplated how I should answer her question. Should I tell her the truth or the lie that was so easily spread throughout the family? Would she question it unlike others? Would she immediately see through it? Flames of a hot fire flicked under my skin making me uncomfortable and I fought the urge to scratch it away.

My eyes meet hers again. "He was caught conspiring with MS-13 who was our number one rival at the time. They took out a lot of our men and if it wasn't for my father arranging a marriage between my sister Alessia DeLuca and Dante Di Salvo in exchange for half of the Di Salvo family's men we wouldn't be here."

She frowned and I waited with bated breath for her response.

"Why would he do that?"

I grimace, fighting the emotions that are clawing their way from the depths of my brain. "Why indeed. What leader would willingly work with the enemy? Seems a little far-fetched, doesn't it? What would he get out of that?"

She studied me, various emotions flicking across her eyes as she thought about my reply. I like that she isn't quick to conclude, she mulls it over before speaking. It only solidified my thought that her father is an imbecile for not seeing her as the leader she clearly is.

"He wouldn't." She finally says and my lips slowly morph into a smile, encouraging her to continue. "What benefit would that be for him?" She chews on her lower lip for a second. "Unless it was to become Don. Get his older brother out of the way so he could take over."

"He was the eldest, he was the Don." I have to force the words out. Saying them out loud feels foreign even if it isn't a secret.

No one in the family talks about it. Lorenzo's legacy died with him and that's the way they leave it.

Her eyes widened as the realization hit her. "Oh my god, it was a set up."

I feel like a bit of weight has been yanked off my shoulders but also like I'm close to suffocating. It feels good to tell her the truth about my namesake but it's hard because I never truly healed from witnessing his death and I relive it anytime it's brought up which thankfully isn't often. I mash my lips together, the phantom feeling of blood covering my hands making my heart race. I refused to look at them because I know it's not real even if it does feel that way.

"Lorenzo was actually setting up a deal with MS-13 to end the bad blood between them. My father killed him the night before his meeting and the rumor of Lorenzo being a traitor spread quickly. When the leader of MS-13 found out it started a war and my father scrambled to fix it which is the real reason he arranged the marriage between my sister and Dante."

Her lips purse in frustration. "How does no one know about this? How did no one question it?"

"Because I'm the only one that knows the truth. There were pictures of him speaking with the leader of MS-13 so no one questioned the accusation."

"How did you find out?"

"I witnessed his death as a child. I was hiding under his desk when it happened." I admit, my voice thick with emotion. "I heard everything. I saw it happen."

My stomach churned, my fingers twitching as I fought the urge to tap them against my leg. I push thoughts of that night from my head before I spiraled.