His Promise: The Mafia’s Babies by C. Tamika novel Chapter 217

About an hour had passed, and there was still no sign of Luca. Even then—we had already taken most of the pictures but still stuck around hoping for the best. Family members were getting impatient, and time was ticking.

“Can’t Johnny call him?” I asked Christian, who immediately shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Serena—“

“Christian, people are starting to talk.” Franco interrupted our conversation. Christian muttered something under his breath and looked across the room. Of course, everyone was curious about Luca’s whereabouts because everyone knew how important this day was to Lucio.

“He’ll come,” Christian spoke. Franco had a sympathetic smile on his lips and placed his hand on his shoulder. “A lot has happened and—“

“He’ll come,” Christian repeated. “I don’t believe Luca would do something like that.”

I wanted to believe in Christian’s words, but we talked about the same Luca who tried to take away his position under his dad’s orders. “So what do you suggest we do, boss,” Franco mocked him. He seemed just as confused as I did and had also accepted that his grandson would not stop by anymore.

Christian frowned at his grandpa, ready to snap any second before he took a breath to control himself. “Let’s announce Dario to keep them quiet.”

Franco chuckled. “That’s the same thing I would’ve suggested.”

Christian forced my hand into Franco’s. “Grandpa, please take care of Serena—I need to get Dario and Siena.”

He rushed off while I looked down at my hand. If this was Christian’s way of taking care of me—I had to say it was hilarious, considering the man wasn’t even that fond of me.

“Serena,” Franco called out my name. I prepared myself for whatever harsh words were about to leave his mouth and looked him in the eye. He would’ve probably slaughtered me if he knew what kind of feud I had started between Johnny and Beau or about what happened with Dario because Franco was the kind of person to kill anyone who stood in Christian’s way.

“We’ve been getting along well, don’t you think?” He spoke to my surprise. My eyes widened at his unexpected comment. “Y-yes?”

He carried a slight smile on his lips and caressed my hair. “Don’t worry, my head is full with a dying son, a devil of a child, and my brainwashed grandson—so you are the last person on my list.”

Only when he had mentioned it, I realized that these people had other things on their minds. My issues were not even close to being the end of the world, and for that, I felt guilty. “I’m sorry,” I told Franco, but he shook his head and pulled me along. “I don’t like apologies.”

We made our way to Lucio, who was almost asleep in his wheelchair. “Is Luca on his way, or am I dying first?” He joked, creating an awkward atmosphere. If Christian were here, he would’ve stomped away because he couldn’t take his dad’s jokes—but neither could I.

“Hmm, Serena?” Lucio looked at me. Ignoring him was not an option, so I looked at Cesca, who stood behind him for help—but she turned away instead. “You know.” Franco saved me. “Christian is bringing Dario, so we can officially make the announcement.”

“That’s good!” Lucio spoke while I was finally able to breathe. “That should calm people down.”

The worst thing would probably be that despite leading the family for years, Lucio was unaware of everything that had been going on. Regardless of his health, he had the right to know, but no one had the guts to tell him.

The moment Christian walked in our direction, with Dario beside him—I stepped back and stood next to Cesca. The presence of Dario, which had once made me feel at peace, felt uncomfortable, and it was all because of my own mistakes. It was all because I had taken it too far with my comments. Our eyes met for a split second before he immediately looked away—not being able to face me. He hated me. I was sure of it.

I focused on Siena, who was half asleep in Christian’s arms, and couldn’t help but feel sorry. She was supposed to be at home, but instead, we were here—wasting time waiting for the person who probably wanted her dead.

“I’ll take her!” I told Christian as I grabbed her from his hands. I stepped back to give everyone some space while Christian shot me a confused look. The rest of Christian’s siblings joined us while I buried myself even more to the back. It was probably the best for everyone.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to choose your family.” Cesca suddenly whispered in my ear. “But you’re not a victim—please don’t forget that you brought this upon yourself.”

I froze as Franco grabbed everyone's attention and nearly trembled at Cesca’s words. She was right. I was the one who told Christian to consider sharing the family business with Dario. Even then, there was one thing that confused me, and that was that she was focusing on me instead of her dying husband.

Franco had gathered everyone’s attention and pushed Lucio to the front. “First of all, I would like to thank all of you for coming here.” Lucio began while my attention went elsewhere. Throughout the speech, my eyes moved to the unfamiliar man who stood at the end of the hallway.

I could see him through the open door and was shocked by his piercing gaze. Could it be a family member who I had never met before?

He looked right through me as if he only had one goal, and after a while, I had finally noticed who the man was staring at. He was staring at Lucio. My eyes moved to the side of his face, which was covered with a mask, and my first thought went to Christian’s uncle.

It couldn’t be…

Was it Berto?

“Excuse me,” I whispered as I slowly escaped from the back. Christian was too focused on his dad’s speech to notice me, giving me the perfect opportunity to blend myself in the crowd as I made my way to the hallway.

The man who had appeared to finally notice my presence looked me in the eye and held the end of his hat to lower it as he looked at me with a grin. I tightened my grip around Siena and blinked my eyes to make sure I wasn’t crazy.

There was no doubt about it. The man was Berto.