Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 249

ASHER

I stared at him, heat boiling inside me.

“I’m just curious right now, Luca. Why don’t you want me to be with Ariella? I mean, I know this is your hereditary thing, you wanting me to stay with Dinara, but we both know there’s nothing there. Nothing real. I love Ariella. You know this."

I sighed, getting frustrated.

" You know what Ariella means to me. So why do you want me out of my son’s life? Why did you keep me away from him for so long? I tried to forgive you for that. I really did. But this?” I leaned forward, my voice cutting through the air.

“You’re trying to convince me my son isn’t mine. You’re trying to keep me away from him. It won’t work, Luca. It just won’t.”

His jaw tightened. He shook his head firmly. “You know I wouldn’t do that to you. You know I wouldn’t do that to your son.”

“And I thought so too,” I snapped. “Until this happened. I thought about hurting you when I found out you knew about my son. I might have done something drastic had it not been for the Alan mess.... But I tried to forgive you.” My fists curled on the table. “This....I won’t take anymore.”

“Fine,” Luca said at last, his voice flat, almost resigned. “I know what you want is evidence. And I’ll show it to you. I came prepared.”

He reached into his jacket slowly, deliberately, and pulled something out. He set it down between us on the table with a soft thud.

“Here,” he said, meeting my eyes. “This.”

I looked at Luca and then at the papers on the table, and I just laughed.

“What’s this, Luca?” I asked, still laughing, though my chest was tightening.

“Just read it, okay?” he said calmly. “You know my family has been your family’s consigliere for generations. We won’t break that cycle.”

“Yes.... and what does that have to do with anything?” I shot back, shrugging like it was nothing. “Ariella....her family has no history of betrayal, no history of snitching or turning their backs. They’re loyal soldiers. They don’t steal...”

“I know,” Luca cut me off, his tone sharper now. “But still, take it. Read it.” He pushed the papers closer across the table.

I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to. Something inside me screamed not to touch them. Not to look. Because the moment I did… the moment I read those papers… I knew my whole life could shatter.

And I was scared. I had to admit it, I was scared. Because this was Luca. I knew him. I trusted him with my life. I knew he would never hesitate to die for me. That’s why I trusted him with Ariella’s life, too.

So if he was this certain, this calm, this unbothered, then it had to be something bad. It had to be real.

And doubt crept in. Ugly, suffocating doubt. And I didn’t want to doubt. Not Leon, being my son. Not Ariella telling me the truth.

For the first time since I met him, I wondered if Leon wasn’t my son.

Luca froze. For a second, he just stared at me like I’d slapped him. His lips parted, then closed. He blinked once. Twice.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, voice low, steady, but his eyes betrayed his shock.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, shaking my head. “But you’re so damn determined to keep me away from her, away from my own son, I can’t help but wonder if you’ve got another motive.”

“Asher,” Luca said, and then he seemed struck. His mouth opened, but no words came at first, like he was choking on them. Finally, he forced it out.

“Why would you say that? I’m your best friend. You’re my brother. You’re closer to me than my own bloody brothers. You, Asher....you know me more than anybody in this world. And you know that I trust you. You know I would put my life down for you in a second.”

His eyes burned, sharp with hurt and disbelief. “And you also know I have no interest in little Ari. Any kind of interest. You know that. The moment you saw her, the moment you decided she was the one, I adopted her as my young sister.... You know, Asher. You know I have no bad feelings towards Ariella.”

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again and turning toward me. His voice was quieter now, almost breaking.

“If that’s what you think, then you'd better just kill me, Asher. If you really think I have an interest in her, more than her just being my little sister because of you....” He stopped himself, shook his head.

His voice cracked again. “I have put my life on the line a lot of times for her when I didn’t have to.”

“Yeah,” I said sharply, cutting him off, “maybe it’s because you have a selfish interest in her.”