"No! I'm sorry, Enzo, but this madness!" The man shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "She cannot take over this family. She is a woman!"
We sat around the long table—six of us. Me. Enzo, my godfather and father's oldest friend. Alfredo, Romano, and Luigi are three minor heads of the Vito crime family. And Camilla, my stepmother. My mother had died when she was seven years old.
They were all gathered here, just two days after her father's burial, fighting over the succession of her father's company and crime syndicate.
I sat at the end of the table, still dressed in mourning black, trying to dissociate, saying nothing.
My mind was blank, everything numb. It was like I was still at the graveside, watching the gold-trimmed casket my father's body lay in being lowered into the cold earth.
Don Vincent Vito—my father, my protector, my world—was gone.
I could still hear his deep voice calling me Angelina Mia, his nickname for me.
My little angel.
Growing up, I never heard the word "no." He spoiled me, protected me, and praised me for every small victory. I was a pampered princess. While other dons treated their daughters as useless pawns to be traded for treaties and connections, he never did so. Despite others' disapproval, he never made me feel like less.
I always had the best tutors and education; he trained me in languages, strategy, business, and even how to shoot. He was the best father any girl could wish for.
And yet now… here I sat, a princess without a king, surrounded by men waiting for me to fall apart.
I looked at the faces of the two other men in the room: greedy, misogynistic old men. I never liked either of them.
They were all sneering at me; the disgust they have always felt towards me was now showing clearly and openly. My father was no longer here; they didn't have to hide it anymore.
Enzo stood up slowly. His face was tight with anger. "She is Vincent's only child, his chosen successor. You all know that. This was his last wish."
"She's a woman," Luigi scoffed. "What message does that send to our enemies? That the Vito family is being run by a woman? She is meant to be under a man and producing heirs. Not leading men."
The word stung more than I thought it would.
"Under a man?" Enzo echoed sharply. "Lily is educated. Disciplined. She knows this empire better than any of us. She has been personally trained by Vincent himself, and she studied and was top of her class at Stanford! She is capable of running both the clean and dirty parts of the corporation. She managed Vito Corp's European expansion at the age of twenty."
"None of that matters now," Romano said dismissively. "This is the underworld. We don't care about degrees. We care about power."
"Exactly, let us look at this logically. If we say we should go along with this wish, the family will be ruined! No man will want to be under the leadership of a female." Luigi barked, slamming his hands on the conference table.
I heard the words, but they felt far away.
I could still hear the sound of dirt hitting the lid of my dad's casket. I had felt like I was being buried too. My chest had been tight since that moment. Like I couldn't breathe.
He was gone. Now I was completely alone in the world.
No family, no siblings, no friends.
I couldn't make friends in the normal world because I couldn't risk my father's business being exposed. I couldn't make friends in this world because they were all asshole children of assholes.
"She hasn't said a word since the funeral," Alfredo said coldly, snapping me back to reality. "Just look at her. Weak. Whimpering. How can someone like that lead?"
I looked up slowly, blinking.
The man speaking was short and bald; he and Luigi had never liked me; they had always openly said my father was wasting time, education, and money on me. And my father should focus on having a useful child, a son.
He sneered at me when he caught me looking at him.
I quickly looked away from his eyes.
Enzo was looking at me too. There was pain in his eyes. He was trying to tell me something with just a look.
Say something. Fight back. I'm with you.
But I couldn't. My chest still hurt.
Then Camilla, my stepmother, spoke up for the first time.
"I have an idea," she said calmly, her voice smooth like silk.
The men turned to look at her.
"What is it, woman?" Alfredo said impatiently.
"We all know Lily is the legal heir," Camilla continued, ignoring his tone.
"Vincent left her almost everything. The companies, the businesses, the bank accounts. Without her, the family loses the majority of its assets."
The men shifted in their seats. That got their attention.
"But," Camilla said, "maybe we can all win. What if we bring in someone to stand beside her? A man. Someone who can lead publicly makes the family look strong. But he will adopt the Vito name as his own."
"You mean… marry her off?" Romano asked, amused.
Enzo's face darkened.
"I don't like this," he said quickly. "Vincent never wanted her to be involved in any arranged, political, loveless marriage. Especially with a stranger."
Camilla smiled coldly but politely at him. "Of course he didn't; he was always too soft on her. I am simply offering a solution that works for everyone."
She looked at me, her smile tight and sweet. "Of course, Lily would have to agree. We'd never force her. But I know she wants what's best for the family."
I flinched.
She looked back at the three other men, her calculating eyes taking in their thoughtful expressions.
"Lily keeps her place. The family gets a strong male figure. And Enzo, you remain her guardian. You'll make all the decisions behind the scenes." She continued.
"For a female, that is a surprisingly good idea. But where will we find such a man on such short notice?" one of the others asked.
"I have someone in mind," Camila said, still smiling. "Someone strong. Loyal."
Gates glared at her. His hands curled into fists. "That is oddly too fast."
She gave him a sideways smile. "I plan ahead." She picked up her phone and sent a text. "He will be here soon."
Enzo turned to me again. His voice softened. "Lily… this isn't your only option. If you speak up now, I'll back you to the end. Your father's will gives you every right to lead. You don't have to let them silence you."
But I couldn't.
I was still too tired. Empty. The grief was still too heavy. I had nothing left in me to fight.
Maybe with this plan I won't be so alone anymore.
I looked from him to Camilla and just nodded in agreement.
Camilla touched my shoulder gently. "Good girl. I knew you had the company's best interest at heart."
Then she turned back to the men, smiling widely. "Then it's agreed?"
They all murmured yes.
Enzo sat back slowly, disappointment written all over his face.
"But as her guardian, we will only go forward with this plan if I see that Lily actually likes and wants to marry this man. If he doesn't treat her well, I'm calling the whole thing off." He said.
I looked down at my hands. They were shaking slightly. I folded them tightly together. I know that was his last-ditch effort to look out for me.
I have taken whatever power he could have concerning this issue by agreeing with Camilla's plan.
Camilla shifted closer to me, blocking my view of him, and placed a hand on my shoulder. It felt cold.
"You'll see," she whispered, her voice sickly sweet. "This will be good for you."
Then the heavy, bulletproof wooden doors to the room opened.
The sound of shoes on marble echoed into the room.
I looked up.
A man walked in. Tall. Handsome. Black hair and piercing blue eyes. Dressed in an expensive black suit.
My breath caught.
I knew him; he was usually having coffee in my favorite cafe in town. He was my cafe crush. But I never once dared to speak to him.
But a man like him didn't notice women like me.
Why would a man like that notice someone like me? I had always been quiet, reserved, not the type who captured attention. I wasn't beautiful in a loud way. I was the kind of girl people forgot in a room full of flashier women.
So I watched him, secretly, and imagined what it would be like to talk to him. Be seen by him. Loved by him.
Now here he was, as a potential husband.
Fate likes to play funny games.
He looked right at me and did a double take. Then he smiled one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen and headed to me, taking my hands and kissing the back.
"You look familiar," he murmured huskily. "Do you go to Caffè Serino, near the museum?"
I blinked. "Y-yes."
"I thought so," he murmured. "You always sit by the window. Reading. You always have the most interesting look on your face. Like you were somewhere else entirely."
My breath caught. "You noticed me?"
He smiled again, softer this time. "Of course, Angelina, I noticed everything about you."
I inhaled sharply at the nickname. It was what my father used to call me.
He turned to Camilla, "When you mentioned this deal, I never expected to meet the woman of my dreams here." This is so awesome."
I looked at him; even his side profile was magnificent.
He winked at me, then walked back to the middle of the room and faced the men in the room, his face going serious, and bowed.
"My name is Joe Carbone," he said smoothly, his voice deep and husky. "I hear there's a seat at the table."
Maybe this won't be such a bad thing.