The truth about his father's secret family had taken three hours, two bottles of scotch, and Alessandro's entire understanding of his life.
Carlo Castellano had a mistress for thirty years. Elena Rodriguez, a former secretary who'd left when she got pregnant with Carlo's son. Alessandro had a half-brother—Marco, twenty-eight, an architect in Brooklyn, completely unaware his father was a real estate mogul.
"She never asked for money," Maria had said, eerily calm after years of keeping this secret. "But I knew. I've always known. I stayed because that's what women like me do." She'd looked at Alessandro. "Don't be your father. Don't trap someone in a marriage built on lies. Even your Sienna deserves better than being your guilty secret."
Three days later, Alessandro sat in his car across from Sienna's Brooklyn apartment.
He'd filed for divorce that morning. Vanessa had been relieved. They'd agreed to keep it quiet—no drama, just two people dismantling a mistake.
