Matteo stands before her, looking at her with sadness in his eyes before he takes a step back and takes the seat directly across from her.
“Ariana,” Matteo starts. “Niece.”
There isn’t an air of animosity with the way he labeled her. It almost sounds like…acceptance. It eases her nerves just a tiny bit.
“I’m sorry,” he continues. “I know it seems microscopic compared to what you’ve been through. I recollect how you were treated during a few of my visits and I am immensely sorry and ashamed about that. I apologize for not seeing the truth behind the veil.”
She wanted to accept his apology but she didn’t have the words to do so. Maybe because deep down, she’s still angry. Even at him, who didn’t know. Matteo visited the estate only once a year.
Without words, she nods at him instead.
“I owe you the truth,” Matteo continues. “At least what I know on my part.”
“Thank you,” she manages to say.
“It’s true what you were told about Maribel Romano. She did suffer from postpartum but my brother,” Matteo says with a sigh. “He was too old-fashioned. He didn’t believe there was such a thing. He could have provided her medical help but his pride wouldn’t let him even get her diagnosed.”
“He made it worse with the affair with my mother,” she says.
“He may have or he may have not. No one can be sure. Maribel might have ended this way anyway,” Matteo replies.
“Did you know about everything before you were told?” she asks.
“No. Honestly, I truly had no clue. I…Pietro and I weren’t that close anymore. He tried to reach out to me before he died but I’d shut him out much longer than that. I did my duty and appeared for the traditional family Christmas gatherings but search your memory, Ariana. Did I ever stay the night on the family estate?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Neither was I ever invited,” he tells her.
He’d been outcasted too. Why? He’s a Romano. A male heir.
“Why?” Adam asks the questions now. He looks between Matteo and Don Mazzilli. “Why were you not working for your brother, for your family, yet you were given the seat upon Pietro’s passing instead of Cristian which is how it usually works?”
She never thought of that before and now Adam’s planted the thought in her head.
Matteo looks at Don Mazzilli as if asking for permission to divulge classified information. There’s a gleam of…joy…that fills what seems to be Matteo’s whole being with what he is about to spill too.
“Keeping up appearances is a priority for my brother. Falling in love with someone beneath questionable bloodlines on top of being gay makes it hard for my brother to come to accept me as I am. Our father may have tolerated my condition as Pietro called it. But Pietro didn’t tolerate any of that.
“It’s not well-known but Pietro made an arrangement for me. He sent me off to Don Vincenzo Costello, Boss of the Midwest Famiglias at the time, to be married to his daughter.”
“That never made the news,” Adam interjects.
“No. His daughter, Larissa, ran off with the man she loved instead. Don Costello, however, let me remain with his family as restitution. I thanked him every day for being considerate and accepting even though a marriage never took place. I am even more grateful for his blessing when I met his son, Benzo Costello.”
“Oh,” she squeaks with understanding.
She can’t help but beam at the pride clearly upon Matteo’s face as his eyes light up. She can relate to what he must be feeling. He’d found love. He didn’t care about the Romano name. He stayed true to himself.
Adam clears his throat and Matteo scowls at him.
“No offense,” Adam tells him. “I’m not against your sexuality at all. However, it still doesn’t answer the question of how you inherited the title.”
“That’s right,” Matteo says thoughtfully.
“Carry on,” Don Mazzilli speaks for the first time from his seat.
“I’m not sure what happened before he passed,” Matteo starts again. “But Romano men were getting anxious. Pietro wasn’t handling business with his normal gusto and he’d pretty much locked himself away. As I said, he’d reached out to me once and I never got back to him,” Matteo says sadly.
“That’s right,” she concurs. “There were men that would wait all day only to be turned away. Some left angry. I—I think that’s when Isabella and Cristian stepped in.”
Matteo nods. “And that caused even more struggle within the family. The loyal ones were apprehensive about where Isabella and Cristian were going to lead them. The ones that weren’t so loyal wanted to either jump ship to another family or began chirping into Cristian’s ear.”
“Shortly before he died, he made some changes to his will. His private attorney made sure that Don Micky Vitali received a legal copy, according to the late Don’s business notes. The will requested that Matteo Romano receive the seat as head of the family. He would be declared sole owner of all of the Romanos’ legal business establishments and all assets including the family home and various estates,” Don Mazilli adds to the conversation.
“Correct,” Matteo takes over again. “Isabella and Cristian each have a sizable inheritance that would last them a lifetime with the proper management but no property and no business holdings unless they establish those businesses themselves.”
“That’s very harsh,” Adam says.
“Pietro,” she starts and for a second, stops to consider if she should refer to him as her father. She decides against it. “Pietro loved them so much. He doted on them for as long as I can remember. How could he cut them out like that?”
“That, I do know,” Matteo says. “He did love them very much, which was quite a shock when I learned of his final wishes. I wasn’t hoping for anything from him. I was doing fine and am quite content with what I have. In fact, I find the seat too much a burden.”
“There was one stipulation,” Don Mazzilli convenes again. “In order for Isabella and Cristian to come into their inheritance, Matteo must find a suitable husband for Isabella. She would need to marry and live with her husband. Otherwise, Matteo would be responsible for providing for them until…well, the rest of their lives.”
“Don’t get it wrong. I would not have minded if it came to that. But, I assumed that my brother made the stipulation once he realized he’d been wrong in the way he’d raised his children. I thought Pietro wanted to remove the silver spoon from their mouths so to speak. I assumed my brother wanted them to be able to build on their own.”
“And that’s not the case?” Adam asks this time.
Matteo nods sadly.
“You owe it to them both to speak the truth,” Don Mazzilli urges.
“It wasn’t the case,” Matteo replies solemnly. “While I was going through my brother’s files and books, I came across a folder. It contained photos and demand letters.”
“Did…was that why you rushed off the estate in the middle of the night?” she asks, remembering the last time Matteo was on the estate. This happened the night they’d returned from the dinner at the Kings’ estate that first time.