4. The Andiacchi's??

Karina

"You did what?", I asked as calm as I could.

Lux glared at Gio and shook her head.

"That's not what I was going to say.", Lux told him.
"You got married?", I asked again.

Lux turned to me on the couch and grabbed both of my hands.

"I'm sorry. It all happened so fast and I really wanted you to be there. I called you seven times, but you didn't answer."
"When was this?"
"Three weeks ago before we left Uncle Victor's house.", she said.

Three Weeks Ago

Lux

I threw the soiled diaper in the bin before picking up my three week old daughter.

"I don't understand how something that disgusting can come out of something so precious.", I said before kissing her forehead. She let out a gurgle sound.

"Let's go find Daddy."

I figured he was in Uncle Victor's room, so I headed there. I found Dominic, Mom, and Dad, gathered there with Uncle Victor.

"What's going on in here?"

They all turned and smiled when they saw me. Dad came and gave me a side hug before picking Willow, who somehow managed to fall asleep on the way here, up out of my arms.

"There's papa's little girl.", he beamed at her.

Thankfully, she didn't wake up. If she had, she would've threw a fit. She hates when anyone else holds her.

"They won't tell me.", Victor said, obviously annoyed.

Mom pulled a manilla envelope out of her bag and pulled out a bunch of white envelopes out of it.

"The letters.", he said quietly.
"You didn't die, brother. We were trying to figure out what to do with these. It'd be a shame to never know what you wrote to us.", Dad said as he passed us all our letters.

I eyed the leftover letter that he placed on the table beside him. I saw Karina's name written in a fine cursive.

"She'll be back, love.", Victor said.

I gave him a smile and nodded. Val opened her letter and smiled at Victor.

"Dear Val, you've changed me. I was a cold, calculated man until I met you. From the day we met, I knew we would be best friends and I'm so grateful for your friendship. For your grace and patience. I hope that will rub off on my son. There are no words to describe how thankful I am for you. You taught me how to live and love. You taught me what real strength was. Because of you, I have this incredible life. Because of you, I have the one thing we both use to dream of: A family. Thank you so much, Valeria.", she read, wiping away all the tears that fell.

Victor smiled at her and grabbed her hand.

"You're my brother, Victor. I love you so much."
"I love you too, V."

Dad handed Willow to Victor, so he could open his letter.

"Dear Boss, I want to thank you for giving me a chance to change. I was on the wrong side of things for so long and you gave me a chance. You allowed me to change. Allowed me to become a better person. You put me on your team and you never made me feel like I wasn't family. The moment I stepped foot in your home, you made me an Andiacchi and I will honor our name until the day I die. I also want to thank you for looking out for my little brother when I was too blinded by power to do it myself. Спасибо, брат."
"And I mean every word. I will honor our name until the day I die."
"I know you will."