The Mafia's Undoing-Chapter 25: Temptation

I could feel the burn from the scotch going down. Still, it wasn’t strong enough to erase the image I’d been left with: Katherine laughing with Luca Torrino in the lobby of Torcano Financial, his hand resting casually on her shoulder as if it belonged there.

"You’re going to wear a hole in that glass." Vincent stood in the doorway to my office, arms crossed. "Boss, she’s going to be all right. Two bodyguards on rotation, cameras everywhere-"

"Show me the footage from today." My voice was gruff than I intended.

Vincent hesitated. "Are you sure that’s a good idea?"

"Now" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He pulled up his tablet, and I saw Katherine’s day play out in muted video clips. Coffee with Luca in his office - together, too close, heads hunched over financial statements. Lunch in the executive dining room - his touch on her lower back leading her to a table. Afternoon meeting where he made her laugh, that genuine smile I hadn’t seen in weeks.

I clenched my fist hard enough to crack my glass.

"He’s courting her." The words tasted like poison. "Right in front of me. And I can’t do a damn thing about it.

"You could tell her the truth about the FBI-"

"And put a target on her back?" I set the glass down, blood from a cut on my palm dripping into my scotch. "My father made it clear. Someone wants her dead. As long as she hates me, as long as the Sterling engagement is in place, the protection she gets through her connection to Victoria’s family ensures Katherine is safe."

"From everybody except for Luca Torrino."

The rage that ran through me was volcanic. I wanted to burst into Torcano Financial, grab Katherine, and force her to see that with every second she spent with him, she was ripping me apart. But Thomas’s words echoed: She’s safer hating you than being your target.

My phone vibrated. Victoria.

Wedding venue tour in 20 minutes. Do not be late. The press will be there.

I looked at the message, my stomach roiling with nausea. More torture in the guise of planning. More pictures for Katherine to see, more evidence that I’d picked someone else.

"Get the car."

***

The exquisite ballroom at the Plaza Hotel was everything Victoria had dreamed of: sumptuous, traditional, and suffocating. She stood in the middle of it all, pointing up at ceiling fixtures while a wedding planner scribbled furiously in a notebook, looking like a thrilled bride.

"What do you think, darling?" Victoria’s smile was sharp as she gestured towards the space. "December 15th. Can you imagine?"

I couldn’t imagine anything except Katherine’s face when she saw these pictures.

"It’s fine."

"Fine?" Victoria inched closer. "You’ve been distracted for weeks, Tony. I’m starting to think you’re not serious about our deal."

"I’m here, aren’t I?"

"Physically. But your mind is with Torcano Financial, observing your ex-girlfriend playing house with Luca Torrino." Her eyes narrowed. "This deal involves you actually committing to this performance. That means smiling for cameras, pretending you’re happy, and not looking like you’re about to kill someone every time I touch you."

"I’m committed"

"Prove it." She pointed to the photographer waiting nearby. "Kiss me. Right now. Like you mean it."

I clenched my jaw, this was the cost. Katherine’s safety for my complete humiliation.

I pulled Victoria in and gave her a kiss for the cameras. The cold, rehearsed touch of her lips was nothing like Katherine’s. Yet I made it real, making it seem like I was happy to be there, because somewhere in this city, Katherine would see these pictures and hate me even more.

But hating me kept her alive.

I pulled my hand back, and Victoria’s face split with triumph. "Much better. See? You can be trained."

My phone rang. Marco’s phone number - calling from FBI custody, following that incident in the warehouse.

"I have to take this."

"Make it quick. We have a cake tasting in thirty minutes."

I entered the hallway. "What do you want, Marco?"

"A warning, cousin. Your girl Katherine? She’s in deeper with Luca than you think." His tone held a hint, almost like concern. "I have contacts watching the Torrino organization. Luca’s not just pursuing her professionally. He’s taking her to dinner three times a week. Bought her a necklace yesterday - diamonds. The man is playing the long game, and she’s beginning to respond to it."

The corridor tilted. "You’re lying."

"Look, check Vincent’s surveillance footage from last night. Luca walked her home, kissed her hand goodnight, and stood there for twenty minutes talking. She was smiling, Tony. Truly smiling." Marco stopped. "How much longer until you lose her completely?"

I ended the call and immediately texted Vincent: Send me last night’s surveillance footage. All of it.

The video files arrived in seconds. I saw Katherine and Luca leave a restaurant, his hand resting possessively on her lower back. I saw them walk towards her building, both of them laughing at something he was saying. I saw him kiss her hand - not in a casual way, but in a way that was intimate, full of implication.

And Katherine didn’t pull away.

My control fractured. I was in motion before I made up my mind, going toward the elevator, toward my car, toward Torcano Financial to put a stop to this before-

"Anthony." My father’s voice caught me at the entrance to the Plaza. He stood in my way, his face stern. "Don’t."

"Get out of my way!"

"No." Thomas’s hold on my arm was surprisingly strong for a man his age. "You’re not thinking clearly. If you go to Katherine now, you will undo all the work we’ve done to protect her."

"She’s with Luca Torrino."

"And she’s alive because of it."

He pulled me aside, out of the way of cameras and wedding coordinators. "We got three more death threats against Katherine this week. Anonymous. Pros. Someone wants her dead to get to you."

"Who?" I asked. My blood ran cold.

We don’t know yet. But for as long as you’re engaged to Victoria, as long as Sterling protection covers Katherine, she’s safe." His gaze was cold. "You can go to her and call off this engagement, and whoever is after her will strike. Do you want that to happen?"

"I want her safe."

"Then let her hate you." Thomas let go of my arm. "Let her build a life with Luca if that’s what will keep her breathing. Your pride, your heart - none of it matters if she’s dead."

The logic was flawless and catastrophic. Save her by losing her. Keep her and watch her die.

"How much longer?" I asked. "How much longer do I have to watch her slip away?"

"Until we discover who’s threatening her. Till she’s past the point where it doesn’t even matter." Thomas’s features relaxed slightly. "Sorry, kid. That’s what it costs to keep her alive."

I went back to the ballroom, where I found Victoria and cake samples, and wedding plans, and allowed myself to die a little more with each choice.

That night, Vincent set up "candid" photographs of us and Victoria having dinner. Us holding hands across the dinner table. Me smiling at something she was saying. The ideal pic for an engaged couple in love.

I ensured that those pictures were posted on social media within one hour. Katherine would see those pictures. I made sure she’d think I’d moved on.

Because if she thought I didn’t want her anymore, perhaps she would finally allow herself to be happy with someone else.

Even if that someone was Luca Torrino.

Even if it killed me to watch.

I was in my penthouse that night, looking out over the twinkling lights of the city and trying not to think about Katherine in Luca’s arms, when my phone buzzed.

A live feed video surveillance by Vincent.

Katherine and Luca leaving an upscale restaurant in the West Village. His touch on her lower back. His possession and his ease. Her head tilted back, laughing at something he’d said... that real, genuine laugh I’d fallen in love with.

Next, a text message arrived directly from Luca Torrino.

She’s moving on, Marvin. You should, too. Oh, and tell Victoria I said congratulations on the wedding. December, right?

I sat looking at the message, the picture of Katherine with another man and smiling, and something in me finally shattered beyond repair.

Luca Torrino wasn’t just pursuing Katherine. He’d already won her.

And I had no one to blame but myself.