Chapter 54: Business ethics and Family priorities.

Alessandro

Milan was gray and cold, matching my mood perfectly. I met my father at the family's primary residence, a sprawling villa that had housed DeSanti's for three generations. Now it felt like a mausoleum.

"The Vitale's were thorough," Papa said, spreading documents across his desk. "They had inside information. Someone betrayed us."

We spent two days in brutal meetings, reconstructing what had been lost and planning our counterattack. The resort in South Africa was indeed all we had left, but it was substantial. Prime beachfront property, consistently profitable, with legitimate business operations that couldn't easily be touched.

It could be the foundation we rebuilt upon. If we were smart. If we were careful.

"We need to make peace with the Morenas," I said on the second day. "The attack on Bianca happened in their territory. They're as threatened by this chaos as we are."

My father nodded slowly. "A meeting...Neutral ground. We present a united front against the Vitale's show them they can't pick us off one by one."

"I'll arrange it when I return to CapeTown."

" Bianca?" He studied me with sharp eyes. "She's truly importantly to you?"

"She's everything."

"Then protect her. This life, Alessandro... it's not kind to the people we love."

I thought of Bianca in that hospital bed, of the baby growing inside her, of the target that would always be painted on their backs because of who I was.

"I know," I said quietly. "But I won't give her up. I can't."

"Then make sure you're strong enough to keep her safe. Weakness is death in our world."

I flew back to South Africa on the third day, my body exhausted but my mind sharp with purpose. The Morenas had agreed to a meeting. We'd hash out territories, responsibilities, and mutual protection. The Vitale's would learn that attacking us had consequences.

I had to see Bianca.

The hospital room was empty when I arrived, my heart jumping into my throat before a nurse explained that Bianca had been moved to a recovery suite. She was doing well enough that they'd upgraded her accommodations.

I found her in a room that looked more like a hotel than a hospital, sunlight streaming through large windows. She was sitting up, dressed in a Navy blue jogger set instead of a hospital gown, her hair loose around her shoulders.

She'd never looked more beautiful.

"Alessandro." Her face lit up when she saw me, and I crossed the room in three strides, pulling her into my arms as gently as I could manage.

"I missed you," I murmured against her hair.

"I missed you too. How did it go?"

"It's handled. Or it will be." I pulled back enough to look at her, cataloging every detail. The color had returned to her cheeks, the shadows under her eyes had faded.

"You look better."

"I feel better. The doctors say I'm healing ahead of schedule.

" She smiled, a secret dancing in her eyes. "Danilo and I have been busy while you were gone."

"Busy?"

"Planning our engagement party. At the resort. We thought it would be nice to have something to celebrate after...

" She gestured vaguely, encompassing everything that had happened.

An engagement party. A public declaration, a statement that Bianca Moretti was mine and under my protection. It was perfect.

"When?"

"Two weeks. Is that enough time?"

"It's perfect." I kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then finally her lips, soft and careful. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being here. For giving me something to fight for beyond money and power and family honor."

Her eyes glistened. "We're in this together, Alessandro. All of it. The beautiful and the terrible."

I held her close, breathing in her scent, feeling the steady beat of her heart against mine.

The storm was far from over. The Vitale's wouldn't stop, the family business was fractured, and danger lurked in every shadow. ..here, in this moment, with Bianca safe in my arms, I felt something I hadn't felt in years.

Hope.

The meeting with the Morenas took place at a neutral restaurant, expensive and discrete. Luca Morena arrived with two bodyguards, his expression carefully neutral.

"DeSanti"

He extended his hand, and I shook it.

"Luca Morena. Thank you for agreeing to meet."

We settled at a private table, and I laid out my proposal. Cooperation, not competition. Shared intelligence about the Vitale threat. Clear territorial boundaries and mutual respect,on top of the agreement

"You love Bianca."

"She's remarkable."

"And she's carrying my grandchild."

He studied me. "That changes things, doesn't it? Makes you think differently about risk."

"Yes."

He nodded slowly. "I understand. We have an agreement, DeSanti you keep your operations clean in my territory. No drugs, nothing that brings heat we can't handle."

"Agreed. We are clean you knew that when you introduced me to your daughter."

We shook hands again, and this time it felt solid. Not friendship, perhaps, but respect. An alliance forged in blood and necessity.

When I returned to the hospital that evening, I found Bianca and Danilo bent over a laptop, looking at flower arrangements.

"Too much?" Danilo was asking.

"Maybe a little."

Bianca laughed, then looked up and saw me. "Alessandro! Come see what we've planned."

I joined them, listening as they walked me through their vision. It was elegant and understated, focusing on family and intimacy rather than ostentation. Bianca had understood instinctively what I would want.

"It's perfect," I said, and meant it.

Danilo excused himself shortly after, and I settled into the chair beside Bianca's bed. She took my hand, lacing our fingers together.

"The doctors say I can be discharged tomorrow," she said.

"As long as I take it easy and come back for regular checkups."

"Then I'm taking you home. Our home."

"I'd like that."

We sat in comfortable silence, watching the city lights flicker to life outside the window. My phone buzzed with messages about business, about the resort, about a hundred things that needed my attention,for now, they could wait.

For now, there was only this

Bianca's hand in mine, our child growing between us, and the promise of a future we'd fight to protect.