Chapter 10 - THE EMPIRE HE BURNED
Anthony sold the clubs.
Closed the illegal gambling rooms.
Turned evidence over to federal investigators.
Men called him weak.
Others called him a traitor.
Anthony didn't care.
One evening, I found him beside the pool.
The same pool.
Luca was asleep upstairs.
“You hate this place,” I said.
Anthony looked at the water.
“I hate what almost happened here.”
I stood beside him.
“You could fill it.”
“I considered concrete.”
“Very subtle.”
He smiled.
Then became serious.
“I don't know who I am without the empire.”
“You're Luca's father.”
“That's one thing.”
“You make terrible pancakes.”
“Two things.”
“You're controlling.”
“Evelyn.”
“Emotionally constipated.”
“I'm regretting this conversation.”
I smiled.
Then touched his hand.
“You're a man who was taught power meant fear.”
Anthony looked at me.
“And?”
“And you're learning something else.”
“What?”
“That love is terrifying.”
He laughed softly.
“Yes.”
Then he pulled me close.
Not hard.
Not possessively.
He waited.
I leaned into him.
“I love you,” he said.
The words sounded difficult.
Like something dragged from behind years of locked doors.
I kissed him.
“I know.”
He frowned.
“You're supposed to say it back.”
“I love you too.”
“Better.”
Behind us, a tiny voice said, “Gross.”
Luca stood in his dinosaur pajamas.
May you like
We laughed.
And for the first time, the pool held a memory that wasn't entirely terrible.
