1183 The Mafia Boss's Fiancée Humiliated a Maid's Daughter—Then He Asked, ‘Why Didn't You Tell Me She Was Mine?’

Vincent Romano arrived with an expensive bottle of wine he never opened. Giorgio came an hour later and greeted Isabella as though she were already his daughter-in-law.

Alessandro had the dining table set for four, without flowers or music.

"Where's the celebration?" Vincent asked.

"There isn't one. The wedding is canceled."

Isabella kept her hands in her lap. She had heard the same sentence the day before, yet it landed harder with both fathers listening.

Giorgio pushed back his chair. "Sit down and think."

"I've thought."

Vincent smiled without warmth. "And you assume this is a private romance? Two companies adjusted their contracts on the strength of your word."

"Show me those contracts. I'll honor the lawful obligations our companies actually owe."

"Your father knows the rest."

Alessandro turned to Giorgio. "Do I?"

The older man's stare was answer enough.

Isabella spoke. "He's ending it. You cannot make a marriage out of four signatures."

Vincent's head snapped toward her. "Stay out of this."

"You brought me into it when I was twenty-eight and told me who I would marry."

"I gave you a future."

"You gave me a schedule."

The words surprised even Isabella. Alessandro glanced toward her but said nothing.

Vincent set down his untouched glass. "By Monday I'll cancel the freight agreement. Your people will be the first to feel it. If you reconsider, the door stays open."

"It doesn't," Alessandro said.

After Vincent departed, Giorgio lingered beside the staircase.

"You think being gentle with a child makes you different from me?" he asked.

"No. I think what I do next might."

"Rosa Mendes will leave when things get difficult. I promise you."

"You don't know her."

"Neither do you."

That was the part Alessandro could not deny.

He turned back toward the dining room. Isabella was removing her engagement ring, but she hadn't put it down. She looked at it as though it were a small lock.