Chapter 2

Sonny didn' t seem to notice the dangerous glint in his father' s eyes, or Sal' s warning tone.

He was too wrapped up in his own drama, Luna stroking his arm, whispering encouragement.

Just then, the door opened more slowly, and Isabella "Izzy" Marino, Sonny' s wife, stepped in.

Her face was pale but composed, her dark eyes taking in the scene – her dying father-in-law, her hysterical husband, and the garish woman at his side.

Other family members and capos, drawn by the commotion, began to gather in the doorway, their faces a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Sonny, what is the meaning of this?" Izzy' s voice was quiet, but it cut through Sonny' s babble.

Sonny whirled on her. "It means I' m done, Izzy! Done with this sham marriage! Done with you!"

He gestured wildly at Luna. "Luna is real. She' s warm. She gets me! Not like you, always cold, always calculating!"

Izzy flinched, a tiny, almost imperceptible movement.

She tried to approach Sonny, her hand outstretched. "Sonny, please. Your father..."

He slapped her hand away. "Don' t touch me! You' re probably happy he' s dying! Plotting with your old man to take over, I bet!"

Izzy' s composure remained, a mask of stoic dignity, but a flicker of fury lit her eyes.

She, the daughter of a Don whose three sons, her brothers, had died in a brutal turf war years ago, cementing the very alliance Sonny now sought to shatter. "Three sons buried at Yanmen Pass," her father had once said, his voice thick with grief, to remind Tony of the price of their bond.

Tony watched, a fresh wave of rage washing away the fog of his illness.

He wasn' t dying. Not yet. Not while this fool son of his was trying to burn everything to the ground.

The old Don pushed himself up slightly on his pillows, a growl rumbling in his chest.

"Santino!"

His voice, though weak, cracked like a whip.

Sonny actually jumped.

Tony felt a grim satisfaction. He wasn' t dead yet. Far from it.

This boy, this entitled, impulsive "Crown Prince," was about to learn a lesson.

The "Emperor" was still on his throne, however rickety it felt.