Chapter 3

"You dare," Tony rasped, his voice gaining a surprising strength fueled by pure, unadulterated fury, "you dare stand there and speak of annulling your marriage to Isabella?"

Izzy stood ramrod straight, her chin high, not a tear shed, but her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. She didn' t look at Sonny, her gaze fixed on Tony.

Tony remembered standing with Marcus Bellucci, a man of iron, a man of his word.

He remembered the weight of his promise: "Your daughter will be queen in my house, Marcus. Her children will inherit. Our families, bound by blood and honor."

Marcus had nodded, his eyes, which had seen too much death, holding Tony' s. "For that, Antonio, my army is yours."

Now, this... this puttana from Vegas, this "Luna," was threatening to make him a liar, a promise-breaker.

A cold dread, familiar and chilling, crept up Tony' s spine.

He was seeing ghosts.

Not just of Marcus Bellucci' s sons, but of Angelica.

Vinnie' s mother.

The beautiful, manipulative Angelica, the "First Immortal" as some had mockingly called her after her schemes.

Her "foolproof" plans, her whispers of guaranteed success.

The "Mirage Casino Debacle."

A catastrophe. Good men lost. Millions vanished. The Feds crawling all over them like maggots.

He had been a fool then, blinded by a pretty face and sweet lies.

And Sonny, his own flesh and blood, was walking the same damned path.

"Are you insane?" Tony' s voice rose. "Or just stupid? Do you have any idea what you' re doing?"

Sonny, emboldened by Luna' s presence or his own delusion, actually scoffed.

"You' re old, Pop. Your ways are old. You' re scared of the Belluccis. We don' t need them anymore."

"Scared?" Tony almost laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "I' m not scared of them, you testa di cazzo. I respect them. There' s a difference. A difference you' ll never understand."

He pointed a trembling finger at Sonny. "You are no son of mine if you do this. I' ll disinherit you. You' ll have nothing. You hear me? Nothing!"

Sonny' s face paled slightly, but he stood his ground, Luna whispering in his ear again.

Izzy watched, her expression unreadable. She' d seen Tony' s rages before, but this was different. This was the fury of a dying king betrayed.