Just then, the door to the inner room opens, and Nonna walks out. She spots Christian and pauses, then seems to steel herself before walking over to us.
"Christian," she pauses in front of him, "I’m so glad you are back,nipotino mio."
The two of them stare at each other. Something unspoken seems to pass between them. Then Christian steps forward and hugs her.
Nonna’s features crumple, and she buries her face in his shoulder. "I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about the existence of your triplet," she murmurs. "You deserved to know, but I kept it from you. It was the deal we made with your mother."
"My mother," Christian pauses, "is she—?"
"She died a few years ago," Nonna replies.
Christian steps back. "How did you find out?"
"When news of her death reached me, I paid people to try to track down your brother, but he seemed to have disappeared."
"Until the day he appeared," Christian says softly.
"When your mother fell pregnant, your father was not only married, but he’d also just brought Seb and Adrian into the family after their mother had died. Your mother gave birth to triplets, and by then, she’d realized what kind of a man your father was. She wanted to leave with all three of you, but your father refused. But your mother came from a powerful mafia family as well; not theCosa Nostrabut the Gomorrah. They weren’t happy about what she’d done, but she was one of theirs, so they negotiated a deal with your father. Your mother could leave with one of the three, and we’d keep the other two children. Also," she glances away, "there was an exchange of assets, as you can imagine, assets which helped your father’s reach grow further."
Christian squeezes his eyes shut.
"I wanted to stop him, but you have to understand, I didn’t hold that kind of power. If I had gone against your father, he would have disowned me, and that would have meant that I couldn’t have been around to protect the rest of you from him."
"So, you stayed?" Christian says in a low voice.
"I stayed, and your brother was taken by your mother. I kept tabs on them, right until the time he turned eighteen and left home."
"Who knows what he’s gone through." Christian drags his fingers through his hair. "What made him turn on us? Why did he threaten Aurora? Why did he agree to kill me, knowing I was his brother?"
Suddenly, a scream sounds from the inside room where his triplet is. Christian stiffens, then races for the door.