Luca

Christmas was quickly becoming my least favorite holiday. I never wanted to see Antonio again, let alone with my family in our living room, laughing and acting as if the last several years hadn't happened. Why the fuck had I let Charlotte convince me to do this? The man didn't get to erase years of deceit and hurt with a simple I'm sorry and then be welcomed back like the prodigal son. When I apologized to Charlotte, I had to beg and plead my case to get her to accept it, but with Antonio, all was forgiven.

At least I hadn't been the only one to question his motives. I knew Elena was upset he was here, and she trusted him even less than I did. At one point, she pulled him into another room and must have laid into him, because when they came back, he was much more subdued. For a guy who had just been planning on stopping by to say he was sorry, he quickly made himself at home.

I understood why Seth and Gabe would want to see him. He was their father, and I knew from experience that no matter what a father had done to you in the past, it was hard to cut ties. Charlotte, on the other hand, completely baffled me. Here was a guy who basically sent her away because he didn't want to be bothered with keeping her safe. He lied to her for years, made her believe her brothers were dead, and then showed up out of the blue, telling her it was all for show. And when he found out she was pregnant, he offered her a huge amount of money to make the entire problem disappear. That one cut me the most. He didn't even deserve to be within a hundred miles of Layla after that bullshit.

Antonio was no father to her—Josh was. He had loved her and raised her and given her nothing but security and adoration. I wished like hell that he was still here, because he would never let Antonio pull this.

Charlotte introduced him to Layla as a friend, not her grandfather. At least she hadn't completely lost it. When he was out of hearing range from Charlotte, I let him know that if he tried to talk to Layla at all, I would drag him down to the tombs and gut him myself.

Every time he came within a few feet of either one of my girls, I was right there. Charlotte picked up on my little show of force and rolled her eyes, but this was all for her own good. One of us had to keep a level head when it came to Antonio, and it looked like it was going to have to be me.

When Elena started serving dinner, Angelo sauntered up to me with a stupid grin and his hands in his pockets. I groaned, preparing myself for whatever smartass comment was about to come.

"What the hell is this all about?"

I shrugged, throwing back the rest of my bourbon. It was the fifth one I'd had since Antonio walked in the door. So much for cutting back on my drinking.

"Ask her." I gestured to Charlotte, who was laughing at something Marco was telling her, thankfully far away from Antonio.

Angelo raised his eyebrows and chuckled, making the whipping gesture with his hand again.

"Would you give it a fucking rest?" I growled. "I'm not whipped. I'm just trying to be sensitive of her feelings." She was allowed to have them, even if I didn't agree with them.

"I told you that you should see a shrink, not turn in to one." Angelo laughed, refilling my cup. He must have known how badly I needed it.

I shot him an ice glare. "You better thank your lucky stars that I have bigger fish to fry tonight than you. Remind me again why I keep you around?"

"Because I know too many of your secrets." Angelo smirked. "And because you know, no matter what, I will always have your back. This is your house. If you don't want him here, send him out on his ass, Christmas or not. You know I love Charlotte, but she's got to learn her place around here. Some things are nonnegotiable, and as far as I'm concerned, Antonio isn't one of them."

"And what do you suggest I do?" he was right, of course, but I couldn't make this into a big scene. Although Christmas was losing its draw for me, I didn't want to ruin everyone else's night. Especially Layla. And I didn't want to piss off Charlotte more than I already had.

"I say you have a chat with him. Find out his intentions. If you feel like it's legit, then let him stay. If not, kick his ass out of here. I'm not buying that apology bullshit for one second. The man has never uttered the words I'm sorry in his life. He still sees nothing wrong with what he did to her or to you or to any of us."

"You're right." I nodded. "He's got no business being here."

Antonio was an asshole. I couldn't protect her from him before, but I sure as hell could now. When he went to refill his drink in the kitchen, I took my opportunity.

"Enjoying yourself?" I asked, coming up beside him.

His smirk was off-putting, as if he was getting away with something right in front of my face. "It's been wonderful. Thanks again for having me."

"I think you and I need to talk." I said, keeping my voice low.

Antonio scratched his chin and nodded, as I gestured towards my office. I didn't want to make too much of a scene, and I really didn't want Charlotte to know what was happening. She probably wouldn't take too kindly to me interrogating him.

Once we got to my office, Antonio shut the door behind us.

"I like what you've done with the place." He smirked, looking around in disdain. It still wasn't completely put back together from the night I destroyed everything after fighting with Charlotte. I hadn't been doing much work in the last few weeks, so I hadn't really needed it.

"What are you really doing here?" I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at him. His chipper attitude was rubbing me the wrong way.

"Right to the point, huh?" He laughed again. "I told you I'm here to make amends."

I couldn't help but clench my fists. The party was just down the hall, but this gave me just enough privacy to knock him out if I needed too, and he getting dangerously close.

"Relax, Luca." He said, plopping down in the recliner in front of my desk. "I see your anger is improving."

"Look, Charlotte may be buying your nice guy act, but I'm not. You have five seconds to start talking before I drag you out of here in a body bag." I was hauntingly serious. I wasn't going to take any chances where my girls were concerned.

"I have to say, I'm impressed with the way you protect Charlotte and Layla. You're always watching them, making sure they're safe. I admire that in you." He ignored my anger and just continued to make himself comfortable.

"Right, like you'd know anything about protecting someone you love."

His face twisted into an unreadable expression. "I had to protect them from you, you know. She was scared of you, what you would do when you found out about the baby. She actually thought you had it in you to hurt them. Of course, you do, don't you?" He grinned. "Something tells me things haven't been as wonderful here as you'd like everyone to think... Did you force them to come here? Roughing Charlotte up when she doesn't agree with you? I guess some things just run in the family..."

"Shut the fuck up. You have no idea what you're talking about." I hissed, scraping my arm along the coffee table and sending his drink flying.

"Would stop acting like a pompous child and come sit down so we can talk like adults?"

I sat in the chair across from him, but remained alert. Antonio was shady and it would be just like him to get me in a vulnerable position and attack.

"I have no interest in your relationship with my daughter." He started.

"She's not your daughter." I reminded him, livid he would claim her in such a way. He was nothing more than a sperm donor.

"You really need to learn some manners, Luca. If you keep interrupting me this way, you'll never hear why I am here."

I hated admitting it, but he was right. This conversation couldn't last long without someone getting suspicious, and I wanted to know what the hell he was up to.

"Thank you." He grinned triumphantly. "As I was saying, I have no interest in your relationship with my daughter. In fact, I had no idea she was even here. The last I heard, she and the girl were in Georgia. They are of no use to me. Women never are, Luca. You should have heeded your father's warning. Anyway, I digress. I'm here because I think you owe something to me."

"What are you talking about?" I tensed up. Antonio was all about doing favors for people. He loved having something to hold over your head. It made me sick the way he was speaking about Charlotte. He didn't give a rat's ass about her, yet she thought he was here to make things right with her, because he wanted a relationship with her. The man had no soul. This was never about Charlotte or making things right with her. He just saw another opportunity to emotionally manipulate her to his advantage. Money and greed were the only thing Antonio could comprehend.

"I went to jail so that you could continue on unscathed. I spent four years in fucking prison while you all were out here making money. I want my cut." He downed his drink.

I scoffed. "Your cut? Are you fucking serious?"

He nodded. "I want my cut of the profits."

"You must have lost your mind while you were in prison, old man. I'm not giving you anything. We built this into what it is now. You had nothing to do with that."

I didn't like the look in his eyes as he studying my face, trying to decide if I was bluffing.

"You know, now that you mention it, Luca, I am getting old. It would be nice to have a relationship with my daughter. And Layla, well, I've always wanted a granddaughter."

The blood in my veins turned to ice. This mother fucker was seriously going to sit here and threaten me with my girls? He had another thing coming if he thought I was going to let that happen. "There is no fucking way you are going to be in Layla's life. Or Charlotte's if I can help it."

"You want to make sure of that?" He hissed. "Give me what I deserve."

Fury pulsed through my veins as I clenched my jaw, trying to keep a level head. It would sure be a hell of a lot easier to put a bullet in his temple and forget this night ever even happened. The option was enticing, but unrealistic. There were too many loose ends. Although we'd all be better off without him, I couldn't kill him. And if I wanted him to stay away from my family, I was going to have to pay up. My hands were tied.

I didn't want him anywhere near Charlotte and Layla. He had already brought so much hurt into our lives and he wreaked havoc wherever he went. I may have even kept Grant alive longer, so he could testify if I knew Antonio was going to get out and try to exploit us. All this time I'd been worried about protecting them from outside sources, but my biggest threat was staring me in the fucking face. Antonio had to go.

"I'll give you $5 million to disappear tonight."

Antonio scoffed.

"And another $500,000 every month if you hold up your end of the deal." He looked intrigued.

"But you have to leave here tonight and you make Charlotte think it was your idea. Tell her you decided you need to get on the road early, whatever the fuck you have to, and then you forget the way to this place. I don't want to see your fucking face again. And if you ever breathe a word of this to her, or to anyone who could bring it back to her, I will slice every inch of your body up and hang you from Times Square while you're still kicking."

Antonio chuckled. "You always have been one for the dramatics. Although your deal is enticing."

"Its on the table for another fifteen seconds."

"Make it a million a month and you've got a deal." I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. He was determined to milk me for every dime he could.

"Fine." I clenched my jaw, agreeing quickly. He should have taken my first offer as an insult. With the amount of money we were bringing in, I would hardly notice that. I needed to quit while I was ahead, though, and be done with Antonio once and for all.

Antonio thought for a second and then stuck his hand out. "Pleasure doing business with you. Now what did Elena make for dessert? I sure hope it's her famous cheesecake." He grinned, sauntering out the door and leaving me alone in the office, reeling from the deal I had just made.

I couldn't bear the thought of Charlotte finding out his real intentions. It would kill her to know he still didn't care about her. That he was still an asshole, doing whatever he could do to get ahead. She believed there was good in the world, that people could change, and I didn't ever want her to lose that. It was one of the things I loved most about her, and I would die if I meant protecting that innocence in her.

I needed her to believe he was at least trying to change, trying to make things right with her. And when she didn't hear from him again, I would be there to comfort her, even though I had told her this from the beginning.