Dirty Little Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

his mouth. There was a glint in his eyes. He knew something.
    “Ava, where is this coming from?”
    She slammed her fist on her desk. “Stop with the games, Angelo, and answer my question. Does Joseph have a son?”
    “Ava, this kind of talk, it’s not proper. Not things a wife should hear. Not with our lifestyle.”
    “Angelo, your brother is dead. I have a right to know. I need to know. So stop this omertà stuff and tell me the damn truth.”
    Angelo scowled. Lowering his hands, he leaned forward.
    “Fine. You want the truth. The truth is that before you even came into the picture, Joseph had a string of women around Miami. Even when you came under his protection, there were still other women. After you two married, I can’t say. I got the impression he wanted to settle down and be committed.”
    “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. I’m well aware that fidelity was not a character trait your brother possessed and I don’t care. What I care about is a man bold enough to show up at my home and demand a share of the inheritance that belongs to my daughter,” Ava said.
    Angelo waved his hands. “Wait a minute. You knew about Joseph’s extracurricular activities?”
    “I’m not stupid. I know exactly what you wise guys are all about. No looking for the white picket fence and happily ever after. My arrangement and subsequent marriage with Joseph was about business, plain and simple. He provided me financial stability and I was a nice piece of arm candy who gave him a child. There was no love involved.”
    Angelo rubbed his hand over his face. He regarded her shaking his head. A small smile crossed his lips. “You’re some kind of broad. It’s hard to believe you’re the same girl I met seventeen years ago.”
    “Times and people change. Now, are you going to answer me or is it time I dismiss you and get back to work?” Ava asked.
    “First I want to know who the prick is who showed up at your house.”
    “He said his name is Dominic…Martelli. Showed me a picture of him, Joseph and his mother Carmella. Claimed it was taken three years ago and that Joseph was his father.”
    Ava watched Angelo’s face. He remained silent before he briefly glanced away. She saw his Adam’s apple bob. The butterflies fluttering in her stomach stopped. For the first time since the incident, she felt a measure of peace.
    “He’s Joseph’s son, isn’t he?” she asked.
    “He could be.”
    Three simple words. Words that could change her life if she let them. No way that was going to happen.
    “I figured as much, but that doesn’t change anything. Maia is the heir to Joseph’s fortune and you control his territory. Case closed.”
    “I’m sorry, Ava.”
    “What’s to be sorry about? Your brother was a rolling stone who couldn’t keep it zipped up and he had a kid with someone else. It wasn’t like he loved me.”
    “Ava, he did love you.”
    “Bullcrap, Angelo.”
    “No. Listen to me. Of all the women my brother messed with you are the only one he constantly praised. The only one whose intelligence he admired. The one he chose to marry. He loved you, Ava. I know he did. Him possibly having a bastard son doesn’t change that.”
    “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t need you to lie to me. I’m a big girl. I can handle the truth.”
    “I’m telling you the truth. My brother loved you. I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
    “Whether he loved me or didn’t is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that this man who could be his son is showing up demanding a share of my daughter’s inheritance he is not entitled to.”
    “Listen, I don’t know what the boy is thinking. Joseph provided well for him and his mother. I’ll talk to Carmella. Get her to talk some sense into him.”
    “You’d better because if he shows up again, he might end up with a bullet between the eyes. I don’t give a damn who he is.”
    Angelo laughed. Despite the tenseness of the