Chapter 149: You Will Not Believe
Julian arrived at the airport right on ti to pick up the rest of the family. He stood near the entrance with his hands in his coat pockets.
He had been sent ahead a few days ago to inform Luca that a relative of theirs was getting married in New York, a flash marriage sort of.
The kind of sudden wedding that usually ant one of two things in their world—either a political alliance needed sealing quickly, or soone had gotten themselves into trouble that required imdiate fixing.
Julian didn’t particularly care which it was.
Family events in the Genovese circle were rarely about romance.
He glanced briefly at his watch.
Because while the rest of the family believed he had simply co ahead to deliver a ssage to Luca...
Julian had used those extra days for sothing else entirely. Information. Observation. Preparation.
Don Genovese didn’t like announcing his travel plans over the phone. He considered it careless. As a matter of fact, he didn’t like using the phone period. So instead of risking loose words on an open line, he had told Julian to co to New York in person to inform his brother ahead of ti.
Of course, Julian had gone to see Luca.
He had disrupted his brother’s dinner date, but left the part out about their father and his wife coming into town.
He couldn’t wait to see the look on Luca’s face.
Luciano Genovese prided himself on always knowing what was happening around him. Being caught off guard—even by sothing this simple—would grate on him.
Julian smiled faintly to himself.
The first figure to show up was Don Genovese.
Julian straightened imdiately.
But the mont his eyes shifted past his father—
His lungs stopped functioning. He knew she was coming.
Bianca exited the doors with effortless elegance. The wind caught lightly at her hair. She was always a marvel.
A dream. A sensation.
Julian felt the familiar ache settle quietly in his chest, the sa one that had followed him since the day she married his brother.
It never got easier seeing her.
But sohow he never tired of it either.
Once Don reached him, Julian stepped forward imdiately and bowed his head slightly, taking his father’s hand and kissing the heavy ring resting on his finger.
"Welco."
Don Genovese nodded once, his sharp eyes already scanning. "Where is Luciano?"
Julian lifted his shoulders slightly in a mild shrug. "I don’t know. I thought he would be here too."
"Did you tell him I was arriving today?" Don asked.
"Yes, I did. Must have skipped his mind."
Behind their father, Bianca stepped forward gracefully, clearly waiting for a pause in the exchange before inserting herself into the conversation.
"Julian..." she greeted softly. She gave him a small smile.
And in that small smile was a quiet appreciation for the role he was playing in this little surprise.
For keeping the elent of shock intact.
Julian returned the smile politely. "Bianca...welco to New York. First ti?" Julian asked. He opened the car door for her.
"No. I visit from ti to ti. But I haven’t been in years." She smiled as she slid gracefully into the back seat.
Don Genovese settled into the seat beside her.
Julian circled the car and got behind the wheel.
The engine purred to life smoothly as he pulled away, guiding the car out onto the road that led toward the heart of the city.
New York stretched ahead of them.
Julian kept his eyes on the road, but his mind was already playing several moves ahead.
This was shaping up to be quite the reveal into Luca’s life in New York.
And Luca had absolutely no idea it was coming.
He almost admired the poetry of it.
"I cannot believe Luca didn’t deem it fit to be here." Don Genovese complained suddenly from the back seat. "What is wrong with that boy?"
Julian hid the faint twitch of amusent that threatened to cross his face.
If his father only knew.
"If I tell you, you will not believe ." Julian said calmly.
Don Genovese scoffed imdiately. "You have always had it out for your brother. I can’t take anything you say seriously. You ca all the way to Vienna to give
crappy stories about the ship Luca is running here."
Julian let out a soft breath through his nose.
There it was again.
The quiet assumption that anything negative said about Luciano must automatically be jealousy.
It had followed him his entire life.
Luca the golden son. Luca the natural leader. Luca the man who could apparently do no wrong in their father’s eyes.
"I already said you wouldn’t believe , Dad." Julian replied evenly. "Case closed." He shifted gears smoothly as the car rged into the flow of traffic.
"I think you should take Julian seriously, Don." Bianca chipped in. "Sothing is going on with Luca," she continued. "I just... I can’t understand it. He doesn’t even pick my calls."
Don Genovese frowned slightly. "Well, he will explain himself when I see him, wont he?" he fud in his seat.
*****
When Veronica got ho that night, she had a quiet evening planned.
Luca had inford her that he would be staying a bit longer wherever he was. He had called the pizza parlour and couldn’t give details. But his business needed more ti.
Still, she missed him. Terribly.
The apartnt had felt unusually empty for the past few days. Without Luca’s presence filling the space—everything felt strangely quiet.
So basically, her night was supposed to be dinner, wine, TV and then sleep.
Without Luca, there was no excitent.
Just routine.
She pushed open the door to the annex, kicking off her shoes lazily as she stepped inside, already ntally planning which bottle of wine she would open first.
But when she entered and found Bianca sitting on the sofa waiting, her stomach dropped.
The sight of her froze Veronica halfway across the room.
She knew exactly who it was. She had only seen Bianca briefly once before—on a video call—but even that short glimpse had been enough to leave an impression.
(This is in advance to 200 power stones. See you at 400)
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