WITH EVERY BREATH I TAKE

INHERITED SHADOWS

Leo sat still, staring at his father, who had been spitting fire since he walked in.

“You are nothing like your brother,” his voice sharp with disappointment.

“At least he had balls, but you are a coward hiding behind your last name.”

Leo clenched his jaw but said nothing.

“I don’t know what twisted games you are playing, but you'd better find your spine, young man; this family needs a man, not a coward.”

His father was so angry that he lost his son. Leo had heard it all before; his father was just repeating whatever he had said after the death of his brother. He knows his father, he knows him and understands how his mind works too much to understand that Maximillian is not grieving or mourning the son he lost; he is mourning the legacy he feared wouldn’t be passed on.

Leo misses the life where he had choices. He had the choice to live however he wanted, not to be bound by anything. His brother made it easy for him; Leo knew the mafia rules, but he just didn’t live by them. He was free to be whoever he wanted, so he traveled a lot, learned multiple languages, and made connections outside the Mafia. He understood the game outside the mafia, but that was not good enough in front of his father; to him, he was a mama’s boy treated like a Princess.

What they didn’t understand was that he hated the bloody expectations. They looked at him like he was next in line for the throne of a crumbling empire built on threats and shadowy deals, and they call it Honor.

“I’m not him,” Leo said, voice cold and final, “and I never will be.

“You are a p*ssy.”

“Maybe I’m better than both of you, and you want me to inherit this s**t show, no bloody way in hell, I’ll be dammed.”

“Don’t you ever trash your brother’s legacy like that,” his father snapped.

"He was a man, something you will never be.”

“A man,” Leo scoffed, “He was a weapon you created, he died carrying your sins, and now you want me to do the same.”

“At least he had the balls to protect this family.”

“Maybe if you were a better father instead of a dictator, neither of us would have to bleed for your sins. You know that I’m not him and I never will be.”

He walked out of the room without waiting for a reply, the heavy doors slamming behind him.

Leo came back to Italy not because he wanted to inherit this shitshow. He came back because of the last conversation he had with his brother.

Adrian had opened up about his journey, his voice low, laced with fear, and he was so afraid of whatever he was going to find there, and there were so many dark secrets he didn’t know, secrets to question everything he thought he knew about his family, even his own sense of honor.

His uncle Edward had been part of that plan, too. Together, they were heading to Marseille. It was officially to finalize marriage arrangements.

Adrian was set to marry a woman from a powerful mafia family in France, a part of a strategic alliance to expand the family’s influence.

But Leo wasn’t buying it.

Something else was going on, something his brother was so afraid of, but couldn’t say out loud; he could feel it deep in his bones, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

His starting point! Nicklaus.

His cousin and the family’s trusted consigliere. The one his father leaned on most after Adrian.

Leo hated his guts, but he was smart enough to know that Nicklaus was the only person he could get close to without raising suspicion.

Niklaus was calculated, honorable, and didn’t cave easily, but Leo had a plan.

He didn’t just want his trust; he wanted truth.

And above all, he wanted to know what really happened to his brother.