"I'll do it," Luca finished.
Massimo opened his eyes again, the faintest flicker of pain breaking through his expression. "I have to," he said. "Only I deserve to carry that burden."
Luca let out a huff. "He is your son."
"And he is your brother," Massimo replied immediately.
Luca's lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze hardening despite the exhaustion weighing on him. "Julian has never been a brother to me," he said flatly. "I'll do it."
Massimo shook his head slowly, once, the decision already made long before this conversation. "No," he said. "It has to be me. I am the Genovese Don," he continued. "Weakness will not be tolerated."
There was no point pushing further. They were the same in that way.
"When you are done questioning him," Massimo added, his tone controlled, "I will do what needs to be done."
Then, almost as an afterthought…
"In the meantime," he said, "I have sent for Bianca to come back to Italy."
*****
