Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Chapter 110: Chapter 110 Honor Above Love

Ivy’s POV

The reinforced steel door to Caleb’s private office exploded inward as Zoe stormed through, leading a formidable pack of Thorne family wives behind her. The security detail stationed outside had clearly been no match for these determined women.

”What kind of bloody mess have you dragged my friend into this time, Don Thorne?” Zoe’s voice sliced through the tension like a switchblade, her eyes blazing with protective fury.

”Zoe, not now. Please,” Caleb’s voice carried the weight of exhaustion that even the most ruthless crime boss couldn’t hide.

”Oh, absolutely now! I warned you what would happen if you destroyed her again.” Zoe dropped onto the leather couch beside me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders like armor. ”Get out. Your capos are waiting in the lobby. We’ll handle Ivy from here. Move!”

The lethal authority in her tone made even Caleb Thorne, feared Don of the most powerful crime family on the East Coast, take an involuntary step backward. He ran both hands down his face, the weight of his empire suddenly visible in every line of his body. He pressed a tender kiss to my forehead before retreating through the bulletproof door. Through my tears, I saw my circle of protection: Zoe, Gemma, Nora, Ruby, and Lila forming an impenetrable wall around me like the wives of soldiers preparing for war.

”Gemma called the moment the news broke through the family channels. We abandoned everything to get here,” Nora explained softly, her voice carrying the kind of gentleness that only emerged in the safest of sanctuaries. ”Jude briefed us on what happened with that manipulative mafia princess.”

The loyalty of these women, bound together by blood oaths and shared survival in this violent world, wrapped around me like a bulletproof vest, though it couldn’t stop the trembling in my chest.

”Everything’s collapsing again,” I whispered, fresh tears cutting tracks down my cheeks.

”Ivy, breathe. Caleb made the smart tactical decision sending Xavier with that manipulative mafia princess for proper medical verification. We wait this siege out together, capisce?” Ruby’s hand found my knee, steady as the steel in her voice.

We remained barricaded in Caleb’s fortress-like office while the hours crawled by like a stakeout. Caleb had ordered food delivery from the family’s trusted Italian restaurant, passing containers through Gemma at the reinforced door with strict instructions that we needed to maintain our strength for whatever battles lay ahead.

”Zo, we should go. Max needs us. Carmen’s been watching him since the lockdown started,” I said, my maternal instincts suddenly overriding everything else.

”Relax, tesoro. I already spoke with Carmen through encrypted channels. She’s staying at my safehouse for now. Even ordered from that pizzeria Max loves because you know how that little soldier goes crazy for real Brooklyn pizza,” Zoe soothed me with the efficiency of someone accustomed to managing crisis logistics.

”I don’t know what I’d do without all of you,” I said, my voice thick with emotion that had no place in our brutal world. ”Without this family.”

”Oh, you’d probably be wandering the streets like some lost civilian,” Zoe quipped, trying to inject some dark humor into the suffocating tension. ”Now eat something. Whatever happens in this war, you can’t fall apart. Max needs his mother strong and ready for anything.”

The thought of my son gave me the steel I needed to continue. I managed several bites of the sandwich, though it tasted like sawdust. The women filled the silence with carefully chosen conversation, working to ease the crushing pressure that threatened to break us all. I’d finally stopped the tears when we heard the unmistakable sound of violence from the reception area followed by raised voices that carried the edge of impending bloodshed. I forced myself not to flinch.

Caleb returned looking like he’d survived a firefight. His dark hair was disheveled, his eyes were shot through with red, and his usually pristine shirt bore the wrinkles of a man whose empire was under siege.

”Ladies, I need a moment with Ivy. Alone. And Zoe, before you start your rebellion, this isn’t negotiable,” his tone carried the absolute authority that had built his criminal empire, brooking no argument even from my fiercest defender.

Each friend embraced me with the solemnity of soldiers heading into uncertain battle before filing out. Caleb settled beside me and captured my hands in his, scarred from countless acts of violence in defense of family honor.

”My queen, this changes nothing between us,” he began.

”She’s carrying your child,” I stated without room for doubt.

”Yes, but that proves nothing. DNA testing during pregnancy is too dangerous for family operations, and she’s refusing cooperation anyway. We’ll have to wait until after the birth for confirmation,” Caleb explained with the cold precision of a man accustomed to strategic patience.

”I understand,” I said, meeting his desperate gaze.

”But nothing changes, Ivy. You’re my queen,” he insisted with the fierce possessiveness of a man who’d killed to protect what was his.

”Everything changes, Caleb. A child creates permanent blood ties with that woman. She’ll never grant us peace. She’ll constantly interfere and use that infant to maintain her hold on you because that’s the nature of ambitious mafia daughters. Our love wouldn’t survive the constant warfare,” I told him with the brutal honesty this world demanded.

”Ivy, I won’t allow that to happen,” he protested.

”There’s more. I’m a single mother. I understand how desperately a child needs their father’s protection in our world. Despite all my efforts and all the love surrounding Max, I know he misses having a don’s strength behind him. I won’t steal you from your blood, Caleb,” I said firmly.

”What are you telling me?” His voice cracked like breaking glass.

”We’re finished. Permanently this time. You won’t hunt me down again. You’ll step up because you’re an honorable don. You’ll provide protection and legitimacy for your heir.” I kept my voice level even as I shattered internally.

”You can’t destroy me like this,” Caleb whispered, tears streaming down the face that had struck terror into countless enemies.

”I’m saving your honor. It’s the only choice. You’ll never find true peace with me while your child remains under that unstable woman’s control,” I said, leaning in to kiss his lips one final time. ”I’ll love you until my last breath, but our story ends here.” I stood and walked toward the door. ”I’ll ask Dominic for my position back at Zenith Systems. Working together would only torture us both.”

When I opened the door, our extended family sat in the reception area looking as devastated as we felt. I approached Dominic directly.

”Dominic, you said I could return if circumstances changed.”

”Absolutely, Ivy. The door’s always open,” Dominic took my hand with a weak smile that didn’t hide his concern. ”Take some time to recover from this battle. I’ll reactivate your contract soon, but you should give yourself space to heal.”

”Absolutely not, Ivy,” Xavier interrupted with the intensity of a seasoned consigliere. ”The family needs you here.”

”Xavier, I can’t continue working alongside Caleb,” I said without wavering.

”But you could work with Xavier instead,” Jude suggested with tactical precision. ”We restructure operations. You assist Xavier, I handle Caleb. You’d barely cross paths during family business.”

”Jude, that’s not fair to you,” I protested.

”Ivy, it’s the perfect strategic solution. Please consider it,” Xavier urged with the persuasive power of a man who’d negotiated countless criminal enterprises.

”Ivy, my company would welcome you back gladly, but staying here with Xavier’s crew offers better protection than anything I can provide,” Dominic admitted with honest assessment.

”Girl, don’t sabotage your position in the organization because Thorne screwed up his personal life,” Zoe said bluntly. ”Staying and switching with Jude makes the most tactical sense.”

”She’s right,” I said, looking at my friend. ”But Jude shouldn’t have to sacrifice his preferred assignment for my complications.”

”Don’t be ridiculous, regina. I don’t mind babysitting Caleb and making his existence appropriately miserable,” Jude said with a grin that actually made me smile despite everything.

”You all believe this is the best strategy?” I asked, and every head nodded with military precision. ”I trust your judgment. You only want what protects the family. I’ll start with your crew soon, Xavier.”

”Ivy, take some recovery time,” Xavier suggested gently.

”No. Not even one day. I’ll be here at my usual time,” I said with the determination of a woman who’d learned to survive in the most dangerous world imaginable.

”By tomorrow morning, I’ll have your office relocated and secured next to Xavier’s operations,” Gemma promised, and I squeezed her hand gratefully.

”Now we’re going to my safehouse for an emergency sisters’ council to rebuild your armor,” Nora announced as we headed for the armored elevator. ”Jude, you’re on Caleb supervision duty at Xavier’s tonight.”

”No problem, Nora. Even a don needs backup when his world’s falling apart,” Jude agreed with the loyalty that bound our deadly family together.