Children of the Don

Immune against love

The Dons meet up for the last meeting before they all return home to their territories. Dean and his grandfather are on their way to the meeting. Dean is deep in thought. He was thinking about uniting the Agosti and Morretti families, but Sienna is branded a snitch. Dean does not want to put his family at a disadvantage. The other Dons in Texas will turn against him if he goes ahead with his plan. Besides, he thinks the other Dons will vote the Agosti family out of the Mafia and give Las Vegas to another Don to run. The Agosti family's time in the Italian Mafia is over, and everyone knows it. Dean thinks that Don Agosti will only try and save his granddaughter's life and step away gracefully, but Federico Agosti is a hard-headed older man. He will use all his influence to avoid getting kicked out of the Italian Mafia. Federico will not let a woman kick his family out of the Mafia. Dean is sure about that. Filippo turns to his grandson.

"You think Don Agosti will allow Harper to kick him and his family out of the Italian Mafia?" Fillipo asks.

"No, he will use all his power to stay in the Mafia and not allow anyone to bully him, especially not a woman. He thinks women belong in the kitchen and raising children. Don Agosti does not know Harper Casella and what she is capable of. She planned this whole thing with the FBI agent and Sienna. Harper saw an opportunity to eliminate the pesty FBI agent and the Agosti family and cement her position in the Mafia. Harper will look like the hero, and Sienna will be the snitch. Harper made sure no one would marry Sienna for her family and territory. She made sure that I did not marry Sienna, because if I united the Agosti family with the Morrettis, then we would have been the biggest family of the Italian Mafia in the states," Dean says. Filippo smiles.

"The new Donna is clever. I like her and the way she thinks. But, she is making it difficult for you. You were planning on marrying Sienna as you do not believe in love. You want children from your wife but not her passion. I know you, Dean. But, I still do not understand why you keep blaming your mother for waiting five years before she got married again. It is a long time for someone to be alone after her first love dies. I did not blame her, but I did blame her for pushing you aside for her stepdaughter," Filippo says.

"Five years is nothing! Her love for my father was worth nothing! She even wanted to give me another man's surname. No woman is faithful! They promise to love you forever, and then as soon as you die, they marry again. My father would not have married another woman if my mother died before him," Dean says bitterly. Filippo shakes his head. He had this argument with his grandson many times, but to no avail. Dean is set on never loving anyone.

"I will not argue with you anymore. Maybe one day you will find true love and forget your mother's betrayal as you see it. It is possible for someone to love again, Dean. One can not judge someone for falling in love again. Your mother was lonely and needed someone in her life, but let's not argue about it anymore," Filippo says. Dean snorts as he turns his head and looks out the window.

Dean can not forget Harper Casella. Her beauty is unique, but he is not planning to fall in love with her. Dean does not want to give up his life and heart to any woman who will forget about him the moment he rests his head forever. Harper is a strong and clever woman. They will have beautiful children if he marries her, but he knows she is a danger to his heart, and Dean decides he would rather stay away from her. Besides, he does not think she likes him as she always stares at him suspiciously.

"Hmm, maybe I should try and win Harper Casella's heart. I could do with a woman like her," Dean says. He is teasing his grandfather, who is obviously a fan of Harper Casella.

"She is too much to handle. You will never be able to keep her under your thumb. Harper Casella is a passionate woman, and she will steal your heart and make you an honest man. Hahaha, she is too warm-blooded for a cold fish like you," Filippo laughs at his grandson. Filippo is not born yesterday, and he knows his grandson. His grandson does not like to be teased and challenged. He hopes his grandson will take the bait and go after Harper Casella. She will teach Dean what true love is. Filippo does not like the idea of Dean thinking about marrying Sienna. He does not want to go to war with the Casellas and does not like the Agosti family. They are a bunch of entitled assholes, and Sienna will not offer up her body to give Dean a child.

"Grandfather, I am not falling for your tricks," Dean says, but his grandfather has him thinking, and Dean does not like it.

"You are right. I was trying to trick you, but I want grandchildren before I die. Besides, it would be better for a man like you to marry a woman like Sienna that you can control. Harper Casella is too strong for you, Dean. You will never be able to tame her. Sienna is a sheep, and Harper is a lioness. You can not compare the two," Filippos says. He looks at his grandson's grim face.

"So you think I can not handle a strong woman, grandpa?" Dean says. It irritates him that his grandfather can think that way. He is no weakling! He can handle Harper Casella and not lose his heart to her. Or can he? Dean is not so sure about himself anymore. He hates feeling like this and knows his grandfather got under his skin. He also knows that his grandfather is doing it on purpose. Dean does not say another word as he knows his grandfather will use it against him and annoy him until he gives in and tries to win Harper Casella's heart. Dean can not help himself, though, and he has to get in one last bite.

"I do not think Harper killed the FBI Agent. She is too soft. She always feels sorry for someone weaker than her," Dean says.

"Again, you are underestimating Harper Casella. She will not let the story that she killed the agent get out if she did not kill him," Filippo laughs. He knows the Casellas, and although they look like lambs in public, their looks are deceiving. Everyone thinks of them as the Hudson family, but Filippo knows what they are capable of and that no one should take them on without gloves.

"We will see," Dean says. He is ready to take on Harper Casella and expose her for what she is. A weakling and a coward!

Harper and her family are waiting for their guests. Harper knows that everyone thinks she is soft, and she knows she is going to surprise a few Dons. She has the proof of the dead agent, and his colleagues will eventually look for him and find his body. Harper smiles. She had deleted the videos from his phone and left no fingerprints on Jacob Smith's phone. The stupid agent used his alias to rent the limo, so no one would find out it was him. She also had the fake divers license and passport he used to rent the limo with, and they had changed the photo on the passport of the limo company's computer so no one would pick up that he rented a limo. They changed his clothing to the clothes he had on during the day, and her men got rid of the Armani suit he wore that night he died. Harper and the triplets thought of everything, and no one could point the finger at them or the Italian Mafia. Harper deleted all Jacob's phone calls that night, and her hackers had already removed them from Jacob's phone records at his provider and the ping from the cellphone tower near the warehouse. According to his cellphone records, security cameras and his car's position, Jacob was home the night of his death and the days after that.

"Are you ready to face the Dons?" Cole asks.

"Yeah, I will only show them the footage, and no one is allowed to bring their cellphones or any other recording device into the meeting. One never knows who has their knife in for us," Harper says. She trusts no one but her family. Sienna is sitting on the stage, tied up. She can not run anywhere. Sienna looks terrible and is not as beautiful without her makeup. Sienna likes to hide her flaws behind a lot of makeup. Harper and her cousins do not need makeup to look perfect. They are beautiful even if they do not wear makeup.

"Can I at least fix my face," Sienna asks. She does not like Cole seeing her like that. Sienna knows Dean will be there. It is enough that Cole is not interested in her flirting with him. He looks at her with disgust written all over his face.

"Makeup is the last problem you have. So shut up, or I will close your mouth for you," Carol says. She is irritated with Sienna trying to impress Cole all the time. Then, Dean and his grandfather walk in. Cole, Carol, Harper and Carley look at them. Harper feels she knows him from somewhere, but she can not remember from where. Carley frowns. It is the first time she has seen Dean under the bright light.

"What is Brooklyn's stepbrother doing here?" Carley asks. Harper turns her head to look at her cousin and sees Carley staring at Dean Morrelli. Then it hit Harper. She saw him at Bruce's house when he came to fetch Brooklyn! The day the two of them betrayed her! Harper knows now that she can never trust Dean Morrelli as he was raised by the same woman who raised Brooklyn! She glares at Dean. Dean frowns as he does not know what he did wrong to deserve that glare from Harper Casella.

"Keep an eye on him and his family. I do not trust him," Harper says, but she smiles at the older Don walking next to Dean. He looks friendly, and Filippo smiles back at Harper. Her suspicious glare at Dean did not escape the older man, and he could not help but like Harper even more.

"You do not trust him because of his stepsister?" Carley asks. She is taken aback, as she likes Dean and thinks he is handsome. Carley is secretly in love with Thomas Anderson, but she can not tell her family as they will not like her dating an FBI agent. Carley is not interested in Dean romantically, but thinks Harper and Dean would make a great couple. Unfortunately, Harper is destroying her dream of marrying Harper to Dean Morrelli!

"The same people raised them. So Brooklyn and Dean are fish from the same pond," Harper says. Carley looks at Harper and shakes her head. First, she will need to talk to Dean's grandfather and see what he thinks about Dean and Harper being a couple. Then, maybe the two of them can devise a plan to get them together. She has seen the sparkle in her cousin's eye when she looks at Dean, and Harper deserves a happy ending in her life.

"Well, it does not mean he is like her, and maybe you should not see him in that light. I think the two of you will make a great couple," Carley says. Harper laughs.

"No, I am immune against love, Carley, and you know it. I can never trust anyone again, and definitely not someone associated with Brooklyn. Your romantic little heart is dreaming up impossible dreams. Get it out of your head!" Harper says. She is not even planning to entertain that thought. Harper is sure that she did not like Dean before, but now that she knows who he is and where she saw him, she will never like him! Her heart is immune to love anyway, as she does not want to be betrayed again.