Damon had spent the last hour trying to get Victor to fall asleep. The toddler had been wired because of all the activity in the house. Family members from two continents had been arriving all evening in preparation for tomorrow. Damon plopped into the chair behind his desk with a tired groan. He closed his eyes and just took a couple of minutes to decompress in the silence of the study. Nothing had gone as he had planned today. Perhaps the only redeeming aspect had been his conversations with Bonnie. He had found both instances to be enlightening for vastly different reasons. Damon had come to accept that his wife would not be running into his arms any time soon. However, the challenging discourse had strengthened his belief in a possible reconciliation in the future. Tyler seemed certain that Bonnie would never forgive Damon's many transgressions. He did not share the younger man's pessimistic view of the situation.

A romantic reconciliation with Bonnie was out of reach for now. However, Damon was certain that he could arrange some semblance of a détente in their business relationship. The simple fact was that no one really wanted to kick off a costly mob war. All the parties involved would pay too high a price for it ever to be seriously worthwhile. Yet Damon also realized that he would not have very much latitude to operate. The Benedetto family would not believe any of his actions were made with good intentions. Apparently, his father and grandfather had acted in bad faith for so long that they had poisoned the relationship with their allies. Damon had witnessed Big John's barely disguised hostility tonight. He had no doubt the older man would have murdered Ric with his bare hands if Zach had not been acting as the desperate peacemaker.

Damon had decided on the spot that acquiescing to Bonnie's demand was the right decision. He had no use for the Loiacono family now that he knew about their duplicity. However, he was more concerned about the possibility of more moles lurking within his organization. Damon found it unlikely that Bonnie would expose the Loiacono family without a contingency in place. The only issue was he had no clue how to unearth any remaining moles. If Emily had successfully turned the Loiaconos, his family's oldest allies, then anything was possible. She had wisely attacked a relationship that was already broken. Damon planned to make use of the presence of his great-uncles. They would know best which people had long standing grievances with his father or grandfather. There were no guarantees that this method would work but he had to try something. Giuseppe might have been content to allow Sheila to manipulate the organization covertly but Bonnie did not seem interested in operating in the shadows any longer. Damon thought of Sheila as a grifter because she manipulated the mark into doing her bidding. Meanwhile, Bonnie seemed more inclined to hold the mark at gunpoint to get her way. Damon was not pleased with being the 'mark' in this scenario but admittedly he was turned on by her methods.

Damon's blue eyes seemed drawn to the bar across the room. Several glasses of bourbon were just what he needed to pass out for the rest of the night. However, he was trying to drink in moderation. He knew that quitting cold turkey was unrealistic. Damon was an alcoholic and he was not interested in going through withdrawals. Unfortunately, Damon knew that he would not be capable of moderation tonight. He had a myriad of emotions that he was desperate to suppress. Drinking heavily was a gateway drug for him. He usually turned to harder drugs or sex if alcohol didn't work. He was worried that he would end up telling Enzo to score some coke for him or he might end up at the penthouse with Katherine. Both of those options were absolutely out of the question. He wouldn't give Bonnie more reasons to despise him.

He pried his gaze away from the bar when he heard someone knock on the door. Damon wasn't surprised to see his uncle walking into the room. He had been expecting a pep talk from Zacharias since they left Bonnie's house.

Zacharias placed a plate of steaming hot baked ziti in front of his nephew. Then he sat in front of the desk with a plate of his own. He motioned at the younger man and said, "I can't remember the last time you ate. I am sure that you don't recall either."

Damon frowned as he tried to remember his last meal. He realized that it had been lunch with the kids. Damon picked up the fork and mumbled, "Thanks."

The older man nodded in acknowledgement as he started on his meal.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Damon raised an eyebrow. "Well…"

Zach stopped eating and looked at his nephew quizzically. "What?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Aren't you going to tell me how I fucked up tonight?"

He huffed out a laugh and said, "I don't need to hold your fucking hand on this situation, Damon. You know that you fucked up without me having to tell you. The important part is that you turned it around in the end. Will you fuck up again? Of course, you will."

Damon snorted, "Thanks for your vote of confidence…"

"What do you want me to say, Damon? I told you not to go over there today. I figured it would be better to arrange a sit down meeting in the days following the funeral. Instead, you throw a fucking tantrum again and stressed Bonnie out to the point that she fainted."

He said, "I thought that you weren't going to lecture me about it."

The older man shrugged. "You kept pushing so I assumed that you must have wanted to hear it. All I can hope is that tonight made you understand the gravity of our situation. A war with the Benedetto family is not far off if we don't find a way to make peace with them."

Damon nodded and he took another bite of his meal. He leaned back in the leather chair and groaned. "Yeah, I picked up on the vibe. Big John seriously wants Ric dead."

"Ric should be more concerned about what Abby will do to him. You really made his situation worse by bringing up Lilly. He's on the phone answering for that shit now. I told him that he better not eat anything Abby cooks for awhile," he jested.

He winced sympathetically. Damon knew that he was an asshole for torpedoing Ric's already fragile relationship. "What's the over/under on him trying to kick my ass tonight?"

Zach shook his head and said, "You are in the clear for now. Ric is focused on sorting out his family issues. It doesn't mean that he won't randomly kick your ass in the coming weeks."

Damon asked, "Did you talk to our uncles about the Benedetto problem?"

"Yes and they have agreed to join the meeting tomorrow night. Uncle Bruno has a solid relationship with John. I hope that he will be able to help us negotiate something fair. I think you should consider asking Bonnie to claim all the moles her family placed in our organization. Give our two organizations a fresh start."

He hummed as he took another bite of ziti. Damon considered his uncle's suggestion. It was not likely that Bonnie would be truthful with them. However, there was much to be learned from observing her reaction and response to the request. She might even be inclined to reveal the names of a few moles that she would prefer work for her openly. Bonnie was making a big push with her business. She obviously needed people she trusted implicitly to help her make those moves. "I want our people to look into the deaths and disappearances that we originally attributed to Giuseppe."

Zach nodded and said, "I was thinking the same thing. I mean my brother is still the most likely suspect but it would be naïve not to look deeper. We need to learn as much as possible about Bonnie…the boss."

Damon put his fork down. "I am still trying to incorporate this new version of Bonnie with the girl that I thought I knew."

"My older brother wasn't good for much but he said something wise. It was naïve of us to believe Bonnie's façade without question. Sheila was far too shrewd to have raised her granddaughter to be dependent on a man to secure her family's legacy."

Zach had included himself in the statement because he had never once suspected Bonnie's motivations or intentions. She seemed to retain the sweet disposition of the little girl he had watched grow into a young woman. She had played right into their expectations and left them completely disarmed.

Damon asked, "Do you think Bonnie has actually killed someone? I don't mean giving the order but actually getting her hands dirty. Do you think she is capable of taking a life?"

The older man took a moment to gather his thoughts because he had taken time to consider it earlier. He said, "You wouldn't be sitting in that chair if you were not a made man. The men loyal to this family would not respect you in that position if you had not spilled blood for this family. We haven't heard the slightest hint of disharmony from the men within the smuggling operation since Bonnie has taken control. I had expected some defectors but they have all stood pat. They obviously respect her and I can only think it is because she has proven herself to them in some way. The men would not stand by her simply because John's grandsons are here. Cesare and Cristian will not be here forever and everyone knows that. They must believe that Bonnie is capable of running the organization without assistance from her cousins."

Damon's thoughts kept straying to how easy Bonnie had handled Tyler's gun. It was obvious that she was familiar with the proper way to hold and use a firearm. Had Sheila really made Bonnie kill someone to make her bones? How young had his wife been when she had been required to kill for the first time? Damon wondered if it had been as traumatic as his experience. It was strange how quickly the narrative he had built is his head about Bonnie had started to change. He wasn't ready to voice any of his newly formed theories to his uncle. He said, "Richard is betting his entire family's safety on Bonnie being able to hold onto the organization."

He nodded. "Richard has always been prudent when it comes to risk taking. He wouldn't have attached his fate to Bonnie's unless he trusts her implicitly. There is only so much support that Big John can offer from across an ocean."

Damon sighed and shoveled more ziti into his mouth.

"What is it?" Zacharias asked.

He said, "I am just trying to figure out how the fuck we protect our people in Milazzo if we can't maintain the alliance with the Benedetto family. The Benedetto and Loiacono families banding together would easily overrun everyone loyal to us."

Zach leaned forward in his chair. "I know that you were groomed for this position by my blood thirsty brother. However, I have found that diplomacy is always the wisest course of action. Extend the olive branch…"

"And if they reject this olive branch? We're not just dealing with hate from the Benedetto family. The Loiacono family has been waiting decades to have a chance at revenge."

He smiled at his nephew. "You extend the olive branch and if they reject it, then you fucking stab them with it. However, Emily and Sheila were able to keep the Loiacono family's bloodlust at bay. Bonnie must be similarly capable if they didn't make a move as soon as Sheila died."

Damon shook his head. "All of this madness was caused because your old man was a racist prick with a serious inferiority complex. What kind of degenerate frames his own god brother for a crime that sends him to prison for well over a decade?"

Zacharias frowned and said, "We only know the Loiacono side of the story. I'll wait for judgment until I hear what Uncle Bruno has to say."

"I think it might be time for you to accept that Nonno might have been an evil prick. His deviancy just took a different shape than Giuseppe's did," Damon explained as delicately as he could.

The older man tensed.

Damon held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not trying to be an asshole here. I know that you love him. I am not suggesting that new information should change the way you feel. But I need you to be rational when we are hashing out our issues at this meeting."

"And you think that you will be rational?" Zach asked skeptically.

He shrugged. "I don't hold any emotional attachment to my grandfather and I hated Giuseppe. Nothing they say about either of them will be any skin off my nose. My only stumbling block will be staying calm around Tyler."

Zach groaned but nodded in agreement. He was the one that was most attached to his father's legacy because it was all that he had. Zach had been so young when Giuseppe killed his father. He had few memories of Domenico that were not shaped by stories he had been told over the years. He said, "I'll stow my shit long enough to get this deal done. Can you be civil to Tyler?"

Damon shook his head. "I am going to try but it's not easy. I wanted to kill the son of a bitch tonight. Tyler is obviously fucking my wife and he had the nerve to say I couldn't see her. She's pregnant with my children. He has a lot of fucking nerve thinking that he has the right to get between us."

"Well, you are going to have to figure out a way to cope because it doesn't look as if he is going anywhere," Zach said gently. He had seen the casual touches between Bonnie and Tyler. In his opinion, Damon was worried about the wrong thing. The emotional connection Bonnie shared with the boy was far more troublesome than whatever they were doing behind closed doors.

"I don't need you to tell me that," he muttered bitterly. "He loves her."

Zach was surprised that his nephew had been observant. He said, "Perhaps…"

"She loves him, too. It means this farce is going to drag out much longer than I originally thought. Even when Bonnie starts to realize this relationship isn't going to work, she's going to hold on to avoid hurting him."

Zach shook his head. "I still don't understand why you are so certain that their relationship is going to end."

Damon said, "Because there is a difference between loving someone and being in love with that person. It is like I told Bonnie, I love Rose but I have never been in love with her. In theory, Rose should be my perfect match. She is easily the best friend I have ever had. Rose is always there supporting me and cleaning up my messes. Hell, I wouldn't have seen my daughters on Christmas if she hadn't taken initiative. But even with all the boxes Rose checks, there is no passion there. We could get married and we would probably be relatively happy but it isn't the same thing as being in love. The way I feel about Bonnie, I have never felt that for anyone else. I know without a doubt that it is the same for Bonnie. She is going to realize that. I just have to be patient enough to let her come to that conclusion."

Zach was actually proud of his nephew's insight. He only hoped that Damon's assessment was correct. He wasn't sure how the younger man would react if Bonnie shunned him permanently. Damon seemed certain that Bonnie would eventually break up with Tyler. However, Zach wasn't certain that he should count on the young woman looking to reconcile with him. He frowned when he saw a disconcerting smile on his nephew's face. He warily said, "Damon…"

"What?" he asked with faux innocence. He went back to eating dinner.

"What are you planning?" he asked.

Damon said, "I am not planning anything, Zio. I was just thinking that perhaps it is time to bring the Gilbert family more into the fold. Losing John has weakened our ties to them. We can't really afford to lose more long-time supporters. I want to talk to Grayson about arranging something for his kids."

Zach glared at his nephew because Damon's was being entirely too transparent. He wanted to needle Tyler by arranging a marriage for his ex-girlfriend. He said, "Your motivations aside, it would be wise to strengthen our connection to them. Maybe the boy could be an option. I know John was interested in arranging something between Jeremy and one of Ric's daughters."

Damon asked, "Do you think that Ric will go for that?"

Zach hummed noncommittally. "He's got some ground to make up with his girls before he can even broach that conversation. Jo might be willing to help. She knows that importance of intermarriage."

He snorted. "Or she hates Ric so much that the idea of subjecting her daughters to the same fate will be out of the question."

"That is also a strong possibility."

Damon said, "Way to go on not having any daughters, Zio."

Zach grabbed his crotch without offering a verbal answer. Frankly, he was glad that he only had sons.

He chuckled and asked, "What about Greta?"

Zach titled his head as he considered the match. "Greta is a couple years older than the boy but it wouldn't be the worst match. I'll talk to Uncle Jackie about it."

Damon nodded. "I am serious about arranging something for Elena, too."

"You're the boss. If you really want me to talk to Grayson about arranging a marriage for his daughter then I will do it. But I would caution you against meddling with Bonnie and Tyler's relationship. They are going to see this move for what it is and you might not like the response."

His uncle's argument gave him some pause. Marrying Elena off to one of his relatives was a petty maneuver by anyone's standards. However, Bonnie had revealed herself as spiteful and somewhat vindictive. He had no way of predicting what she might do to get under his skin. Damon shook his head. "I can't run this organization based on Bonnie's reactions. Of course, I want to piss off Tyler but this move is also smart for our family. The Gilberts' ties run deep in the old country. We need to bolster our position if we are letting the Loiacono family end their service to us."

Zach shook his head. His nephew was behaving like a little bastard but his point was valid. The Gilberts hailed from a town maybe 30 miles away from Milazzo. Having a large presence in the areas surrounding Milazzo was wise considering the current shift in power.

There was a hurried knock on the door and then suddenly Stefan was standing in the office looking jittery and guilty as hell.

Damon lifted an amused eyebrow because so often his brother reminded him of the little boy he once was. Stefan was wearing the same expression he wore whenever he did something that might upset Damon. "What's going, Stef?"

Stefan swallowed thickly and said, "I want to start out by saying that I didn't invite her here. I would never disregard your wishes that way, Damon."

The amusement slowly bled out of the mobster. He sat up taller in his chair and ground out, "Who?"

"Mom is here…"

Damon was out of his chair and across the room in seconds. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. He knew that his mother was a manipulative bitch that had somehow gotten her hooks into his little brother. He asked, "What is she doing here?"

"I just…I called and told her that Giuseppe had died. I thought it was the right thing to do since they were married once. I didn't want her to find out on the news. She asked if I wanted her here and I said no. I thought that was the end of it but…she just arrived in a cab. I told Mom that she needed to leave because you wouldn't want her here, but she wants to see you first."

Damon sighed and then squeezed Stefan's shoulder. He murmured, "It is okay. The bitch would have found a way to involve herself even if you hadn't called her. But she's not staying here."

Zach stood up so fast that he tipped over his chair. He demanded, "Where is she?"

Stefan hadn't expected so much anger from his uncle. He said, "She's in the parlor."

Zach brushed by his nephews. He opened the door fast enough to send it crashing against the wall. He stormed into the parlor with a face like thunder.

Lilly was sitting on the couch. Her expression dimmed when she saw Zach barreling towards her like an out of control freight train. She immediately regretted such a bold opening gambit.

Zach was on her in moments. He grabbed Lilly's blouse and dragged her upwards. He growled in her face, "What part of our last conversation did you misunderstand?"

Lilly swallowed thickly because Zach's unbridled rage reminded her of Giuseppe. Her nerves were already on edge returning to the Manor. The picturesque home used to be her prison. Too many times to count, Lilly had believed that she would die there. She said, "I am just here to support my sons through this trying time. Losing their father is such an incredible burden."

He released Lilly's shirt and removed his gun from its holster. He pressed the barrel of the gun against her forehead. Zach was practically seething. In a gravelly voice, he said, "I should kill you right here."

Damon skidded to a stop when he rushed into the room. He approached the situation cautiously because this was out of character for his uncle. Zacharias was never violent without legitimate cause. He certainly wasn't known for violence against women. However, it looked as if he was going to blow Lilly's head off in the middle of the parlor. He said, "Let her go, Zio."

Stefan stood in the doorway with his mouth agape. He felt frozen in place and unsure of what to do. He knew Lilly showing up uninvited was going to be bad but this was next level even for his dysfunctional family.

Zach ignored his nephew completely and pressed the gun harder against her forehead. He removed the safety and rested his finger just above the trigger. He stared into Lilly's fearful eyes with complete apathy. He said, "I told you to stay the fuck away from my nephews. I made the consequences of disobeying that order very clear. I can only assume that you came here to die. You have always been too cowardly to kill yourself, despite the numerous times you threatened to do so."

Damon said, "Come on, Zio. The kids are upstairs. You don't want to do this here."

Lilly began to feel lightheaded from the sheer tear gripping her heart. She had seriously underestimated Zach. She didn't remember him being this volatile. She was too shaken to respond to his cruel barbs.

Stefan cried out, "Zio, please!"

Zach looked over his shoulder and saw that Stefan was legitimately in tears. He turned to look at Lilly once again before releasing her.

Lilly collapsed onto the couch and instantly grabbed her purse. She removed a bottle from the bag and dumped several pills into her mouth.

Zach sat on the coffee table so that he was at her eye level. "Look at me."

Lilly was still struggling to catch her breath.

He bellowed, "Look at me!"

Lilly slowly raised her eyes to look at Zach.

He said, "Maybe you didn't heed my warning because you didn't think I was serious. I know I have a reputation for being reasonable but you also know the lengths I will go to protect this family. You are a fucking cancer as malignant as Giuseppe ever was. You are only still breathing because Stefan is in the room. I will end you if we cross paths again. Now keep your mouth shut and leave this house."

Zach turned around and walked out of the room.

Damon stared at his mother for a moment and then took out his wallet. He gave Stefan all the cash he had on hand. He said, "Get her the fuck out of here and get a doctor to look at her. Tell Ric to help you since they are such close friends. Make sure she keeps her fucking mouth shut about this."

Stefan nodded numbly as he held onto the money that Damon and shoved into his hand.

The elder of the Salvatores left the room to track down his uncle. He found Zach in the backyard. He yelled, "What the hell was that? You got in my face for grabbing Bonnie's arm but you held a gun to Lilly's head in the fucking parlor!"

Zach whirled around and said, "Back off, Damon! I don't have time to coddle you right now."

Damon lifted an eyebrow. "Fuck you. I have never needed to be coddled. What is wrong with you?"

"I told that miserable bitch to stay away from you and Stefan," he replied through gritted teeth.

The younger man said, "Yeah, I got that part. But I don't understand why. I hate Lilly but I can't stop Stefan from having a relationship with her. The kid is too young to remember how completely useless Lilly is. He'll figure it out the more time he spends with her."

Zach said, "She caused Stefan to have a fucking mental breakdown. Nothing good can come from having her near either of you. I want her on the first plane back to Paris or I will kill her."

Damon swallowed thickly because it had to be serious for Zach to react this way. He said, "Stefan is better now, Zio. Isn't he?"

He walked over to his nephew and took Damon's face in both of his hands. "What do you think will happen if Stefan learns that Giuseppe might not be his father? Do you think your little brother could survive that sort of downward spiral?"

Damon's blood ran cold. He stumbled backwards. "What are you saying?"

"Ric admitted that Stefan might be his son. I think that is why she allowed Stefan to think Ric might have raped her. She probably thought it would lead him to the paternity question. Fortunately, Stefan believed Ric when he said there was no way he could be his father. You can't think that she is here to do anything but stir up more shit. I won't let her get into that boy's head again. You know how close Stefan came to murdering Ric last time. We have enough shit on our plate already. We all have to be united…"

The younger man stood there unable to form words. He did the math on Stefan and Ric's ages for the first time. "Was Ric even legal at the time?"

Zach shook his head. "When it started? Hell no. By the time Stefan was born? Barely."

Damon took a step back and raked a hand over his head. "I'll get her out of the country even if I have to get her on our jet at gunpoint. I just killed one parent, it would be a shame to kill the other but I will if necessary."

"No, let Ric handle your psychopathic mother. You have other duties and responsibilities that need attention."

He lifted an eyebrow and quipped, "Because Ric has been having great luck with the women in his life."

"Then I will handle it," Zach replied because Damon was right about Ric's success rate.

Damon huffed out a laugh. "You just put a gun to her head. You are not exactly the right person for the job. I will handle it. Trust me."

He blinked and then chuckled. "Maybe you are right."

"I mean you really let your crazy out, Zio. I was like 80% sure that you were going to whack her right there," he said.

"I was," he confessed.

Damon scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Are you okay?"

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm not having a nervous breakdown," he replied with a smile.

He said, "I'm not saying that you are. I guess I just realized that you spend most of your time taking care of us. We don't really check in to see how you are doing. That is short-sighted of me considering that Giuseppe just died. He was you brother."

Zach deadpanned, "And he was your father. I don't see you shedding any tears for the son of a bitch."

Damon held his hands up in surrender. "I am going to go see what's happening with Lilly. Then I will call Rose. She will make all the arrangements to get Mommy Dearest out of the country ASAP. She is also probably the only one that can deal with Lilly without wanting to kill her."

"Get your brother away from Lilly before she fills his head with more bullshit," he insisted.

"Don't worry about it, Zio. I will handle it," Damon promised.

The younger man walked back into the house. He sent Rose a message to get her working on a solution. Then he decided to call his brother. However, it wasn't necessary because Stefan was loitering outside the parlor with a pinched expression. Damon asked, "Why are you standing out here like you're waiting for a bus?"

He said, "I went to get Zio like you said. He told me to stay out here while he talked to Mom."

Damon opened the door and walked inside since it was his house now. He just started laughing when he saw that Ric was hugging Lilly. It was as if the universe was toying with him. He had resisted the urge to drink all evening but this just might be his tipping.

Ric frowned at his nephew. "I'm only trying to calm her down, Damon. She was having a panic attack when I got here."

"I don't care. Get her out of here before Zach comes back to finish the job."

Lilly started trembling again.

Ric snapped, "Are you being serious right now?"

"Don't look at me. Your psycho brother is the one that was about to redecorate the room with her brains."

Stefan said, "Damon…"

The older brother shook his head and gave his brother a stern look. "I am not interested in listening to an impassioned defense for your mother. I just want her gone. Rose will get her a flight back home tonight."

Lilly softly said, "I am your mother too, Damon."

Damon tensed. "You lost the right to call yourself my mother a long time ago. There are feral animals that would have been a better mother than you were. Don't look for any sort of sympathy from me. I only stopped Zach because I didn't want him traumatizing Stefan. Frankly, having you and Giuseppe dead at the same time would be like a fucking holiday for me. For now I'll have to continue hoping you get some sort of incurable cancer."

The woman looked visibly hurt by his coldness. "I didn't want to leave you and Stefan. But Giuseppe…"

He chuckled darkly and asked, "Do you think I really want to hear a sob story about how Giuseppe was beating your ass? I caught the same beatings that you did. What did you think would happen when you left Stefan and me with that asshole? Did you think that he would suddenly become less psychotically abusive? Who did you think would take your portion of beatings? Are you as stupid as Giuseppe always said you were or just disingenuous?"

Lilly choked down the pain from her son's words. She said, "I was going to die here, Damon. I couldn't stay and your father would have never allowed me to take you boys with me."

Damon stepped closer to his mother and whispered, "You sold us to him. He gave you far more than the prenuptial agreement allowed. You have lived a cushy life off our suffering. I never told Stefan because it would break his heart. Don't make me change my mind."

Ric said, "That's enough, Damon. She knows how you feel. There is no need to beat a dead horse."

Damon shrugged his shoulders and said, "I get why you sympathize with Lilly. You were a fucking coward that abandoned us, too."

The older man's entire body tensed at the accusation. They rarely discussed the fact that Ric and Zach moved out of the house to attend college. Meanwhile, Damon and Stefan had been left to deal with Giuseppe alone. He had hoped that his nephew's resentment had cooled over the years. However, it seemed that Damon had only buried it. Ric cleared his throat and said, "Let's get you to a hotel, Lilly."

"Make sure you drive home the point that I won't intervene on her behalf again, Zio," Damon coldly declared before he walked out of the room.