Speaking of Il Vecchio Leone—the Old Lion—Don D'Antonio, the head of the D'Antonio family, his resilience was nothing short of remarkable.
Two years ago, he had seemed on the verge of death, a frail old man ready to breathe his last at any moment. But somehow, whether it was seeing his daughter Gianna decisively resolve the family succession dispute with her brother Santino (thanks to Castle helping John find his way to her) or Gianna finally getting the man she had always longed for and bearing an heir for the D'Antonio family, something had reignited the old man's will to live.
When Gianna decided to move to New York with John and their child, leaving the family's affairs back in Italy to her father after officially assuming leadership of the D'Antonio family, the Old Lion unexpectedly experienced a second spring.
With his succession secured and the family no longer at risk of internal collapse, he miraculously pulled through, no longer resembling the dying man everyone had expected to pass any day. This turn of events shocked all those who had been waiting to carve up the weakened D'Antonio family after his death.
But that wasn't all.
Because of Castle's connection to Gianna, John, and the D'Antonio family, Don D'Antonio had also forged a closer relationship with Castle's father, Sean—who was, of course, deeply tied to the mysterious Elder of the High Table's Twelve Seats.
And for the past two years, Don D'Antonio had been rapidly expanding his family's power.
While Castle, the self-proclaimed lazy bum, was busy playing stay-at-home dad in New York, his father Sean was anything but idle.
Once Sean realized that his son neither needed his protection nor his intervention—and, in fact, had done him a massive favor by using his political investments to help elect the current U.S. President and completely dismantle the Rookseth organization that had hunted Sean for decades—he was free.
With his greatest enemy eradicated, Sean not only earned the admiration of his old friend, the Elder, but also took full advantage of his newfound freedom to strengthen ties with the D'Antonio family.
And Don D'Antonio, recognizing a golden opportunity to elevate his family to new heights, wasted no time in forming an alliance with Sean.
In just under two years, the D'Antonio family's influence had more than doubled, transforming them from a mid-tier power within the High Table into one of its fastest-growing near-top-tier families.
Castle, of course, was completely unaware of all this.
Yet it was all because of him.
If he hadn't pushed John Wick to reconnect with Gianna, avoiding his original fate of being forced to kill her due to the Blood Oath Marker…
If he hadn't set things in motion for Gianna to rise to power and have a child, keeping Don D'Antonio alive longer than expected…
If he hadn't unknowingly introduced his father Sean into the mix, creating an alliance that led to the D'Antonio family's rapid expansion…
Then none of this would have happened.
Everything was somehow tied to that lazy writer, currently lounging in New York with a baby in his arms.
Even Gianna herself wasn't entirely aware of the extent of this shift.
After she officially assumed leadership of the D'Antonio family, she shifted her focus entirely to New York. Out of both respect for her still-living father and the belief that keeping him busy with family affairs would prevent his decline, she had left Italy's operations in his hands.
Little did she know that her unintentional decision to let Don D'Antonio continue overseeing the family had led to a massive power consolidation.
By the time she returned to Rome for Christmas with John and their daughter, she finally heard the full story from her father.
And she loved every second of it.
Gianna had always been ambitious.
If John hadn't walked into her life two years ago—if she hadn't been swept up in their romance and later pregnancy—she would have fully assumed control of the D'Antonio family and never looked back.
Now that her daughter was a year old, she could no longer suppress her drive.
She had already begun assembling a team in New York, determined to establish the D'Antonio family's legitimate business empire in America.
And she wasn't just dabbling—she was thriving.
Her ties to Castle, and by extension the U.S. President, gave her strong political backing.
Her involvement in black-market dealings with Castle—like seizing Nazi-looted artifacts from Vincent Adler's secret submarine stash—had led to lucrative relationships with very wealthy French families who paid handsomely to "recover" their stolen heirlooms.
And when she had followed Castle's lead in shorting Le Chiffre's stock and buying up Skyfleet Airline shares, she had cemented herself as one of the airline's most influential private shareholders.
At this point, she wasn't just a mob princess—she was a full-fledged capitalist with real financial power.
Her homecoming to Rome was already a celebration of her success.
But learning that her father had grown the D'Antonio family's power to unprecedented levels?
That was the real Christmas gift.
Originally, Gianna's fate had been tragic.
In the timeline Castle had disrupted, she had killed herself at her birthday party, knowing John would have no choice but to fulfill his Blood Oath Marker and assassinate her.
But now?
Now she had a living father, a loyal family, a husband she adored, a beautiful daughter, and business success that put her on the fast track to becoming one of the most powerful women in the underworld.
She had everything.
And it was all thanks to Castle.
Gianna wasn't the only one grateful.
Don D'Antonio had long wanted to repay Castle for everything he had done for his family and daughter.
But Castle had never wanted anything in return.
From the start, he had never expected payment from John or Gianna—he had simply done what he felt was right.
Besides, it wasn't like Castle needed a traditional crime family's help.
He had plenty of connections already.
The Continental Hotel? He was on great terms with Winston, and Winston and his father Sean were practically old friends. The King of Beggars, Powell? Castle had never even needed his information network—he had Jarvis and God's Eye for that.
Even the gold coins Gianna had given him as a gesture of goodwill were barely used.
The one time he had put them to real use was in France, when he hired a team of mercenaries through the Continental to help rescue Bryan Mills' daughter.
And even then, he had barely touched his coin stash.
Even when Vincent Adler's assassins had come after him in Central Park, Castle had dealt with it himself—he had already built up strong ties with the NYPD's 12th Precinct.
And let's not forget—he slept next to a cop every night.
With Beckett at his side, Castle had zero interest in getting too close to the criminal underworld.
So, did Castle need the D'Antonio family's help?
Not really.
(Though, to be fair… the ex-Spetsnaz bodyguards Gianna had assigned to him technically came from the D'Antonio family. But Castle liked to pretend they didn't count.)
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