The two men exchange glances. It’s Adrian who gestures toward the sitting area in the corner of the office, three leather chairs arranged around a small table.
“You should sit,” he says, not commanding but suggesting. Another change—Adrian always gave orders, never suggestions.
Once we’re seated, Lorenzo leans forward, his green eyes more earnest than I’ve ever seen them. It seems he’s been playing a deceptive game at Inferno Consortium gatherings and I completely misread him.
“Aurelia,” he begins, “I’ve been looking for you my entire adult life.”
I blink.Okay, not what I expected.
He smiles at my reaction and holds up a hand. “Please, give me a moment to tell you everything.”
I settle into my chair as he tells me a story that sounds like fiction. His mother—Arabella—was the twin sister of my mother, Serafina. They grew up in Rome together until my mother was trafficked by the Consortium.
“One day when I was ten,” Lorenzo continues, his eyes downcast with troubling memories, “my mother showed me a letter that Serafina managed to send before her death. It was a plea for help, telling Arabella about you. But the letter arrived too late, you see. She received word shortly after that her sister was already gone.”
He swallows hard, the muscles in his jaw working beneath his tanned skin. “The Mancini’s knew they couldn’t simply take you in—you were born into the Consortium, and they lacked the power or influence to challenge Lucian Harrow.” A shadow crosses hisface. “My mother was devastated but held onto the letter and held onto hope. Before she died, she made me promise one thing: ‘Save my niece.’”
Lorenzo’s fingers tremble slightly as he runs them through his hair. “When she passed, her final wish became my life’s mission. I’ve carried that promise with me every day since, vowing to fulfill it no matter the cost. Since I first heard about you, it’s taken twenty-four years for me to gain enough wealth and respect for an invitation into your world, but…” He spreads his hands, a sad smile playing at his lips. “Here I am, cugina.”
The word falls into place now.Cugina.Cousin. Lorenzo’s cousin.
Oh my God… I have a family.
“Then why the charade?” I ask. “The strip clubs, the Consortium events…”
“All to get close to you,” Lorenzo admits, not a trace of shame in his expression. “I needed access and for other members to trust me, especially Lucian. Once he died, I needed Julian to see me as a player.”
Adrian smirks at Lorenzo. “You didn’t tell her the best part.”
My eyes dance between them as Lorenzo shifts uncomfortably. “Yes,” he starts, “Well… before the whole Lucian incident, I was struggling with how to get close to you. I had a longer plan in mind. Adrian would take over, and I would need to gain your trust so…” He clears his throat and looks down. “I reached out to your friend’s family for an arranged marriage. I figured what better way to get close to you than as your best friend’s husband.”
I choke on my own spit and cough a few times. “Excuse me, what? You’re engaged toEleanora?” I don’t know what I’m more shocked at—Lorenzo going to such extremes or Eleanora never telling me.
Unless she doesn’t know?
Adrian must sense that I’m struggling to process the news, so he sits up straighter and attempts to shift focus. “Lorenzo and I met shortly after he joined the Consortium,” he explains. “We recognized in each other a common goal.”
“Which is?” I ask.
“Burning the Inferno Consortium to the ground.” The words fall from his lips with quiet finality.
I shake my head, unable to reconcile this man with the Adrian I knew. “You were your father’s minion. You never questioned anything.”
Something flickers behind his eyes—a darkness that quickly controlled. “I questioned everything, Aurelia. Always.” His voice drops lower. “But I learned early that survival in the Harrow household meant playing my role to perfection.”
“So you were planning this all along?”
“Not exactly.” He leans back, fingers steepled beneath his chin in that familiar, calculating way. “Before, I was planning to take control and change things from within. Clean up the worst of it, redirect the power toward something less… destructive.” His expression hardens. “Now I want it gone. Completely. My mother helped me understand that by shooting me.” The intensity in his gaze burns like blue fire. “The Consortium corrupts everyone it touches. It turns good men into monsters. It destroyed my mother. Now it’s trying to take Julian.” A pause. “It nearly destroyed me. If I had taken leadership, who knows what I truly would’ve become.”
The raw admission makes my breath catch. This vulnerability—so unlike the Adrian I knew—catches me off-guard. He’s never opened up so much, even though this is just barely scraping the surface.
Before I can respond, the office door bursts open and a small tornado of energy explodes into the room.
“Lolo! Lolo!” The young boy I’ve met a few times—Roby—races toward Lorenzo, then skids to a halt when he sees me. His eyes widen comically.
“Ciumachella!” he exclaims, pointing at me with unmistakable recognition.
Despite everything, a laugh bubbles up from my chest. “Hello again, little gentleman.”
