Alessandro.
I should have turned back.I should have walked away.But I didn’t.
Drawn by a mix of fear and longing, I followed the sound until I reached the same room I’d seen him in days ago — the last place we’d spoken.The door was slightly ajar, just enough for me to see through.
“How is it my fault that she won’t speak?”Bruno’s voice echoed first.“You practically scare the living shit out of her with just one stare.Jesus, give the ragazza a break for once.”
I held my breath and looked inside.
Alessandro stood across from Bruno and Salvatore, his expression twisted in anger.
“I wasn’t the one who fucking kidnapped her, was I?”Alessandro barked, slamming his fist onto the table.“I wanted Lucy, goddammit!”
The sound made me flinch.
Lucy?
My stomach dropped.
“That’s not the point,” Salvatore cut in firmly.“We need to know what went on during the last decade.If only you’d opened those tabs on Ariana three years ago, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Tabs?
My brows knitted together as the words sank in.Alessandro had tabs on me — but never once checked?Never once reached out?
“You know why I didn’t,” Alessandro growled.“She had that fiancé of hers looking after her.Why did I need to?”
My chest tightened painfully.He hadn’t even cared to see for himself.
Salvatore ran a hand over his head, exasperated.“That’s not the point, amico mio.The point is you wouldn’t even be here right now without that information.If you’d looked earlier, maybe you’d already have what you need on D’Angelo.”
Alessandro’s anger began to fade into something heavier.He leaned off the table, breathing hard.
“Speaking of her fiancé—or husband,” Salvatore continued, “I opened the files.Nothing new.The last activity I found was that he got sent to jail for attempted murder.The man went down trying to kill someone.Do you think...it could be that he killed D’Angelo?”
“No,” Alessandro said quickly, rubbing his face.“He was charged with attempted murder.Whoever killed D’Angelo actually succeeded.It can’t be him.”
“What about Ariana?”Bruno asked quietly.“Do you think he tried to kill her?”
My breath caught.The question sliced through the air like a blade.
Hearing it spoken aloud — hearing Bruno say it — made my entire body go numb.My eyes blurred with tears as I watched Alessandro’s reaction.
His face went pale with shock.Then, slowly, he shook his head.
“No,” he muttered.“I don’t think that happened.”
The refusal stung worse than anything.He didn’t even consider it.Even as a possibility.
Bruno exhaled, frustrated.“Then what do you think happened?”
“I don’t know,” Alessandro said coldly.“That’s why you ragazzi are going to find out where this Nicola is — and what the fuck happened to that perfect family.”
The sound of Nicola’s name hit me like a hammer.
My fingers tightened around the doorframe, and I felt my whole body start to shake.My pulse quickened.Sweat broke out along my forehead.
Nicola.
