Chapter Six: The Devil’s Truth
430 Words
The kiss ended as violently as it began.
Emily wrenched away, her lips still burning from Luciano’s touch. "Don’t," she gasped, pressing trembling fingers to her mouth. "Don’t use that as a distraction."
His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, his usually immaculate hair now tousled from her fingers. Moonlight carved harsh angles across his face, turning him into something feral. Dangerous.
"Is that what you think I’m doing?" His voice was rough velvet.
"Isn’t it?" She backed up until the fountain’s edge dug into her thighs. "You won’t answer my questions. You won’t tell me the truth. So what *else* am I supposed to think?"
For a long moment, he said nothing. The garden was eerily silent, as if holding its breath. Then—
"*Dio mio*." He dragged a hand down his face. "You want the truth? Fine."
He turned away, his broad shoulders tense beneath the ruined silk of his shirt. "Five years ago, my father didn’t just *die* in that car accident. He was murdered."
Emily’s breath caught. "*What?*"
"And the missing millions Isabella mentioned?" A bitter laugh. "They were never missing. My father stole them. From the De Luca accounts. From *me*."
The words hit like blows. Emily reached blindly for the fountain’s ledge, her legs suddenly unsteady. "I don’t understand."
Luciano finally turned back, his eyes black with demons. "He was laundering money for the *Caldwells*."
The name sent a shock through her. The Caldwells—New York’s most notorious crime family.
"*Nonno* never knew," Luciano continued, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "And if he finds out, the scandal will destroy everything. The company. The family name. *Everything*."
Emily’s mind reeled. "But—why tell me this now?"
"Because Isabella knows." His hands framed her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. "And she’ll use it to tear us apart unless we give her a reason not to."
She shook her head. "What reason could possibly—"
"Make this marriage real."
The words hung between them, heavy with implication.
Emily’s pulse skyrocketed. "You can’t be serious."
"Deadly." His thumb brushed her bottom lip, igniting a trail of fire. "The only way to silence the rumors is to prove, beyond doubt, that we’re in love. That this is *real*."
Her heart hammered against her ribs. "And how do you propose we do that?"
A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.
"Let me show you."
Then he swept her into his arms and carried her back toward the villa—toward the bed they would *no longer* be keeping their distance in.
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- Writer
