THE MAFIA'S OBSESSION

DON'T TOUCH MY WIFE

"She talks too much."

Marco's voice sliced through the room like a blade.

The gun in his hand remained steady, aimed directly at Dante's chest.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

"So," Marco said, a disappointed smile tugging at his lips. "You found Caterina."

"You betrayed my father," I said quietly.

His eyes shifted to me.

"I protected him."

"You tried to have me killed."

"I tried to protect the future."

"My future?"

"No."

His smile vanished.

"Mine."

Dante took one slow step forward.

Marco immediately c****d the gun.

"I wouldn't."

"You won't shoot."

"You seem very confident."

"Because you didn't come here to kill me."

Dante's voice remained calm.

"You came because you're afraid."

For the first time...

Marco hesitated.

Only for a heartbeat.

But Dante saw it.

So did I.

"You've always been clever," Marco admitted. "But not clever enough."

His finger tightened around the trigger.

"I said don't move."

Before anyone could react, Caterina stepped between them.

"Marco..."

Her eyes shimmered with tears.

"This has gone far enough."

"It stopped being 'far enough' twenty years ago."

"You don't have to do this."

"I do."

His voice cracked with frustration.

"They promised me everything."

"They lied to you."

"I know."

"They'll kill you too."

"I know."

Silence settled over the room.

I frowned.

"They?"

Marco let out a bitter laugh.

"You still think Vitale is one man."

He looked at me with something close to pity.

"Vitale isn't a person."

"It's an organization."

A chill swept through me.

"What?"

"They've manipulated mafia families for decades."

"They finance wars."

"They create enemies."

"They sell peace."

"And they grow richer while the rest of us bury our dead."

I looked at Dante.

His expression told me this wasn't the first time he'd heard whispers of them.

"You knew."

"I suspected."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Because suspicion isn't proof."

Marco nodded slowly.

"Now you have proof."

He lowered the gun.

"I never wanted you dead, Elena."

"Funny way of showing it."

"The sniper wasn't ordered to kill you."

My heart skipped.

"What?"

"He was ordered..."

Marco looked directly at Dante.

"...to kill him."

The room went deathly still.

"He stepped in front of you."

Marco's voice softened.

"You were never the target."

I turned to Dante.

"You let me believe..."

"I let you believe what would keep you alive."

"You almost died because of me."

His eyes locked onto mine.

"I'd do it again."

The words stole every thought from my mind.

Every sleepless night.

Every locked door.

Every guard stationed outside my room.

Every argument.

Every warning.

It had never been about controlling me.

He had been protecting me.

Because someone knew I was the quickest way to destroy him.

Marco watched us quietly.

"There it is."

"What?"

"The reason Vitale wanted this marriage."

Neither of us answered.

"They knew exactly what would happen."

I frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"They knew Dante Marchetti would fall in love with his wife."

Silence.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

Marco looked at Dante.

"You stopped protecting an alliance days ago."

His gaze shifted to me.

"You've been protecting her."

Dante never denied it.

He simply looked at me.

Everything I needed to know was written in his eyes.

Then—

A gunshot shattered the silence.

The bedroom window exploded.

Marco's body jerked violently as the bullet tore through his shoulder.

He crashed onto the wooden floor with a cry of pain.

"Marco!" Caterina screamed.

Dante reacted instantly, pulling me behind him while his men stormed into the room.

"Get down!" he barked.

Another shot rang out.

The bullet buried itself in the wall where Marco had been seconds before.

"They're trying to finish him!" one of Dante's men shouted.

"Find the shooter!" Dante ordered.

Men rushed outside as chaos erupted.

Ignoring the danger, I dropped to my knees beside Marco.

Blood soaked through his shirt, spreading rapidly across the floor.

He grabbed my wrist with surprising strength.

"Listen..." he rasped.

"I'm here."

His breathing was uneven.

"Vitale..."

He coughed, blood staining his lips.

"They're already inside..."

My heart pounded.

"Inside where?"

He struggled to speak.

"Inside... both families..."

His grip weakened.

His eyes slowly closed.

"Marco!" I shouted.

There was no response.

Dante knelt beside him and checked his pulse.

After a tense moment, he looked up.

"He's alive."

Relief flooded my chest.

"But barely."

I looked toward the shattered window.

Whoever had fired those shots hadn't come for Dante.

They hadn't come for me.

They had come to silence the only man who knew the truth.

And if they knew exactly where we were...

Then someone much closer than we realized had betrayed us.