Chapter 16
1246 Words
Dante
She didn’t say anything at first, simply unfolding her arms and dropping them to her sides.
“You can’t say that,” she whispered.
“I know,” I replied.
“I reached out,” she continued, and I was quiet, finally looking up at me. “You didn’t reply.”
“I wanted to,” I said, leaning closer.
Time stood still.
Just both of us, no distractions, nothing to stop us.
Then her eyes moved towards the ring on my finger, and suddenly it felt too heavy.
Aria took a step back.
“Have you found anything about the men that attacked the house?” she started, folding her arms across her chest again.
“Not yet,” I replied. My mask slipped back in place.
“Hmmm,” she hummed, thinking for a moment before asking, “How would this work?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Finding your wife is clearly your priority now, and I don’t intend to keep working for you forever.” Her voice was firm.
“You think you are doing me any favors?” Surprise evident in my voice.
“All this,” I paused, “is to keep you safe.”
“I never asked you to,” she replied, raising her voice.
Silence.
Neither of us spoke.
She was right. She didn’t choose this life, but neither did I.
“I’m leaving,” Aria finally spoke, quietly this time.
I scoffed.
“I’m going home tomorrow.” Her voice was strong, but she could not hide the uncertainty that slipped out, not with me.
I turned around and walked towards the door.
“All the guards have orders not to let you out of this compound.”
“You can’t keep me here. I won’t be your prisoner,” she raised her voice again.
“I’d rather you be my prisoner than have you dead.”
“I hate you so much.”
“Good night, princess,” I replied before walking out the door and slamming it shut.
Three days later, I sat in my office and found myself watching the CCTV cameras. This had been the new normal. Since our last interaction in the library, we had been miles apart. No physical interaction, but simply watching her carry out basic tasks around the compound was almost enough to fill a need that grew every day.
Almost.
I also knew she had been sneaking into the library to spend hours there. I asked Greta to leave it open because I had come to realize it was her only escape from her new reality.
Adriano and Franco walked into the office. Adriano immediately moved to serve himself a glass of whiskey, then took one of the desk seats, while Franco gave a subtle nod before casually dropping onto the couch on the side.
“You said you had news,” I started, going straight to the point.
“Yes, Don. Turns out there’s a lot more about Aria and her simple family than meets the eye.”
I exchanged a look with Adriano.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The accident that killed both her parents was no accident at all.” He paused, leaning back. “And someone went through a lot of trouble to keep it quiet.”
“So it wasn’t a drunk driver?” Adriano asked.
“No, it wasn’t. That was the story given by the police.”
“Okay, but why?”
“That’s the problem.” Franco paused before taking a deep breath. “Whoever it is has the police in their pocket. Even her therapist seems complicit.”
I felt a surge of anger at that. The person she trusted with her secret was just manipulating her into believing a false narrative.
He looked at me expectantly.
“What do you need?”
He smirked. “I need your permission, Don.”
I knew what he was asking. So far, he had had to work in secret, not pushing too hard for information so as not to draw attention. A capo is more than capable of getting all the information he needs, but you might need to torture, threaten, and, when necessary, kill.
I thought about it.
Even though we might draw the attention of whoever is after her, I need to protect her, and to do that, I have to find out why she needs protection.
My eyes caught her on one of the screens. She was with the lady who I understood was her friend. She laughed freely and unrestricted.
Watching her, I realized protecting her was slowly becoming more than just a duty or an instruction.
Turning to Franco,
My jaw tightened.
“Whatever it takes.”
Franco smiled widely, clearly satisfied.
For someone who spends most of his time behind a screen, he enjoys the occasional torture for information.
“There’s one more thing,” he added.
I looked at him curiously.
“Turns out Aria has no birth records.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means there’s no record of her being born in a hospital.”
I froze.
“Maybe it was a home birth,” Adriano said.
“That’s what I thought at first, but…”
He paused, then continued.
“Her mother was never pregnant.”
“Are you saying the woman she knows to be her mother didn’t give birth to her?”
“Yes, Don. There’s no way she could have, as there are records of a hysterectomy procedure on her two years before Aria was born.”
Interesting.
“And is Aria aware?”
“There’s no indication that she is.”
Franco left the office soon after that. Dinner with the capos would begin in two hours, but according to him, he had a couple of things to take care of.
Adriano was surprisingly quiet on his third glass of whiskey.
“You are going to be drunk before dinner,” I commented.
“It’s going to take a lot more than three glasses to get me even tipsy,” he smirked.
Something was wrong. I could tell.
“What’s wrong, brother?”
He looked at me. This wasn’t business.
These were two brothers having a conversation.
“I’m worried about Sofia.”
I almost laughed.
“It’s not funny,” Adriano scowled.
Sofia was Adriano’s sister.
“Is she still dating that biker?” I asked, trying not to laugh.
“It’s like she does the exact opposite of what I want her to do.” He took another swing of whiskey before continuing. “If my father finds out about him, he will have him killed and probably marry her off to Salvatore as a third wife.”
At this, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I laughed loudly.
He smiled too.
Adriano loves his baby sisters, Sofia and little Isabella, but they hated everything that had to do with this life.
He tried so much to protect them from this life, but there are certain responsibilities you can’t hide from, especially when you are born into this world.
“Will she be coming for this dinner?” I asked. “Maybe I can have a word with her.”
“She will, and you definitely should. She listens to you.”
“I’m not ordering her to break up with that guy.”
He groaned.
“Fine, but just talk to her.”
- Writer
