Bound To The Ruthless Mafia Heir; Claimed By His Brother

Chapter Fourteen: Eavesdropping II

The morning sun hit my face, waking me up from a nightmare I couldn't really remember. I blinked against the light, groaning as I shifted under the heavy covers. My eyes adjusted to the room, and my breath instantly caught right in my throat.

Rafael was standing right by the edge of my bed. He didn't say a word, just staring down at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

In his right hand, he was casually holding his matte black handgun, the metal gleaming under the morning light.

A scream tore from my throat as I jerked up instantly, pulling the sheets tight against my naked body. My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs I thought it might actually explode.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Relax," Rafael said, his voice smooth and entirely too calm for someone holding a lethal weapon in a bedroom. "I just came to call you down for breakfast since Cassian is busy downstairs with some captains."

I looked at him strangely, my eyes darting from his face down to the gun, then back up again. It didn't make any sense for him to be the one waking me up. "Why didn't Maria come to wake me up like she usually does?"

"Maria had to go help with the inventory in the lower kitchen," Rafael replied smoothly, not even blinking. "They needed extra hands down there today."

"Okay," I said, my brow furrowing as the uneasiness in my stomach grew heavier. "Then why didn't one of the other maids come up? There are literally dozens of staff members walking around this floor."

"The Boss has the entire house staff on a restricted rotation after the security issue," Rafael said, finding the perfect excuse without a single second of hesitation. "Nobody is allowed up to this wing unless they are cleared by Alberto or me."

I stared at him, trying to read between the lines, but his face was a perfect stone wall. He didn't call me Mrs. like he usually did when we were inside the house, and he didn't use the casual tone from our drive yesterday.

Sometimes, I could swear that this guy had an internal reset button.

Or maybe one that helped him with a new personality.

Did he have DID?

I tilted my head to look at him, but he just stared me down.

"Cassian wants you downstairs in ten minutes, sister-in-law," he added, the title hitting me like a slap in the face.

There it was.

The distance in his voice was back, colder and sharper than before. I cleared my throat, trying to regain some sort of control over the situation. "Fine. I need to use the bathroom, so you can leave now."

"Go ahead," Rafael muttered, his fingers lightly playing with the barrel of his gun as he took a step back toward the door. "You were quite loud last night, by the way."

I froze entirely, my body turning numb as I stared at him. The sheets felt like ice against my skin. "What did you just say?"

My mind went into an absolute panic. The memory of my restless sleep flashed through my brain, the terrifying dreams, the suffocating weight of this house.

I was suddenly terrified that I had called out his name in the middle of the night and someone had heard me.

Rafael lifted his left hand, revealing a black smartphone that I hadn't even noticed he was holding earlier. "I said I was on a call with the docks crew. They were shouting over the engine noise."

He shrugged casually, putting the phone back into his leather jacket pocket. "They can't ever seem to communicate like civilized people."

I felt a sudden rush of heat flood my cheeks, pure embarrassment washing over me. I didn't say another word, scrambling out of the bed and rushing straight into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me.

I turned on the shower, leaning my back against the tiled wall as the hot water started to fill the room with steam.

Even though his excuse was perfect, I had a terrible feeling in my gut that he wasn't really on his phone when he said that.

He was playing a game, testing me, and I was losing my mind trying to figure out his angles. I washed up quickly, trying to erase the stress from my face before I had to go back out there.

Ten minutes later, I walked down into the formal dining room. The space felt empty without Cassian sitting at the head of the table in his wheelchair.

Rafael was already seated, a plate of eggs and toast sitting in front of him while he quietly sipped his black coffee.

I sat down across from him, the silence between us stretching out until it felt heavy and suffocating. I picked up my fork, staring down at my own plate but not really tasting anything I put in my mouth. I kept scolding myself mentally, cursing my own carelessness for whatever happened last night.

"The coffee is fresh if you want some," Rafael said, breaking the silence without looking up from his plate.

"Thanks," I said, pouring myself a cup from the silver carafe. "Is Cassian going to be busy all day?"

"Most of it," Rafael replied, taking a slow bite of his toast. "The shipping lines need a lot of restructuring after the recent audit."

"I see," I murmured, staring at the dark liquid in my cup.

I swallowed hard, remembering the dark amber bottle I had found on Cassian's desk yesterday evening with the fake pharmacy stamp.

The discovery was burning a hole in my brain, and I needed to know if the security in this house was compromised or if it was an inside job. I needed to ask something, but I had to be incredibly smart about it.

"Rafael," I started, keeping my tone as casual and conversational as possible. "With all the new lockdowns, I assume everything that enters this estate is heavily checked, right?"

He raised his eyes, his blue gaze locking onto mine across the table. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering about the deliveries," I said, spinning my fork around. "Like, even the necessities. Do all the medications and medical supplies go through the same proper security checks at the gate?”

"Everything goes through Alberto first," Rafael affirmed, his voice steady. "Nothing gets past the front gate without a full search and a verified manifest. Cassian's safety is the top priority."

I found myself exhaling a long breath, a strange sense of relief washing over me for a split second. But the moment the feeling passed, a sudden wave of confusion and self-loathing took its place.

Why did I even care so much about Cassian's safety?

I was nothing but a tool and a warm body to him.

He was a monster who ruled with fear, a man who had degraded me and locked me in a golden cage.

I was supposed to hate him, yet here I was, playing detective to figure out who was changing his medication labels.

It didn't make any sense, especially when my thoughts were also constantly consumed by the man sitting right across from me.

Rafael set his coffee cup down on the saucer with a loud, sharp clatter that made me jump slightly. He leaned forward across the table, his arms resting on the dark wood as his eyes darkened with an intense, unreadable emotion.

"Why did you call my name last night, Belinda?" Rafael asked suddenly.