Page 103 of Stolen Temptation

Frantic, my gaze falls on Rory. What must he be thinking? “Rory, I swear, I was about to tell you when?—”

He slams his fist on the table. “Shut. Up.”

The pure menace he exudes snatches my breath and stings my eyes. “Please, Rory, just let me explain?—”

“You’ll explain all right. But to everyone. Don’t address me without permission again because you won’t like the consequences.” He shakes his head. “I’m such a fucking idiot. I stood up for you, while all the time, you were playing me. You’re no better than Alayna.”

The disgust in his voice makes something in my chest shrivel. I want to protest, but one glance at his sneering face has me swallowing the urge. Now isn’t the time to test his control.

Despite my shattered heart, I manage to stop my shoulders from hunching and sit up straight.

This isn’t how I wanted the truth to come out, but it’s my fault. I waited too long. Now all I can do is hope that my honesty in this moment will be enough for damage control.

“Well?” Shane prompts. “We’re waiting. I’m not a patient man on a good day, and this is far from a good day.”

Lacing my fingers together in my lap and squeezing, I focus on Shane’s face. If I look at Rory, I might lose it and strain Shane’s patience past the breaking point.

What will they think of me once they know?

What will Rory think?

I guess I’m about to find out.

“Everything I’ve told you so far is true.” My gaze falls to my hands. I thought I could maintain eye contact with Shane, but it’s easier to talk without seeing the contempt twist his face. “The De Luca familyhasbeen making money off my and mother’s artwork for most of our lives. But you’re right. That started because…” a knot forms in my throat, “…we’re De Lucas too.”

I sense Rory’s hostility, but I refuse to glance his way as I continue my shameful tale.

“My mother was a mafia daughter. A Cornello.” That family doesn’t exist anymore. Leo told me that once after I found my mother crying. Most of her family members were massacred during a war with a rival family. “She was sold to the De Luca family when she was eighteen. Enzo wanted her for a bride.”

“So our source was correct. Enzo De Luca is your father? But if you’re Enzo’s daughter, why haven’t we ever heard your name spoken before?” Shane’s question is fair but a painful one to answer.

I ignore the furious whispers and heave a breath. I haven’t even reached the worst part. Not by a long shot.

“Enzo hated me.” I squeeze my fingers to the point of pain. “My whole life, he hated me. He didn’t want anyone to know I was his daughter.”

“Why?” Shane presses.

“I didn’t find out why until my mother died.” Her sickly face and the tears in her glassy half-dead eyes the day she told me the truth still haunt me. My shoulders tremble.“I thought Enzo hated me because I reminded him of my mother. He always told me that my mother was nothing but a tramp and a cheater, and that I would be just like her in the end.”

“What does this have to do with your mother’s death?” Shane settles into his seat as if preparing for a good story. Just wait until he learns how wrong he is. There’s nothing good about my story.

Not one single thing.

Beside Shane, I see Rory’s hands flex at his sides, but he doesn’t speak. I still can’t bring myself to look him in the eye.

“On her deathbed, she told me the truth about our family.” I ball my hands into fists. “She was chosen to be Enzo’s wife, and he loved her at first. But things between them started to sour when they couldn’t conceive. Rumors spread throughout the family that he…had a problem.”

I can’t bring myself to say the wordimpotentin front of these men.

Shane grips the lower half of his face in one of his massive hands and emits a soft humming noise. I force myself to keep going.

“As the rumors got worse, Enzo started to blame my mother, telling everyone that she was broken, that she was the reason they couldn’t conceive a child.” I suck in a shaky breath and release it. “She told me that from the moment she was sold into the family, Matteo watched her. He was always watching her. And one night, after the rumors got going and Enzo started mistreating her, he…he forced himself on her.”

I cover my mouth to keep a sob from flying out.

I hear Rory’s muffled curse, but I can’t focus on that. Rage and shame burn so hot inside me, I feel feverish. My mother’s admission still kills me to this day. “Matteo raped her.” To say the words aloud is awful, but now that I’ve come this far, I’d rather speak the ugly truth than hold the shame of what happened inside myself. “And she got pregnant. With me.”

Seconds tick by in dead silence. Finally, Shane speaks. “You’re the illegitimate daughter of Matteo De Luca. Leo De Luca is your half-brother.”