Page 115 of Broken Mafia Bride

Breath held, I pull on the handle, and a compartment opens.

I swallow back my surprised gasp and reach inside, pulling out a single file. It’s large and heavy, and my muscles strain to carefully bring it down to the ground. Dropping down to my knees, I hurriedly tear the file open.

My breath stutters in my chest as I take in the photo—it’s of Noemi and me at an ice cream stand. The second one is of Noemi seated in her classroom, taken from what seems to be the top of a nearby building. The third is of me, heavily pregnant, waddling down the street with Sienna on one side of me and Marco on the other.

I quickly flip through the rest of it, my stomach sinking deeper and deeper. There are hundreds of photos of us, from just around the time Marco fished me out of the lake, right to the day I arrived in Sardegna. There’s only one explanation for why my grandfather would have this.

He’s been stalking me.

The kind, loving grandfather I thought I knew doesn’t exist. Martina worked for him, and not only did he betray her to protect his reputation as one of the good guys, he had her killed. The thought makes me sick. To him, a human life is that easy to discard?

All my beliefs and hopes are crumbling to pieces in the space of seconds.

Just then, I hear the sound of car tires screeching into the driveway. I jump into action. Pulling out my phone, I snap some of the photos in the file, then quickly stuff it back into the hidden compartment.

Sweat pools down my spine as I start arranging the books back into place. It takes too long to set them right, and by then, footsteps are already coming down the hallway toward the study. My eyes jump around the room in panic.

What now?

Just as the door starts to open, I crawl halfway under the table. “Come on out, Cherie! God help me if you make a mess under there, I’ll make rabbit stew out of you!”

Behind me, I hear a low chuckle. “Using threats to coax an animal out? Has Caterina taught you nothing?”

I spin around, feigning surprise. “Lucio, you’re back. Oh my god, I’m so sorry about this. I didn’t think one bunny would cause so much trouble. I was supposed to be watching it.”

With a frustrated groan, I climb to my feet, dusting off the leg of my pants. I can’t help but look at him in a new light. Is there a hard glint beneath his brown eyes, or is it just my imagination?

My skin crawls, and I have the overwhelming urge to get away from here.

“Any luck finding my daughter?” I ask.

He sighs, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Giulia. I’m trying everything I can, but…” He trails off, looking apologetic.

Fury rises inside me like a volcano, but I tamp it down. Does my father know something about Lucio? Is that why he hates him so much? Is it possible that my father saved Mama from this life, after all?

“I see.” I swallow. “I don’t think Cherie is here. I think she’s left. I’ll check the kitchen.”

He nods. “That will be wise.”

Fixing a smile on my face, I walk past him and out of the room. I only start breathing again when I’m behind the closed door of my bedroom, and even then, I don’t even let myself relax completely. I don’t know if he’s watching me inside here too.

Lucio Sanna is the enemy, and I delivered myself right into his hands.

36

RAFFAELE

“At what age can you boot Edoardo to a senior center and take over?” Matteo asks. “And is there anything I can do to speed up the process?”

I snort. “Thank you for thinking about me.”

Even though thousands of miles separate us, I can practically hear the dry sarcasm in my best friend’s voice. The worst part is that I know he’s not trying to be funny. At this point, I don’t blame him. Since my last conversation with my father, where I told him in very plain terms that it’s Giulia or nothing, he’s redoubled his effort to make a mess of everything.

Since my return to Sardegna, I’ve been getting reports from Matteo and Tommaso about my father. It’s obvious he’s throwing temper tantrums. If he thinks I’m going to come rushing back to fix his messes, he’d better think again. It’s a cheap tactic to keep me distracted and away from Giulia.

Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for me, I’ve put Matteo and my second on top of things. I also discussed with Emilio about reining in my father. And by discussed, I mean I held a gun to his cock and told him the next time we had that discussion, I wouldn’t hesitate.

“Just keep an eye on things,” I tell Matteo. “When I need you to turn someone into a vegetable, I’ll say as much.”