Page 120 of Broken Mafia Bride

He glances away. “Giulia, I don’t know. But there’s a lot of evidence pointing toward Re Ombra not being who he says he is. Everybody on this fucking island is afraid of something—of someone.”

“W-what do you mean? Afraid of who?”

When he looks at me again, there’s something very serious and wary in his eyes. “I’ve been doing some investigating of my own.”

“You told me it’s been a lot of dead ends.” The words are almost accusatory.

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up for nothing,” he explains. “But there is some fucked-up shit going on in Sardegna. Everyone is afraid of somebody, and more than ever, I’m beginning to think that somebody is your grandfather. And if my suspicion is right, then neither of us is safe here.”

“I’m not running away.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying we need to be careful. You think a man like him doesn’t have eyes and ears in his own house? We’re putting ourselves in danger by having this very conversation right now.”

“That was why Marco was here,” I tell him, unsurprised when his eyes harden.

I shake my head at his display of jealousy. “I had to ask Marco if he’s felt like he’s being watched or followed. I also told him to stop asking questions about Noemi’s kidnapping. I don’t want something to happen to him because of me.”

“How sweet,” he deadpans.

My mouth curves into a smile. “This is serious, Raff. This is life and death right now. I need to find out more. There has to besomething in his office pointing to where he’s kept her, or what his plans for her are.”

His eyebrows draw down in concern. “No. I’m not letting you go back to that office. I’ll do it.”

“And if you get caught in there?” I raise an eyebrow. “What excuse could you possibly have for being there? Face it—I’m the best option. I’ll be in and out as fast as possible, and you can use that time to find out how deep Lucio’s psycho plot runs in Casa Bianca. Someone else has to know something.”

His eyebrows rise. “You’re thinking Pepe is involved, aren’t you?”

I shrug. “Lucio treats him like a son. There has to be a reason why. I just hope I’m wrong.”

“I just hope we’re wrong about all of this. Not just Pepe.” His dark blue eyes soften, making me feel too exposed.

The truth is that I also want all of this to turn out to be one big misunderstanding. Maybe Lucio has those photos because he was keeping an eye on us.

It’s time to get to the bottom of this once and for all. I start to step away from Raffaele, but he cups my face and pulls me into a smashing kiss that ends too fast.

“Be careful,” he tells me sternly. “Get out at the first sign of trouble. I mean it, Giulia.”

“Have some faith in me,” I retort.

“I wouldn’t be letting you walk back into the office of a man who’s probably been playing us like chess pieces for weeks if I didn’t.”

“I’ll be safe,” I tell him before hurrying away without another backward glance.

Hours later, when the sun is just starting to sink on the horizon, and the house has gone still and quiet, I slip out of my bedroom. I run into a few maids as I make my way down thehallway to my grandfather’s study. I paste on a smile for some of them, making sure to look as normal as possible.

Finally, I’m in his study.

I waste no time jumping into action. I pull out his drawers and search through them, quickly but carefully. I pull out several books from his bookshelf, trying to locate another secret drawer, but there’s nothing.

Frustration bubbles inside me the longer I search the office and come up empty.

Where does a man hide proof he stole his own great-granddaughter? There has to be something. But then again, he’s not going to leave evidence lying around.

Tears bite the back of my eyes when it becomes clear that I’m wasting my time. Except for the photos, there’s nothing else tying Lucio to my missing daughter.