Page 67 of Claimed By the Enemy

“You know where she is?”

“I know you’re asking the wrong questions.”

“Then what are the right questions?”

Caruso settles behind his desk, suddenly looking older than his years. “The right question is: who benefits from you and Sophie destroying each other?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that neither your father nor Marco Bellini killed anyone, Domenico. They were both victims.”

The words hit like physical blows. “That’s impossible.”

“Is it? Think about the timeline. Your father discovers irregularities in his accounts. Marco Bellini tries to warn him about a potential threat. Both men die within weeks of each other. Both families blame each other and spend the next sixteen years hating instead of investigating.”

“You’re saying someone framed them?”

“I’m saying someone orchestrated the perfect crime. Turn two powerful families against each other, eliminate the patriarchs, and profit from the chaos that follows.”

“Who?”

“Someone close enough to both families to know their business. Someone trusted enough to have access to sensitive information. Someone who’s been playing a very long game.”

“Just tell me who.”

“I think you already suspect.”

Before I can respond, my phone rings. Raff’s name on the screen.

“Dom, thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“Not now, Raff.”

“Dom, listen to me. Sophie’s fine. She’s not kidnapped.”

I nearly drop the phone. “What?”

“She was spotted this morning. Downtown, with an older man. They were getting into a car together. She didn’t look distressed.”

“Who was the man?”

“I’m sending you the surveillance footage now. But Dom… it looks like her uncle.”

The phone trembles in my hands as I open the video file. Grainy security camera footage shows Sophie walking out of abuilding, talking animatedly with a man who’s definitely Enzo Bellini.

She’s alive. She’s safe.

She’s with the man Caruso just implied might be a killer.

“Domenico?” Caruso’s voice seems to come from very far away. “Are you alright?”

I look up at him, remembering his words about someone playing a long game. Someone close to both families.

“Where would they go?” I ask. “If Enzo Bellini wanted to hide Sophie somewhere, where would he take her?”

“Somewhere, he feels safe and in control.”

“Like where?”