Page 23 of Claimed by the Enemy (Moretti Bratva #2)
“Because I believed Riccardo’s lies just like you did. Until I started questioning why a sixteen-year-old feud was still so profitable for some people. Until I realized that every time our families fought, one man always seemed to benefit.”
“Riccardo.”
“Your uncle came to me the day after your parents died, Domenico. With evidence, with witnesses, with proof that your father had betrayed our friendship.” Uncle Enzo’s voice grows harder.
“But evidence can be manufactured. Witnesses can be bought. And proof… proof can be very convincing when you want to believe it.”
“When did you start to doubt?”
“When Sophie began questioning her mission. When she started finding documents that contradicted everything I’d been told.
When I realized that a person trained for revenge was falling in love instead.
” He looks between us. “Love makes you see things differently. Makes you ask questions you never thought to ask before.”
“So you investigated.”
“I investigated. And what I found…” Uncle Enzo shakes his head. “Riccardo Moretti has been playing both our families for sixteen years.”
“Why?”
“Power. Money. Control. With both our families weakened by grief and hatred, he’s been able to expand his influence, absorb our business interests, and position himself as the power behind the throne.”
“That’s why Sophie came to work for me. To get close enough to find evidence.”
“That was the plan. But Sophie fell in love with you instead.”
Uncle Enzo moves away from the yacht’s railing, his weathered hands gripping the polished chrome as he turns to face me fully.
“She did, didn’t she?”
“Yes. Against all her training, against everything I taught her about loyalty and duty, she fell in love with the enemy.” Uncle Enzo almost smiles, the first genuine expression I’ve seen from him tonight. “I should have seen it coming. Sophie always was too soft-hearted for revenge.”
I lean against the opposite railing, the cool harbor breeze cutting through my shirt. “Is that why you want to kill me? Because she chose me over you?”
“I don’t want to kill you, Domenico. I want to work with you.” He glances at his men, who have positioned themselves strategically around the yacht’s deck, then back at me. “To do what?”
“To destroy the man who murdered both our families. To give Sophie and you a chance at the happiness you both deserve.”
“And if I don’t believe you?”
Uncle Enzo steps closer, close enough that I can see the exhaustion etched in the lines around his eyes. “Then you’ll spend the rest of your very short life looking over your shoulder, waiting for Riccardo to finish what he started sixteen years ago.”
I study his face in the soft glow of the yacht’s deck lights, looking for signs of deception. The gentle rocking of the boat beneath our feet is the only sound for a moment. All I see is a tired old man who’s spent sixteen years carrying the weight of a lie.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
Uncle Enzo runs a hand through his gray hair, suddenly looking every one of his years. “You don’t. But Sophie does.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s known for weeks that something wasn’t right about the story we’ve been telling. She’s been investigating on her own, trying to piece together what really happened.” He moves to one of the deck chairs, settling into it heavily.
“The documents she found. The business partnership between our fathers.”
“Those were real. Your father and I were planning to merge our companies, create something that could withstand any attack from our enemies.” Uncle Enzo’s voice grows distant as he stares out at the twinkling lights of the harbor.
“Including Riccardo?”
“Especially Riccardo. We knew he was getting too powerful, too ambitious. We were planning to stop him.”
“And he killed you both to prevent it.”
“He killed our families to prevent it. And then he raised both our children to hate each other instead of him.” Uncle Enzo’s hands clench into fists on the armrests of his chair.
The pieces click into place with sickening clarity. I push off from the railing, pacing the small deck space as my mind races. Riccardo’s warnings about Sophie. His insistence that I couldn’t trust her. His suggestion that I should eliminate her before she could betray me.
He’s been trying to turn us against each other from the beginning.
“Sophie knows about this?”
“Sophie suspects. But she doesn’t have proof. That’s why she’s been so conflicted, why she’s been lying to you about her mission.” Uncle Enzo watches me pace, his expression growing more concerned.
“She’s been trying to protect me.”
“She’s been trying to protect everyone. You, me, herself. An impossible task, which is why she finally chose to tell you the truth.”
I stop pacing, turning to face him. “How do you know about that?”
“Because I know my niece. And because Riccardo’s people have been watching both of you very carefully.” He pulls out his phone, checking the time with visible urgency.
A chill runs down my spine despite the warm evening air. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that your uncle knows Sophie confessed everything to you today. He knows she’s chosen your side over mine. And he knows that makes both of you a threat that needs to be eliminated.”
“Sophie.” Her name comes out as a whisper, and I’m already reaching for my phone.
“Is probably walking into a trap right now, thinking she’s coming to meet you for a romantic evening.”
I’m already reaching for my phone, but Uncle Enzo shakes his head, rising from his chair with renewed energy.
“It’s too late for phone calls, Domenico. If we want to save Sophie, we need to move now.”
“Save her from what?”
“From the man who’s been planning to kill her since the day she was born.”
I grip the yacht’s railing, my knuckles white against the chrome. “Riccardo wouldn’t hurt Sophie. She’s not a threat to him.”
Uncle Enzo moves to stand beside me, both of us looking out at the dark water.
“Isn’t she? She’s Antonio Moretti’s daughter-in-law.
The woman who could unite our families against him.
” His eyes are hard as flint when he turns to me.
“Sophie Bellini Moretti represents everything Riccardo has spent sixteen years trying to prevent.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that your uncle has been orchestrating this feud to keep our families weak and divided. But Sophie? Sophie chose love over hatred. She chose to build bridges instead of burning them down.” Uncle Enzo gestures between us, his voice growing grim.
“That makes her the biggest threat Riccardo has ever faced.”
“Because she could bring our families together.”
“Because she already has. Look at us, Domenico.” He spreads his arms wide, encompassing the yacht where his armed men stand ready, where two enemies are planning to become allies.
“An hour ago, we were enemies. Now we’re talking about working together to stop a common threat.
That’s Sophie’s influence. That’s what she represents. ”
“And Riccardo knows?”
Uncle Enzo nods grimly, pulling his jacket tighter against the harbor breeze. “Riccardo knows everything. He’s been watching both of you, waiting for the right moment to eliminate the threat you pose together. Which is why we need to find Sophie before he does.”
I look at this man who raised my wife to destroy me, who’s been my enemy for sixteen years, who’s now asking me to trust him with the most important thing in my world. The yacht rocks gently beneath us, and I can hear the distant sound of traffic from the city.
“Why should I believe you?”
Uncle Enzo’s shoulders sag slightly, and he turns away from the railing. “Because,” he says simply, “Sophie does.”
“What?”
“She’s been trying to convince me that you’re not the enemy. That there’s something else going on, someone else pulling the strings. She’s been begging me to work with you instead of against you.” He moves closer, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper.
“And now you’re ready to listen?”
“Now I’m ready to do whatever it takes to keep my niece alive. Even if it means admitting I’ve been wrong about everything for sixteen years.” Uncle Enzo straightens, his decision made.
I think about Sophie, probably walking into whatever trap Riccardo has set for her, and the choice I have to make right now. The harbor lights reflect off the water like scattered diamonds, beautiful and deceptive.
“What do you need me to do?”
Uncle Enzo smiles for the first time since he boarded my yacht, the expression transforming his weathered face. “I need you to help me save the most important person in both our lives.”
“Sophie.”
“Sophie. And the future she represents.”
I look at the gun still visible in his associate’s jacket, at the three men who could kill me before I could call for help, at the man who’s been my enemy since I was sixteen years old. The yacht’s engine hums quietly beneath us, ready to take us wherever we need to go.
And I make the same choice Sophie made in my office this morning.
I choose trust.
“Let’s go get my wife.”