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TWENTY-SIX

zina

A s soon as I walk into Giovanni’s office, I can sense that I’ve walked in on a private conversation. I hesitate in the doorway, not knowing if I should leave, and give them privacy, or stand my ground and force them to include me in whatever is going on.

Santino and Giovanni are standing close together and Santino’s expression is one of deep concern while Giovanni looks more stressed than I’ve seen in a very long time. My heart aches for him. I want nothing more than to take his pain away.

“Is everything ok?” I ask, looking from one man to the other. They look so similar. Giovanni, strong, aged and refined by years of experience. His body is broader, more muscular, more masculine -

But Santino is clearly his father’s son. His jaw has the same strong shape, and his eyes are just as clear, just as sharp.

Santino sneers at me. “Why don’t you tell us?” he snaps.

I knot my brows, confused and offended. Why me? “What do you mean?” I ask, walking further into the room.

“Santino, don’t.” Giovanni snaps, shaking his head at his son.

I narrow my eyes towards him. What’s going on? What were they talking about?

Santino pouts in annoyances and lets out a sharp breath. “I’ll talk to you again later, dad. When we have privacy .” With one last glare in my direction, he storms out of the office, knocking my shoulder with his as he walks past me. I gasp in fright, trying to move aside, but it’s not the knock that hurts - it’s the gesture. The disrespect he feels confident showing me in front of his father.

I wait, listening to his footsteps fade down the hallway. All the while I’m trying to calm myself.

When I look at Giovanni, he’s staring at me, a hundred questions in his eyes.

“Please, tell me what’s happening. That family meeting left us with more questions than answers. What are you worried about? Why won’t you share it with me?” I ask, stepping closer to Giovanni.

He stands up straighter, but turns away from me, picking up things from his desk and busying himself with sorting them. He’s blocking me.

“Giovanni - “ I say sternly. “I’m your wife.”

“I said everything I intended to say at the family meeting. There isn’t anything more to discuss.” He says coldly.

“Why are you pushing me away like this?”

“I’m not.” He says, carrying on over his desk. Moving paperwork around, pointless shifting things.

For a while I just watch him, hoping he’ll break down and stop. But he doesn’t.

“Fine.” I sigh, turning to leave. “When you’re ready to talk - come and find me.”

My heart is heavy as I leave the office. What I don’t expect is to walk right into Santino just a short way down the hall.

He snarls and pins me against the wall, his forearm pressed against my throat. If I called out, Giovanni would hear me, but somehow I don’t think it would do me any good.

“What the hell are you doing?” I gasp in shock, trying to push him away from me.

“I’m watching you, Zina. You might have my father fooled, but you haven’t fooled me. I know that the greatest betrayals come from within.”

He steps back, his eyes piercing into me like two swords aimed at my heart.

“What are you talking about?” I snap angrily.

He pulls his mouth tight, then turns to walk away and I’m left in shock and confusion again. The greatest betrayals come from within.

Something’s happened - and Santino thinks I’m responsible - and by the way Giovanni is treating me - so does he.

This is another reminder than Giovanni doesn’t trust me, and it hurts.

Watching Santino walk away I stay where I am, my back against the wall, my heart aching - wondering how I can show them that I’m on their side.

Whatever’s happened has triggered Giovanni to increase security.

The bomb at the wedding.

It must be something similar.

He’s worried, because they haven’t backed down. He’s preparing for an attack on the estate. And he thinks it has something to do with me.

My eyes drift down the passage towards Giovanni’s office. The intense longing to go back in there and hold him is a sharp pain in my chest. But he won’t let me. He’s pulled back, assuming that I am the one he needs to protect his family from.

I’ll prove to all of them that I’m going to fight by their side. I’ll do it - no matter what it takes.

I’ll become someone they need, someone they value - I’ll do what it takes to prove that I’m here for them.

* * *

That night at dinner, everyone is silent, and the tension is palpable. It’s heavy in the air.

Santino and Giovanni are both watching me closely.

The dinner is incredible; rich lamb stew with jasmine rice and sweet apricot jam, but it hardly brings me satisfaction. I’m struggling to find enjoyment in anything without the reassurance that Giovanni still loves me.

When Fabio walks into the room, everyone turns to look at him. He goes straight to Giovanni, leaning close to whisper something in his ear, everyone is frozen, tense with their locked onto to Giovanni, waiting for answers.

Giovanni’s jaw sets like stone and he presses his fingers into his temple.

Fabio leaves.

We are all still staring at him, waiting. My heart is beating fast.

He stands up and leaves the dinner table without a word.

Santino runs after him.

I sit for a moment, wondering whether to interfere or stay out of the way, but in the end, I follow.

“What’s going on?” Guido asks.

“I don’t know. Stay and eat your dinner.”

Out in the hallway their voices carry towards me.

“Who?” Santino snaps, his voice a harsh whisper.

“We don’t know.” Fabio says.

“We can’t jump to conclusion, it could be anyone.”

“How many files have they downloaded?” Giovanni asks.

“Whoever is hacking the system is sending and receiving files. That means someone inside the estate is sending - and someone outside is receiving.”

“Are you fucking kidding me - then we have proof?” Santino growls.

“Proof of what?” I ask, walking up to them.

They all stiffen and glare at me.

“Proof of what?” I ask again. They have proof that someone is betraying us from inside, I overheard enough to know that. But I want them to admit it.

But not one of them is saying a word.

Their eyes say everything their voices don’t.

“We need to lock down this estate. All the systems must be switched to the internal network.” Giovanni says when the silence becomes too much.

“Yes, sir.” Fabio agrees, nodding, his eyes on me, his brows knotted.

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” I sigh.

“We’re expecting an attack.” Giovanni says calmly. “And we need to be prepared for anything. From any direction.”

“We’re not safe in our home.” Santino mutters, shaking his head. “We are a powerful family, but somewhere along the line I think we trusted the wrong person.” His eyes lock with his father’s. They’re talking about me. Giovanni clenches his jaw and swallows hard. He says nothing.

“I want to help.” I say, quietly, expecting them to push me away.

“We’ll inform you if we need anything.”

“Don’t be like that. I can help.”

Giovanni turns to Fabio, “Lock everyone’s phones off the connection. I don’t want anyone to be able to access the security system from a mobile device - in or out of the estate.”

“Yes, sir. What about yours?”

“Lock mine as well. We have no idea who’s been tampering with things. They might know my password.”

Again - they all look at me.

I clench my jaw, biting down on the anger building inside me. I want to scream and fight and defend myself. But it’ll do no good. I’ll find a way to prove to them that it wasn’t me. Somehow .

* * *

The days that follow are some of the worst days of my life.

When I walk through the hallway, I hear people whispering - my name on their lips - the housekeepers, the security staff, Romeo and Santino. They’re all talking, and it seems that somehow someone said enough to make them all suspect me - and now they all think I am the enemy.

It reminds me of my first week here. The hatred is so intense, the mistrust and the accusations, whispered and quiet - but so heavy it’s impossible to ignore.

The estate has turned into a prison of sorts, for everyone. If you want to leave you get searched, if you want to go somewhere, you are assigned a security escort. When you come back, you get searched again. Everything is scanned, poked at, prodded, questioned - it’s like we’re all waiting for a bomb to go off and we have no idea who’s holding the trigger.

But what upsets me the most is how my husband is treating me.

He is doing everything he can to pretend I don’t exist.

At night, Giovanni sleeps far away from me, on his side of the bed. He hardly looks at me, he hardly speaks to me, and I’m going quietly insane.

No matter how hard I try to reach out to him, he has the highest walls in place, and it feels like I’ve lost him forever.

If I touch him he flinches away from me as though I have a disease. His eyes no longer roam my body with desire - I don’t know what to do to win him back. I’m devastated.

I can’t take much more of this.