Page 14 of Mine Again (Mafia Bride #2)
Chapter Thirteen
Isabella
I ’m sitting on a daybed on the private beach attached to our estate, watching Ari and Sienna splash and tease each other in the water.
It’s a little too cold for my liking, but those two never seem to mind. Neither do the tourists from colder parts of the world, grateful to escape to Sicily’s mild, almost warm, November air.
Over the past few weeks, the plan for my escape has taken shape. I’m so close.
Uberto arranged my new identity himself, which surprised me. He said he didn’t want me dealing in the darker corners of that world, and I was too grateful to argue.
We’ve communicated only through encrypted emails. Terse but precise. No names. No sentiment.
Still, something like trust has grown between us.
He left the documents exactly where I told him to; inside the cave at the end of the hidden tunnel that leads to the storage room beneath the stairs in our house.
Not that I ever mentioned the tunnel to him. That part I kept to myself.
What I did share with Uberto were pieces of my plan. Thoughts, fragments, ideas I wasn’t brave enough to voice to anyone else. Hopefully that wasn’t a mistake. Luca trusted him, and for now, that’s enough.
But I’ve told no one else. Not even Mari or Mia.
And that’s the part that gnaws at me.
The idea of leaving them behind completely.
No visits. No birthdays. No goodbyes.
It’s heavier than I expected.
The guilt is constant, sitting low in my chest. I imagine Mamma walking past my empty room, Mia sitting on this beach alone, and Mari wondering why I’m silent.
I know this is the only way. Clean. Untraceable. Final.
But the silence it demands is already eating me up inside.
Since Luca disappeared, Mamma and my sisters have been all I have. Can I really survive a life without any of them?
I glance out at the water where Ari and Sienna are still playing. Mia walks toward me, balancing a tray of drinks, the sunlight catching in her hair. Mamma’s voice floats through the air from somewhere in the house.
This is my world. My blood.
Some days I feel brave for choosing my escape plan. On others, it just feels like a betrayal in slow motion.
Mia sets the tray down on the table beside the bed and hands me a glass of freshly made lemonade before settling beside me with a soft sigh.
For a while, we just sit there, watching the girls chase each other through the surf.
“It feels strange without Mari here,” Mia says, breaking the silence.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Though we should be used to it by now. She’s been gone for weeks.”
I miss her more than I care to admit. Of all my sisters, Mari has always been the one I’m closest to. My best friend.
“The way her life has changed is nothing short of a miracle,” Mia says wistfully. “I’m jealous. ”
I hum softly in response. Truly, I’m thrilled for Mari, but a small part of me aches for the kind of happiness she’s found. The kind I once had.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “It’s wild how so much can shift in just a few weeks.”
But I already know how quickly life can turn. One moment I was soaring, the next I was in pieces.
At least for Mari, it happened the other way around. And I couldn’t be more thankful she got the happily ever after I once dreamed of for myself.
A sound behind us pulls me from my thoughts. Mia and I both turn as Mamma descends the stairs, her sister Serafina beside her. She just flew in from Milan, and Mamma picked her up from the airport.
The two of them are chatting and laughing in that effortless way only sisters can. Even if they only see each other once a year, their bond hasn’t faded. There’s something comforting in watching them. I like to think Mari and I will be the same.
“Girls, girls, girls,” Serafina greets us with open arms and a wide smile.
Mia and I jump up to hug her.
“You get more beautiful every year,” she says, kissing us on each cheek. “And what’s this I hear about Mari? Married and queen of the castle?”
“Well, queen of la famiglia at least. Not that she wants to be,” Mia replies. “But yeah, isn’t it wild? From almost marrying a monster to capturing the heart of her Prince Charming.”
Even the brief mention of Mari’s former fiancé sends a shiver through me. Father was so proud of the marriage he’d arranged with the Contis, but it fell apart at the altar. Literally. Priceless.
He was so furious with Mari, so close to losing control, that the Don himself had to step in. Gualtiero De Marco sent her to Rome and placed her under the protection of none other than his brother Mateo, the very man she’s secretly loved for years.
The rest, as they say, is history. Honestly, their love story belongs in a romance novel.
“Absolutely,” Aunt Serafina says with a nod. “But such sad news about your Don. His death came as such a shock to everyone. I’m sure Mateo will be just as good, though.”
Then she purses her lips and, turning to Mamma, asks, “And your awful husband? Will he still be the next consigliere?”
Mamma lets out a long, weary breath.
“Let’s pray he will be,” she says. “Otherwise, he will be unbearable.”
Father’s ambition runs bone-deep. If he loses what he believes is his rightful place, he won’t suffer it quietly. And we’ll all pay the price.
I glance out at the water, at Ari and Sienna still playing like the world isn’t shifting beneath our feet.
But it is.
The old order is gone. Undoubtedly, Mateo’s reign will be tested as soon as he and Mari return from their mini-honeymoon.
All the De Marco enemies will crawl out of the shadows. They always do when power shifts.
A flash of Mari’s smile flickers through my mind. The way she looked when she spoke about Mateo. So full of hope. So certain the worst was behind her.
Now, I’m not so sure.
The one thing I am certain about, though, is that it’s time to finish what I started. Time to find my way out before the walls close in forever.
“Well, I think Mari’s love match calls for champagne,” Aunt Serafina says. “It’s as rare as hen’s teeth in our world. Maybe even rarer.”
“Agreed,” Mamma replies with a smile. “Mia, please go to the kitchen and ask Renata to bring a bottle of champagne and glasses to the beach.”
Mia scampers off, taking the stairs to the house two at a time. Mamma calls Ari and Sienna in from the water to say hello to their aunt, tossing them bathrobes to keep warm before more excited hugs follow .
A soft clearing of the throat makes us all turn. Mia is back, but it wasn’t her voice.
Standing next to her is Romeo Ferraro, Mateo’s best friend, second in command, and now la famiglia ’s new underboss.
His dark suit is sharp, his posture composed, but the weight in his eyes shifts the mood instantly.
The laughter fades, replaced by a sudden, inexplicable heaviness.
“Signor Ferraro,” Mamma says warmly. “What a lovely surprise. Will you join us in a toast to the newlyweds? The champagne is on the way.”
Romeo shakes his head. The gesture is small, but final.
The air changes. Even the sun seems to lose its warmth.
He looks at each of us before settling on Mamma.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he says, his tone serious. “But I bring news.”