Page 326 of Rosetti Family New York

Because Carmela might be right. And if she is, then the man I love is willing to risk everything he cares for a woman who might be his downfall.

21

Mara

My phone buzzes against my ribs just as Emilio defends me to his family. The sound slices through the tension in the hallway, and all the Rosetti eyes follow as I pull the phone from my pocket with shaky fingers.

The text message makes my stomach sink:Your sister misses you. Don't make her wait much longer.Chase isn't just pushing things; he's reminding me why I've been trapped for years, why I've given him information while hating every moment of it.

The phone shakes in my hands, the glass slick with sweat. The Rosetti family's gaze is sharp and cold as they wait for explanations I can't provide, their doubts confirmed by my clear fear at the message.

"Inside. Now." Emilio's voice cuts through my frozen state, low and commanding.

His hand rests on my back, fingers spreading against the silk that now feels too thin, too revealing, guiding me to his room with a protective touch that sends heat racing through me despite my fear.

The hallway empties as his siblings leave to handle their own crises, leaving us alone to face the truth that's shattered my calm.

The door closes with a soft hiss like a coffin sealing, locks clicking into place. We're alone in his fortress of steel and secrets, surrounded by surveillance equipment that could reveal all the truths I've been hiding.

For a moment, neither of us speaks. The silence stretches between us as I struggle to find words for the secrets that have been consuming me. Emilio moves to his desk but doesn't sit, his body tense with patient waiting for explanations that will either save us or ruin everything we've built.

"Talk." His voice is barely above a whisper, with a deadly calm that makes even tough men confess. "And don't even think about lying. Not after what just happened. Not when you're shaking like that."

I am shaking. My hands, my voice, my whole body trembling under the weight of carrying this burden alone for so long. I walk to the windows overlooking the grounds, needing space and movement to organize my scattered thoughts.

"You want the truth?" The words taste desperate, metallic, and bitter. "The whole truth about why I left? About what I've been doing all this time?"

"I want everything." He doesn't move closer, but his focus on me is intense. "Every secret, every lie, every reason you've been running from what we had."

My phone buzzes again. Another message from Chase:Sarah's waiting for you to make the right choice. Don't disappoint her.

The familiar manipulation chills me, but also stirs a desperate need to finally tell someone the truth about the impossible choice that ruined my life.

"Years ago," I start, my voice steadier than I feel, "Chase approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse. Refusing meant watching someone I love die."

Emilio goes completely still, every muscle tense as if ready for a fight. "Who?"

"My sister." The words crack something inside me, a fracture spreading through my bones. "Sarah. She was twenty-two, fresh out of college, working at a nonprofit downtown. She had no idea about your family, about what you did, about the world I entered by loving you."

Something changes in his expression. "You never mentioned a sister."

"I kept her separate. Protected." My throat tightens with guilt. "I thought if she never knew about this world, she'd be safe from it. I was wrong."

"How did Chase know about her?"

"Chase makes it his business to know everything about the people he wants to control." I show the photo he sent that first night leaving her apartment, looking beautiful and lively, not knowing she was being watched. "He had pictures of her leaving work, her apartment address, her daily routine. Her favorite coffee shop, the subway stop she used, the friend she met for drinks every Thursday."

Emilio's face hardens as he realizes how serious the surveillance was. "He tracked her every minute."

"Down to the second," I say, my voice cracking. "He showed me weeks of evidence. Proof he could get to her whenever he wanted. She was completely exposed."

"So you left me." His words are cold and sharp, cutting deeper than anger would.

"I left you to keep her alive." This difference is important, though I'm not sure he'll see it that way. "Chase gave me twenty-four hours to decide: leave you and work for him, or watch Sarah die slowly, knowing it was my fault."

The silence that follows is tense, the calm before a storm. Emilio processes this with careful thought, but I can see emotions building under his calm face: hurt, rage, and maybe a glimmer of understanding.

"You could have told me," he finally says, his words tense. "We could have protected her together."