The Man Beside Massimo

Aria's POV

The call ended, but I couldn't move .y stepfather's words kept echoing in my head Alessandro Livoti wasn't your father. I looked at Massimo, then at the other men in the room my eyes finally settled on Don Viti, who stood beside him"Who is he talking about?" I whispered

Nobody answered.

I tightened my grip on the phone. "He said my real father is the man standing beside Massimo."

Massimo slowly turned toward Don Viti Don Viti's expression had changed. The confidence he had carried since entering the chapel was gone. For the first time, he looked like a man who had been caught hiding something.

"Is it true?" Massimo asked

"Massimo, listen to me"

"Don't tell me to listen answer the question"

Don Viti glanced at me "I knew your mother"

"Everyone keeps saying that" I replied "But nobody tells me anything useful did you know her before I was born?"

He remained silent that was enough to make my stomach twist "Did you have something to do with her disappearance?"

"No"

"Then why does my stepfather know your secrets?"

Don Viti looked toward Maria she was standing near the table, staring at him with an expression I couldn't understand. "Tell her" Maria said

Don Viti's jaw tightened "Maria, this is not the time."

"She deserves to know"

Massimo stepped closer "What exactly are you two hiding?"

Before Don Viti could answer, Adrian moved toward the door "We're wasting time Dante wants me at the hospital before midnight. If he's holding Elena, we need to get there."

"You're not going anywhere alone," Kelvin said

Adrian turned sharply "I didn't ask for your permission"

"And I didn't offer it"

"Enough" Massimo's voice cut through the argument "Nobody leaves until we know what we're dealing with"

He looked at me "Aria, give me the phone"

I handed it to him he checked the call history, then dialled my stepfather's number. It rang several times before going to voicemail "He's not answering," Massimo said

"He won't" I replied "He only calls when he wants something."

Massimo studied me "Has he ever mentioned Don Viti?"

I shook my head "Not once he told me my mother died when I was young. He never spoke about the Livoti family, and he never explained why we moved so often."

"Moved?" Kelvin asked

I nodded "We never stayed in one place for long. Whenever I asked why, he said it was because of his work."

Don Viti lowered his eyes "Elena was trying to keep you hidden"

"From you?"

"From people who wanted to use you"

I laughed bitterly "That's what everyone says. Everyone claims they were protecting me, yet I'm the only person who knows nothing about my own life."

Maria approached me "Your mother trusted Don Viti once. She believed he could help her escape the people who were following her"

"Then why did she disappear?"

Maria looked at the ledger "Because someone discovered where she was hiding"

Don Viti finally spoke "I was ordered to take her somewhere safe I arranged for her transfer, but before I could reach her, the vehicle was attacked. When I arrived, Elena and the driver were gone"

"Who ordered you to move her?" Massimo demanded

Don Viti hesitated "Alessandro"

Massimo's face hardened "My father knew about Elena?"

"He knew she had a daughter he also knew the child might be his but he didn't know where she was."

"Why didn't he tell me?"

"Because he was trying to find her without exposing her"

Adrian gave a humourless laugh "Convenient every dead man in this family seems to have left behind a secret that explains everything."

"Your father was not the monster you want him to be," Don Viti replied

Adrian raised his gun slightly "Don't talk about Alessandro as if you knew what he was to me"

Massimo stepped between them "Put the gun down"

For a moment, Adrian looked ready to challenge him then he lowered it I turned back to Don Viti "You still haven't answered my question. Are you my father?"

His eyes met mine "No"

The answer came too quickly I felt something inside me collapse "Then why did he say—"

"Because he knows what happened that night," Don Viti interrupted "And he wants you to believe the wrong person is responsible"

"Who is my father?"

Don Viti opened his mouth, but the lights suddenly went out a gunshot exploded somewhere outside. Kelvin pulled Maria behind the table while Massimo grabbed my arm and pushed me down "Stay close to me" he ordered

More gunshots followed Adrian moved toward the window, but Massimo caught his shoulder "Don't be stupid. They're waiting for someone to expose themselves."

A guard rushed into the room with his weapon raised "Boss the eastern entrance has been breached!"

"How many men?" Massimo asked

"At least eight they're moving toward the chapel"

Massimo reached for his gun "Kelvin, get our mother out Adrian, stay with him."

Adrian looked offended "I'm not taking orders from you"

"Then consider it a request to stay alive"

He turned to me "Aria, behind me"

I followed him as he moved toward the side passage. The guards were shouting outside, and the sound of breaking glass came from the main hall then a voice rang through the darkness "AR—IA!"

I froze I knew that voice It was my stepfather "Don't move!" I shouted

Massimo grabbed my wrist "That could be a trap"

"I know his voice"

"Aria, think!" But I had already pulled away I ran toward the passage, ignoring Massimo's warning. At the end of it, a narrow door opened into the courtyard. A man stood beneath the security light my stepfather. His coat was torn, and there was blood running down his forehead he held one hand against his side.

"Aria," he breathed.

I rushed toward him "What are you doing here? What happened?"

He looked past me at Massimo "You shouldn't have brought her here"

Massimo raised his gun "Who are you working for?"

My stepfather ignored him "Aria, we have to leave now."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth"

He reached for my hand "I've spent twenty-four years keeping you alive you have to trust me."

"Then tell me who my father is"

His expression changed he glanced toward the chapel "Not here."

"Tell me"

A figure appeared behind him Don Viti. My stepfather immediately stepped away from me.

"You" he whispered

Don Viti stopped for several seconds, neither man moved. Then my stepfather laughed bitterly "So you finally decided to show her your face."

Don Viti raised his weapon "Put your hands where I can see them."

My stepfather slowly lifted his hands Massimo moved beside me "What's going on?"

My stepfather looked directly at him "Ask your mother what happened twenty four years ago. Ask her why she gave Elena's baby to another man"

I turned toward Maria, who had just entered the courtyard with Kelvin her face went completely white "Mother?" Massimo asked

Maria shook her head "No, he's lying"

My stepfather smiled "Then tell them why you came to my house the night Elena disappeared."

Maria began to tremble I looked between them "Why did you go to his house?"

She couldn't answer my stepfather suddenly reached inside his coat Massimo raised his gun "Don't!"

But instead of pulling out a weapon, he produced a small photograph. He threw it onto the ground between us I bent down and picked it up It showed a younger Maria standing beside Elena in a hospital room between them was a newborn baby. On the back, someone had written a date and a name.

ARIELLA LIVOTI.

My breath caught that was my full name but beneath it was another sentence. The child belongs to the man who ordered the exchange I looked up at Don Viti. He had gone completely still then my stepfather pointed at him "Now ask him why he switched you."

Before I could speak, a shot rang out my stepfather staggered and as Massimo caught me, Don Viti turned toward the chapel and shouted, "Get the real heir out of here before Dante finds him!"