Chapter Ten - Elio

Guilt tastes like copper pennies and lies when I watch Aleta sleep beside me. Her face holds the peaceful expression of a woman who believes she’s safe in her husband’s arms, while I catalog every way I’ve violated that trust. Making love to her the other night crossed a line I didn’t know still existed, and it blurred the boundaries between revenge and something far more dangerous.

My phone vibrates against the nightstand, displaying Marco’s number. Business calls at inconvenient times in our world, but the timing feels particularly cruel after what just happened between us.

“I have to take this,” I whisper against Aleta’s hair before carefully extracting myself from her embrace.

She mumbles something unintelligible and rolls into the warm spot I’ve vacated, still lost in whatever dreams her damaged mind allows. Beautiful and trusting, completely unaware that the man she gave herself to is the architect of her current nightmare.

“Speak,” I answer once I’m safely in the hallway.

“Boss, we need to meet. I’ve got information about the Ricci girl’s accident.” Marco’s voice carries an urgency that makes my blood run cold. “This shit is bigger than we thought.”

“How much bigger?”

“The kind that makes people disappear permanently. Can you get away?”

My gaze drifts back to the bedroom where Aleta sleeps in rumpled silk sheets. “Give me an hour.”

“Pier 17. Come alone.”

The line goes dead, leaving me with questions that multiply like cancer cells. Marco has been feeding me intelligence from inside Nico’s organization for three years, and he’s never sounded this rattled. Whatever he’s discovered has him spooked enough to risk an emergency meeting.

“Going somewhere?” Matteo asks as I enter my study to retrieve my gun.

“Marco has information about Aleta’s accident.” I check the weapon’s chamber before sliding it into my shoulder holster. “Something that requires a face-to-face conversation.”

“Want backup?”

“He specifically said to come alone. Besides, someone needs to stay here and make sure our guest doesn’t wander off while I’m gone.”

“She’s getting attached to you.” Matteo’s observation carries no judgment, just stated fact. “The way she looks at you now compared to a week ago. She’s falling for the devoted husband act.”

Act. The word affects me because what we did together didn’t feel like acting. When Aleta cried out my name and held onto me like I was her salvation, every touch felt real despite the foundation of lies beneath it.

“That’s the point of the deception.”

“Is it? Because from where I sit, it looks like you’re falling for your own performance. When was the last time you talked about actual revenge instead of protecting her?”

“My motivations haven’t changed.”

“Haven’t they? Last week you wanted to use her to destroy Nico. Today you’re investigating threats against her like a concerned husband.” Matteo’s voice drops lower. “Which one are you, boss? Her protector or her captor?”

Both, I want to say. Neither. The truth is I stopped knowing which role I’m playing the moment she looked at me with those trusting blue eyes and asked me to stay with her while she slept.

“Keep her safe while I’m gone,” I tell him instead of answering his question. I don’t owe him a damn thing. “If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”

Pier 17 smells like rotting fish and broken dreams when I arrive twenty minutes early. Paranoia keeps me breathing in this business, and Marco’s tone has every instinct screaming danger. Shipping containers create a maze of shadows perfect for ambushes, but the waterfront appears empty except for seagulls and the occasional homeless person seeking shelter.

Marco emerges from behind a rusted container at exactly the appointed time, though my head of security’s usual swagger has been replaced by nervous energy that makes him look younger than his thirty-five years.

“You look like hell,” I observe.

“Feel worse. What I found is going to fuck with your head, Castellano.” He glances around nervously before pulling a manila envelope from his jacket. “Remember how you asked me to dig into the hit-and-run that put the Ricci girl in the hospital?”

“What did you find?”

“It wasn’t random. Someone hired a professional to take her out.” Marco hands me the envelope with reluctance. “Contract killer named Viktor Kozlov. Russian, expensive, and very good at making accidents look authentic.”

My fingers tighten on the envelope. “Who hired him?”

“That’s where it gets interesting. Payment came through a shell company traced back to someone with access to Ricci family funds. Someone inside Nico’s organization wanted his sister dead.”

The implications hit like a sledgehammer to the chest. Aleta wasn’t attacked by random muggers or caught in crossfire between rival families. Someone close to her brother orchestrated an assassination attempt against the one person Nico claims to love above all else.

“Any idea who?”

“Still working on it. Whoever set this up knew how to cover their tracks.” Marco pulls out a second envelope, this one thicker. “But I found something else that’s going to blow your mind. Financial records showing massive money transfers out of Ricci accounts over the past six months. Someone’s been bleeding the family dry from the inside.”

“How much?”

“Fifteen million so far. Small amounts spread across dozens of accounts to avoid detection.” He runs a hand through his graying hair. “Boss, I think someone’s planning a coup against Nico, and they needed his sister out of the way first.”

“Why would killing Aleta be necessary for a takeover?”

“Because she’s not just his sister. According to the family trust documents I found, she’s also his heir since he has no children.” Marco’s revelation drops like a bomb between us. “If something happens to Nico, everything goes to her. Every business, every account, every territory. Someone wanted to eliminate that obstacle before making their move.”

Understanding crashes over me like a cold wave. Aleta isn’t just Nico’s beloved sister; she’s the key to a criminal empire worth hundreds of millions. Her amnesia doesn’t just make her vulnerable to my deception—it makes her a walking target for anyone planning to challenge her brother’s authority.

“Who else knows about the inheritance?”

“Inner circle only. Nico’s been paranoid about keeping it quiet, probably to protect her from exactly this kind of threat.” Marco checks his watch nervously. “Boss, you need to know something else.”

“What?”

“Word is spreading that you might have taken her. Nico’s putting pressure on everyone connected to our organization. He’s offering a hundred thousand now, and immunity for anyone who brings him information about his sister’s location.”

A hundred thousand. Double the original bounty. Nico’s desperation is reaching levels that make even loyal soldiers consider betrayal.

“How long before someone talks?”

“Days, maybe less. Money like that makes people stupid and greedy.” Marco glances around the pier one more time. “Watch your back, Castellano. This situation is about to explode, and when it does, everyone’s going to get burned.”