Chapter 10: THE LAYERS OF LIES

☆☆LILA☆☆

I sat at the dining table, picking at my breakfast while Nanny Rosa occupied herself at the stove. The door creaked open. Zio entered, his eyes lowered, his shoulders heavy. 

I pushed back my chair, hoping to slip away before his voice stopped me. 

“I should have told you sooner,” he said quietly. 

He drew in a slow breath, then stepped closer. “I kept it from you because I wanted to protect you. Your father… he wanted you to live freely, without the burden of this world. But I failed you. I failed him.” 

My throat burned, but no words came out. I just stared, lips parting slightly. 

Zio raised his hands as if to touch me, then dropped them. 

His voice broke low.“I swore to your father I’d raise you as my own. That I’d keep you safe. If keeping secrets damned me in your eyes, then damn me twice. I can live with your anger but I can’t live with losing you, piccola.” 

Questions swirled in my head, but none came out. 

“I will never stop protecting you,” he went on. “Even if it means you will never forgive me.” 

Something cracked inside me then. At that moment, he wasn’t just my uncle. He was the only family I had left. 

Tears rushed to my eyes before I could stop them. I leaned into him, sobbing, the dam breaking free. 

His arms wrapped tight around me, his cheek pressing to my hair. “I’m sorry,” he whispered over and over, rubbing my hair. “I should have told you. I just didn’t want you to carry this weight.” 

We stayed like that until the doorbell rang. 

Nanny Rosa went to answer it. Moments later, Theo stepped into the room. He glanced between us.

“Bad time?” 

Zio shook his head. “No. I was just about to explain to her how things work.” 

Theo raised a brow but sat with us on the couch. 

“You must have questions,” Zio said. 

“Well, no shit,” I muttered, then winced. “Sorry.” 

Zio’s expression softened. “Your father was the Alpha of our clan.” 

“Alpha?” 

“Like a leader,” Theo supplied. 

“Each clan has its Alpha. Some clans are bound to us by alliance, to keep peace.” Zio continued 

“But not all,” Theo added. 

My chest tightened. “Like the ones who killed my father?” 

They both went silent. Zio cleared his throat. “Lila—” 

“What? You didn’t think I could put that together? You closed the case too fast.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “We had no option.” 

“What clan was it?” 

“Lila—” Zio started 

“The Lunari clan,”  Theo said at the same time. 

My heart lurched. “Did you at least get justice for him?” 

“No,” Theo admitted, anger flashing in his eyes. “Their Alpha was found innocent. He had proof he wasn’t with your father that night. We couldn’t touch him.” 

I scoffed. “So you couldn’t even get justice for your own leader?” 

Theo’s fists tightened. “That bastard Rowan was too slippery. Pushing it further would’ve started a war.” 

Rowan. 

I froze. “Wait—Rowan? As in Rowan Blackwood?” 

Both of them turned to me. 

“Yes,” Theo said.“He’s the Alpha of the Lunari clan.” 

I stared, stunned. Rowan Blackwood. I knew that name, the ruthless tycoon whose empire sprawled across industries. Theo and I had even gone to the same college as him. After that, he vanished from my world, until a few years ago, when Rowan had taken control of his father’s company. From that moment, he became my father's fiercest rival in business. 

But this? An Alpha? 

“That’s impossible,” I whispered. “He’s just a businessman.” My voice faltered, the truth dawned on me. Rowan Blackwood is not human. This revelation was just another lie stacked on the countless lies I’d been living with all along.