The Pictures

CHAPTER 2

LENA POV

The island felt different after the pictures.

It looked like someone was watching me or even the walls themselves were watching me now. Every guard I passed stared a second too long before looking away quickly. Conversations stopped whenever I entered a room. Even the servants moved strangely around me, quieter than before.

Dante's threat had spread through the fortress fast.

I didn't know exactly what had been sent to Salvatore's office, but I knew enough. Pictures. Warnings. A message.

And somehow I had become the center of it.

I stood near the balcony doors inside my room, staring at the violent waves crashing below the cliffs. The sky was dark again, heavy clouds swallowing the afternoon sunlight.

Behind me, Matteo sat cross-legged on the carpet beside Brutus. The massive black dog rested his giant head on Matteo's lap while my brother scratched behind his ears carefully.

"I still think he likes me more than you," Matteo said quietly.

I looked back at him. "That dog weighs more than you. I'm surprised you're not scared of him."

"He only looks scary."

My chest tightened slightly at that. He only looks scary.

Funny how that sentence could describe another person in this fortress too

Brutus suddenly lifted his head.

The dog's ears twitched once before he stood immediately and walked toward the bedroom door. Matteo frowned. "Someone's coming."

A second later, there was a knock.

My entire body stiffened automatically. "Come in," I called carefully.

The door opened.

Charlie stepped inside first, dressed in his usual dark suit with that unreadable expression that never changed. But he wasn't alone.

The man behind him made the entire room feel smaller instantly. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair slightly longer than Salvatore's.

But unlike Salvatore's cold stillness, this man carried something sharper. Wilder. Like violence hidden behind charm.

His blue eyes landed on me immediately. Interested. Amused. Dangerous.

"Well," he said slowly. "So this is the girl causing chaos."

My jaw tightened.

Charlie sighed like he already regretted bringing him here.

"Lena," Charlie said calmly, "this is Diego Romano."

Romano.

The name hit me immediately. I know he has a brother but I thought she was also dead.

I stared at him.

Salvatore never mentioned his brother was alive. Not once.

For some reason, that realization unsettled me more than it should have.

Diego noticed my expression instantly and smirked.

"That look usually comes after people realize I'm related to him."

"Are you really alive?" I asked before stopping myself.

Diego laughed softly. "Trust me, principessa, I ask myself the same thing every day."

Brutus walked straight to Diego, tail moving once. Traitor.

Diego scratched the dog's head before looking toward Matteo.

"And who's this?"

Matteo immediately moved closer to me. Protective instinct. Fear. It happened so naturally now it hurts to see.

Charlie noticed too. "This is Matteo."

Diego crouched slightly until he was eye level with him.

"You like football?"

Matteo blinked, confused by the random question. "A little."

"Good. Because your sister looks like she's two seconds away from stabbing everyone in this room, and I need someone normal to talk to."

I stared at him flatly. "I'm glad the mafia finds me entertaining."

Diego grinned. "Oh, definitely."

Charlie rubbed his forehead. "You're making this worse."

"I'm making this less depressing."

Diego straightened before his gaze returned to me carefully. Now the amusement faded slightly.

"You don't trust anyone here."

It wasn't a question.

I crossed my arms. "Should I?"

"No," he answered honestly.

That caught me off guard.

Charlie gave Diego a warning look. He ignored him completely.

"The island is dangerous," he continued calmly. "Especially right now."

"Because of Dante?"

Something dark crossed Charlie's face immediately. Diego's expression sharpened slightly.

"So Salvatore didn't tell you much."

"There's a lot Salvatore doesn't tell me."

"That makes two of us."

The tension in the room thickened quietly.

I studied Diego carefully. Unlike Salvatore, Diego looked easier to read at first glance. But something about him felt deceptive. Like he smiled too easily for someone raised in this world.

Charlie's phone buzzed suddenly.

He checked it quickly before muttering a curse under his breath.

"What happened?" Diego asked.

"Shipment issue at the docks."

Diego looked annoyed immediately. "Again?"

Charlie nodded once before looking at me and Matteo.

"Stay inside tonight."

"I thought we were already prisoners," I said coldly.

Charlie ignored the comment. But Diego looked at me longer than necessary.

Then he said quietly, "You should listen this time."

Something in his voice made my stomach tighten.

Before I could ask anything else, they left.

The moment the door shut, Matteo looked at me.

"You didn't know he had a brother?"

I knew but I thought she was also dead.

"That's weird."

Yeah. It was.

Because Salvatore controlled information carefully. Every word. Every detail.

So why hide Diego? And why did the entire fortress suddenly feel nervous now that he was here?

By evening, rain hammered against the windows again.

I hated storms on this island. They made everything feel trapped.

The guards outside our hallway doubled after sunset. I noticed immediately when two more men took positions near the staircase.

Something was wrong. Matteo noticed too.

"Why are there so many guards?"

"I don't know."

But I had a feeling it had something to do with those pictures.

A knock interrupted us again.

This time, one of the guards opened the door slightly. "The boss wants you downstairs."

Of course he did.

I followed the guard through the fortress hallways while Matteo stayed behind with Brutus. My nerves tightened the closer we got to Salvatore's office.

The door was already open when I arrived.

Salvatore stood beside the large window overlooking the ocean, one hand resting against the desk. Black dress shirt. Rolled sleeves. That same terrifying stillness.

Diego sat lazily on the leather couch nearby drinking whiskey like he owned the place. Which maybe he did.

Charlie stood near the wall reviewing papers.

The moment I entered, Salvatore looked up.

His eyes moved over me once. Slowly. Not sexual. Worse. Possessive.

Like he was checking for injuries only he had the right to worry about.

I hated that my pulse reacted instantly.

Diego noticed too, apparently. Because he smirked into his glass.

Interesting.

"Nobody told me this family reunions required audience participation," I muttered.

Salvatore's gaze stayed on me. "Sit down."

"Still bad at saying please?"

His jaw flexed once. Diego looked delighted already.

"Oh, I like her."

"Shut up, Diego," Salvatore said without looking away from me.

Diego raised his hands innocently. Charlie looked exhausted.

I stayed standing deliberately. "If this is another interrogation, I'm not in the mood."

Salvatore finally moved toward the desk slowly.

"No one is interrogating you."

"Then why am I here?"

He opened a file silently before sliding photographs across the desk toward me.

My stomach dropped instantly.

Pictures. Blurry. Taken from far away.

Me walking beside Matteo in the garden.

Me standing on the balcony.

Me leaving the library yesterday.

Cold fear spread slowly through my chest.

Someone had been watching the island. Watching me.

"Dante sent those this morning," Charlie explained quietly.

I looked up immediately. "He has people here?"

"We don't know yet," Diego answered.

Salvatore's expression darkened. "We will."

The calmness in his voice frightened me more than shouting would have.

I looked back at the photographs again.

My hands felt cold suddenly. "He's trying to scare you," I whispered.

"No," Salvatore corrected softly.

His eyes locked onto mine. "He's trying to threaten me."

The room went silent.

Something dangerous moved beneath those words. Not strategy, Something personal.

Diego leaned back against the couch.

"Dante is getting desperate."

"He escaped my hands once already," Salvatore said coldly. "That mistake won't happen twice."

My brows pulled together slightly. Wedding.

He was talking about the wedding.

I remembered the chaos that night. Gunshots. Screaming. Blood across marble floors. Dante disappeared before Salvatore's men reached him.

Salvatore looked at the pictures again, jaw tight.

"I should've killed him there."

Charlie crossed his arms. "You were focused on getting off the property alive."

"No." Salvatore's voice lowered dangerously. "I was focused on getting her out."

The words hit the room heavily.

Even Diego looked surprised.

My breath caught slightly.

Salvatore seemed to realize what he admitted because his expression hardened immediately after.

Charlie looked away first. Diego slowly set his whiskey down.

"Well," he muttered. "That explains a lot."

Salvatore ignored him.

His eyes stayed on me. "From now on, you don't go anywhere alone."

Anger sparked instantly. "I already have guards following me everywhere."

"You'll have more."

"I'm not one of your possessions."

"No," he said calmly. "You're a target."

"That doesn't give you the right to control every second of my life."

"It gives me the right to keep you breathing."

The room felt too small suddenly. Too warm.

I stepped closer to the desk before I could stop myself.

"You act like protecting people with excuses for everything you do."

Something dark flickered behind his eyes. "You think I enjoy this?"

"I think you enjoy control."

Diego muttered softly, "Jesus Christ."

Charlie looked ready to drag everyone out of the room.

But Salvatore only stared at me. Long enough to make my heartbeat uneven.

"You have no idea what kind of men are looking for you," he said quietly.

"And you're different?"

"Yes."

The answer came instantly. No hesitation.

That should not have affected me the way it did.

I laughed bitterly instead. "You killed my brothers in front of me."

"And I'd do it again."

The honesty slammed into me hard. No guilt. No apology. Just the truth.

My chest tightened painfully. "Then stop acting like you're protecting me out of kindness."

For the first time, something cracked slightly in his expression. Not a weakness. Something sadder. More dangerous.

"You still don't understand," he murmured.

Before I could respond, alarms suddenly exploded across the fortress.

Loud. Violent.

Red lights flooded the office instantly.

Charlie grabbed his gun immediately. Diego stood so fast the whiskey glass shattered against the floor.

"What the hell happened?" I snapped.

One of the guards burst through the office doors breathing hard.

"Boss—"

Salvatore turned deadly calm instantly. "Talk."

The guard swallowed hard. "We found a body near the east gate."

Silence. Cold silence.

Then the guard said the words that made my blood freeze completely.

"He was carrying a message for Lena.”