The Secret Roman Wanted Buried

“Or I’ll tell Lucia what really happened to her uncle.”

The words hit the room like a bomb.

Silence followed.

Dead silence.

My eyes snapped to Alessio.

His face had gone completely still.

Too still.

The kind of stillness that came before violence.

My pulse pounded.

“What does that mean?”

Nobody answered.

The crack in the steel door widened.

Metal groaned.

Bianca grabbed my arm.

“Lucia…”

I barely heard her.

My attention was locked on Alessio.

“What is he talking about?”

Alessio kept his gun aimed at the door.

“Nothing.”

Lie.

Even Bianca could hear it.

Roman laughed softly from the other side.

“Still protecting her.”

“Shut up.”

“You should tell her the truth.”

“Not now.”

“Then when?”

My stomach twisted.

Nobody was making sense.

“What truth?” I demanded.

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Hotter.

Dangerous.

Alessio looked at me.

And for a brief second, I saw conflict in his eyes.

Real conflict.

Like he wanted to tell me.

Like he wanted to protect me.

At the same time.

Another crash shook the door.

The lock groaned loudly.

We didn’t have much time.

Roman spoke again.

“Your uncle didn’t die in an accident.”

My breath caught.

Uncle Marco.

I barely remembered him.

I’d been young when he died.

The family never spoke about him.

Whenever I asked questions, the conversation changed.

My father became quiet.

My mother looked sad.

Eventually I stopped asking.

“Lucia,” Alessio said carefully.

“Tell me.”

“Later.”

“No.”

The word came out sharper than I intended.

Years of secrets.

Years of whispered conversations.

Years of people deciding what I should and shouldn’t know.

I was tired of it.

“I want the truth.”

Another loud bang.

The door shuddered.

Roman sounded almost amused.

“She deserves to know.”

Alessio cursed under his breath.

Then finally—

“He was murdered.”

My heart stopped.

Murdered?

The room spun slightly.

Bianca gasped.

“What?”

Alessio never looked away from me.

“Your uncle was killed.”

The words felt unreal.

Impossible.

“No.”

“Yes.”

I shook my head.

“No. They said it was a car accident.”

“They lied.”

My stomach dropped.

Years.

For years I’d believed that story.

A tragic accident.

Nothing more.

Now suddenly everything had changed.

“Who killed him?”

The question came out barely above a whisper.

Alessio didn’t answer.

And somehow that terrified me more than anything.

Because if he knew—

If everyone knew—

Then why keep it secret?

Outside the door, Roman answered for him.

“Your father.”

The world stopped.

No.

No.

No.

I stared at the door.

Unable to breathe.

Unable to think.

Unable to process what I’d just heard.

My father?

My father killed his own brother?

It wasn’t possible.

My father wasn’t perfect.

He was ruthless.

Dangerous.

A mafia boss.

But murder his own brother?

No.

Never.

“Liar!”

The word tore from my throat.

Roman didn’t respond immediately.

Then—

“Ask Dante yourself.”

My hands started shaking.

Bianca looked horrified.

“Lucia…”

“No.”

I stepped backward.

My chest hurt.

Everything hurt.

This couldn’t be true.

It couldn’t.

Could it?

I looked toward Alessio desperately.

Wanting him to deny it.

Wanting him to tell me Roman was lying.

Wanting him to make this nightmare disappear.

Instead—

He stayed silent.

And that silence told me everything.

My knees nearly gave out.

“Oh my God.”

The room felt like it was closing in around me.

Every memory suddenly felt different.

Every conversation.

Every family gathering.

Every time someone changed the subject when Uncle Marco’s name came up.

They all knew.

Everyone knew.

Except me.

The crash that followed nearly made me jump out of my skin.

The steel door bent inward.

The lock finally snapped.

Alessio’s attention immediately shifted.

Business mode.

Danger mode.

The moment was over.

“We don’t have time for this.”

The door burst open.

Everyone froze.

A figure stepped inside.

Roman Romano.

He looked exactly as he always did.

Calm.

Controlled.

Powerful.

Like he hadn’t just revealed a family secret capable of destroying my world.

Alessio aimed his weapon directly at his chest.

“Stop.”

Roman stopped.

Not because he was afraid.

Because he chose to.

“Put the gun down.”

“No.”

The two men stared at each other.

The tension was suffocating.

Predatory.

Dangerous.

I suddenly understood something.

This wasn’t a simple family disagreement.

This went deeper.

Much deeper.

“You shouldn’t have told her,” Alessio said coldly.

“She deserved the truth.”

“Not from you.”

Roman’s gaze shifted toward me.

And for the first time, I noticed something strange.

Regret.

Actual regret.

“I’m sorry you found out this way.”

I stared at him.

“Why tell me at all?”

A pause.

Then—

“Because you’re in danger.”

The room fell silent.

Again.

Danger.

That word again.

The same word Alessio kept using.

The same word everyone seemed afraid to explain.

“What danger?”

Roman looked toward Alessio.

“Tell her.”

“No.”

“She needs to know.”

“No.”

My frustration exploded.

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here!”

Both men looked at me.

Good.

Maybe now somebody would answer my questions.

“What’s happening?”

Nobody spoke.

I laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

More secrets.

More lies.

More people deciding what I could handle.

I was sick of it.

Roman finally sighed.

“The attack tonight wasn’t about your father.”

I froze.

Alessio’s jaw tightened.

Roman continued anyway.

“It was about you.”

The room spun.

Again.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It does.”

“No, it doesn’t!”

I wasn’t important.

Not like my father.

Not like Alessio.

Not like Roman.

I was just—

Just—

I stopped.

Because suddenly I remembered something.

The nightclub.

The way Alessio looked at me.

The engagement party.

The Russians.

The alliance.

The attack.

Everything connected.

Slowly.

Terrifyingly.

Roman watched realization dawn on my face.

“Now you understand.”

“No.”

But I did.

At least partially.

Someone knew Alessio wanted me.

Someone knew I mattered to him.

And they were using me against him.

My pulse skyrocketed.

“This is insane.”

“Welcome to our world,” Roman said quietly.

Before I could answer—

A voice suddenly crackled through Alessio’s earpiece.

Urgent.

Panicked.

His expression changed instantly.

“What?”

Silence.

Then—

“What do you mean she’s gone?”

My stomach dropped.

Gone?

Who was gone?

Alessio listened for several more seconds.

Then his face went pale.

Actually pale.

For the first time since I’d met him.

Fear.

Real fear.

The room fell silent.

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Slowly—

Alessio lowered the earpiece.

His eyes found Bianca.

Then me.

Then Bianca again.

And when he finally spoke—

His voice was deadly quiet.

“They can’t find your sister.”

The world stopped.

Bianca wasn’t beside me anymore.

My head snapped around.

The chair where she’d been sitting moments ago—

was empty.

And the only thing left behind was a single bloodstained bracelet lying on the floor.