The Silence Between Us

Chapter Fifteen

The villa was quieter than usual—too quiet. The kind of silence that crept into the walls and made them feel colder, heavier. Sophia stood at the tall window in the guest room, arms crossed, watching the night fold in over the estate. She hadn’t seen Alex in hours. Not since he stormed off after she attempted to explain what she’d just learned herself.

Every word between them lately had become a landmine, and she wasn’t sure which of them would ignite the next explosion.

She had meant to find him earlier, to clarify what little she could about Eliza Maranzano, but how could she? How do you explain betrayal when you’re still trying to understand your part in it?

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.

It was Diego.

“Alex hasn’t come down,” he said without preamble. “I thought he might be with you.”

Sophia shook her head, her voice almost a whisper. “I haven’t seen him since earlier.”

Diego studied her closely. There was no contempt in his eyes—only wary calculation. “He’s not taking it well. You know that, right?”

Sophia turned fully toward him. “Would you? If you found out the woman you trusted was connected to your father’s killer?”

His jaw tightened, but he gave her a curt nod. “He’ll come around. Eventually.”

Sophia doubted that. The man she’d seen earlier—the fire in his eyes, the way his hands trembled not with fear but with fury—was not a man easily swayed by reason. And maybe she didn’t deserve his forgiveness.

Diego hesitated at the door. “You should give him space. But don’t give up.”

And with that, he was gone.

Alex didn’t sleep that night.

He sat alone in his father’s old office, surrounded by dust-covered ledgers, yellowing photos, and reminders of a life he now questioned completely.

Eliza Maranzano.

The name shouldn’t have rattled him so deeply. But it did. Because his father had made a deal with her. Trusted her. Lied to his family for her. And now Sophia—Sophia, of all people—was tied to her bloodline?

He poured himself another drink. The third tonight. Maybe the fourth. The liquor burned going down, but not enough to erase what he felt.

Her face haunted him—the confusion in her voice, the pleading in her eyes. She hadn’t known. Or maybe she had, and she’d just become a better liar than he’d ever imagined.

The truth was, he missed her.

Even now, his mind clung to memories he couldn’t erase. The feel of her hand in his. Her scent after rain. The way she stared at him like she could see straight through every wall he’d built.

But that connection? It was a weakness. And Alex Morano had been trained to never let his guard down. Not even for love.

Especially not for love.

He opened the drawer of his father’s desk and pulled out an old photo—one of Carlo Ventresca. The man who’d once stood beside his father. Loyal. Trusted.

Dead.

His murder had started all of this. And something told Alex that Carlo’s blood was the key to untangling every lie between the Moranos and the Maranzanos.

He picked up his phone and dialed Dominic.

“We need to meet,” Alex said when his older brother answered. “Tonight. Bring everything you found on the warehouse footage. I want to look at it again.”

A pause. “Are you sure that’s what you want to focus on right now?”

Alex’s tone hardened. “There’s nothing else I want to think about right now.”

Back upstairs, Sophia finally left the room. She couldn’t bear the walls closing in any longer. Wandering down the hall, she passed the door to the library and froze.

It was cracked open.

She pushed it slowly, revealing the room inside. It was dark, lit only by a sliver of moonlight from the tall arched window. But there, behind the desk, sat Alex.

She didn’t say anything. Just stood there, uncertain.

He didn’t look up.

“I didn’t know about Eliza,” she said finally, her voice barely carrying.

“I know,” Alex replied, but his tone was flat. Indifferent. Not the kind of ‘I know’ that forgave anything, but one that simply acknowledged a fact before discarding it.

Sophia stepped into the room. “Then why are you shutting me out?”

He looked up then, and the storm in his eyes nearly stopped her breath. “Because it doesn’t matter if you knew. The damage is already done. My father is dead. Carlo is dead. And somehow, you’re connected to all of it.”

Sophia crossed her arms, trying to steady herself. “You think I’m here to hurt you?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Alex snapped. “That’s the problem. I trusted you, Sophia. But every time I start to see something real in you, another lie crashes down on me.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Sophia swallowed the lump in her throat. “I didn’t choose my bloodline, Alex. But I’m choosing you.”

He stood abruptly. “And what does that even mean? That you’ll help me destroy your own family? That you’ll betray Eliza the way she betrayed mine?”

“If it comes to that—yes.”

Alex studied her like she was a puzzle he no longer wanted to solve. “And if I find out you’re lying again…”

Sophia’s gaze didn’t flinch. “Then walk away. I won’t stop you.”

It wasn’t defiance. It was a surrender. A plea wrapped in armor.

He moved past her, stopping at the doorway. “Stay out of this for now. Don’t get in my way.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. And she didn’t offer one.

Hours Later

Dominic sat across from Alex at the surveillance table in one of their remote properties outside the city. The screen played the warehouse footage in silence as the two brothers watched.

“There,” Dominic pointed, pausing the frame. “That’s the moment the back door opens. Three minutes before the explosion.”

Alex leaned in. A shadowed figure moved quickly through the frame. It was fast—intentional. Not just some vagrant or thief. This was someone who knew the layout. Who knew how to move unseen?

“Enhance it,” Alex said.

Dominic did.

The figure’s face never showed, but their gait—there was something familiar about it.

“This wasn’t just a setup,” Alex murmured. “Someone was watching me. Tailoring every move.”

Dominic nodded grimly. “And they’re still out there.”

Alex’s jaw clenched. “Then it’s time we flushed them out.”

Back at the Villa

Sophia sat in bed, knees drawn up to her chest. Her phone buzzed beside her. A blocked number.

She hesitated, then answered.

A female voice slithered through the line. Cold. Calculated.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Sophia.”

Sophia’s blood ran cold. “Who is this?”

“You know who I am,” the voice replied. “And you’re making a mistake aligning yourself with Alex Morano. You forget where you come from. What are you?”

The call ended before Sophia could speak.

She stared at the phone, heart pounding.

Eliza had made her move.

And the reckoning was just beginning.