Todos os capítulos de RUINED BY MY BROTHER'S MAFIA BESTFRIEND: Capítulo 51 - Capítulo 60

~~Rafael~~When I find Carla outside, her gun missing, her shoulder still seeping blood, I experience a level of rage that I've never felt before.The car door is open, and Sofia is missing. As expected. There are about three cars scattered around the driveway, and none of those cars are mine.What did they do with the cars?What the fuck do I care about the damned cars anywhere? I know I'm trying to distract myself from what could be happening to Sofia right now.It's a rookie mistake to leave the house unguarded, and they have to know I'll be coming, which leads me to believe they have something planned.They planned this. They knew where I'd be. They knew Sofia would be here, and they knew who would be with her.This is all too well planned to just be a random attack. This is something that took time. Money.Information."It's not a good idea to step in there unprepared, Rafael." Silvio has his gun i

~~Sofia~~The afternoon sun spills golden light across the lawn, warming my skin as I watch from the patio. Laughter drifts on the breeze—high-pitched and joyful, the sound I've come to treasure above all others.Nico races across the grass, his seven-year-old legs pumping, a soccer ball at his feet. He's gotten so tall, his dark hair flying behind him, his blue eyes squinting against the sun.Rafael's eyes. Rafael's hair. Rafael's competitive spirit."Papa! Catch!" Nico kicks the ball, and it soars through the air toward his father.Rafael stands twenty feet away, a twin balanced on each hip. Our daughters. Isabella and Chiara. One with my blonde hair and Rafael's fierce expression. One with Rafael's dark curls and my stubborn chin.They giggle as their father shifts them, adjusting his hold just in time to trap the ball against his chest with one hand."Nice kick, figlio mio!" Rafael calls out.Nico beams. He

~~MASSIMO~~"Did you take her home?"Dr. Lambert studies me from over her wire-frame glasses. I always like that sensation, the feeling of being dissected by an unseen scalpel, wondering what rot or cancer she's peering at that I can't detect. I go to my therapist the way some people go to the movies, I go to the opera the way other people go to their therapist.For me, psychiatry is more of a hobby than treatment. I think it pissed the good doctor off a bit when she finally worked out that I was using her the same way most people use a Netflix subscription. But she didn't fire me as a client. Her loss. So here we sit, almost knee to knee in the quiet of her office."I did."My thoughts drift back to Seraphina Conti. Or they would if they ever really drifted away from her. For a week, the girl has been chewing at my gray matter. Like an infection. If Dr. Lambert were any sort of useful doctor, maybe she could cut that infection out."And it went well," she infers.My jaw twitches."I

~~SERAPHINA~~ Every time I get the mail, it comes with its own mini-anxiety attack. The nagging fear of what bills are going to sneak up on us today? I leaf through the white envelopes like any one of them could contain anthrax, but they're mostly junk. Sweet, innocent junk. I almost drop the stack as I slide the last piece of mail to the forefront. Top Secret screams across the front in big red letters. I recognize the return address before I register the joke: Rosalia's apartment. I grin to myself. I should have known. Only a theater kid would send mail instead of a text. For the bit. Inside, I unfold a printed web page of an online hiring ad looking for a personal cleaning service. A message is jotted in pen at the bottom: Got you an interview—Monday, 3 p.m. I scan the page. It's a big house in a nice neighborhood, and they want a full-time maid service with daily cleaning. Most clients hire me for one day out of the week. I pick up their kid's toys, clean the dishes, and hit

~~SERAPHINA~~The rest of the day after my encounter with Massimo in the kitchen is a blur, and I'm the first to admit that my work ethic and focus are entirely shot.The only thing I could think about was the way his lips felt on mine, how his fingers were so perfectly positioned between my legs, and the pleasure he'd given me with his tongue. It was a massive distraction, and more than once, I considered quietly slipping away and never coming back.But my pride was too strong for me to ignore, so I went home that night and spent time with Luca, cuddling him close while my mind whirred.Waking up today, though, I am determined not to let Massimo get to me.The drive over to the house after I kiss Luca goodbye goes faster than I want it to, and walking in through the foyer immediately makes me feel like all eyes are on me. My maid uniform is perfectly cleaned and pressed again, and it takes everything inside me to ignore the lascivious looks from Massimo's men as I make my way to the