Semua Bab DEADLY FACADE: I Became His Obsession : Bab 131 - Bab 140

Lenny's POV I woke up to the sound of Shadow's tail thumping hard against the floor beside the bed. Vincenzo was still asleep next to me, his breathing even and steady for the first time in days straight. I lay there a second just listening to it, grateful for how calm it sounded compared to every other morning before this one. I slipped out from under the blanket slowly, careful not to jostle him or wake him up too early after everything his body had been through. Shadow followed me to the door right away, tail still going fast, excited already for his morning walk outside. Outside in the secured courtyard, the air felt like some kind of luxury after being cooped up inside for so many days straight without a real break. I breathed it in deep, letting Shadow sniff around the edges of the grass while Francesca shadowed us quietly from a distance, rifle slung easy over her shoulder like always. She didn't

Lenny's POV The words wouldn't leave my head. Someone claiming to speak for Giovanni. I sat on the edge of the bed while Vincenzo paced slowly across the room, favoring his side with every step he took. "How do we know who's really on our side?" I asked. "If someone can use Giovanni's name and get a guard to plant a device right under our noses, how do we know anyone around us is actually loyal at all?" "We don't," Vincenzo said, plain and blunt. "Not completely." "That's not comforting," I said. "It's not meant to be comforting," he said, sitting down across from me slowly. "Paranoia keeps you alive in this world, Lenny. The day you trust everyone around you without question is the day you end up dead as Dante did." "So what, we just suspect everyone forever now?" "We suspect everyone until they prove otherwise through their actions," he said. "That includes people close

Lenny's POVThe basement air clung to my skin like a second layer of dread, cold, damp, and suffocating. I stood just outside the harsh circle of light, arms wrapped tightly around myself, heart hammering as I watched Vincenzo and Luca press the guard for more answers. Every broken word the man choked out sent fresh chills racing down my spine, raising goosebumps along my arms.“More names… they wanted routes, schedules, anyone vulnerable in the Commission,” he gasped, tears mixing with the blood on his swollen, bruised face. “Blackmail, threats against my family. I swear that’s all I know. Please, I’m begging you…”Vincenzo’s presence filled the entire room even when he remained mostly silent. It was controlled, dangerous, lethal. I saw the enforcer side of him tonight, the one he usually tried to shield me from. It terrified me on a deep, primal level, but it also made something fierce tighten in my chest with twisted respec

Lenny's POVThe new arrival raised immediate suspicion in me right away. He stood in the doorway with Bressi and looked nervous, like he did not want to be there at all. I felt the paranoia affecting everyone in the safe house now. Every new person made me wonder if they were the mole working against us. I watched him closely while he talked to Giovanni on the phone and reported in about the Commission plans.Francesca came early the next morning like always. "We are doing knife work today," she said. "You need to learn quick escapes too in case things go bad at the meeting or after."I trained harder with her in the back room of the safe house. She handed me the knife and showed me how to hold it right in my hand. "Slice up, not down," she said. "And always go for the weak spots on the body."I practiced the moves over and over again. "Like this," I asked and did the motion she showed me with the knife.

Lenny's POVI felt the weight of the private pre-meeting request right away. It sat heavy on me all morning and would not leave my mind. I walked into the bedroom and looked at Vincenzo, who was sitting up in the bed. "It could be a setup," I said. "You are still healing, and this feels too risky right now for you to go alone."Vincenzo sat up straighter and shook his head. "I have to go if it secures more allies," he said. "We need every vote we can get on the Commission, or they might turn against us."I crossed my arms and kept arguing with him. "But what if they use it against you?" I asked. "You are not at full strength yet, and one wrong move could end everything we have worked for."He reached for my hand and held it. "This is how the game works, Lenny," he said. "I cannot say no without looking weak in front of them. You are my sounding board now, so tell me what you really think we should do."I sat down on