Chapter 146
Aria’s POV
Expressions tight.
Chiara stopped. Rita did too.
Dane stood.
“We need to talk to you, Aria, Please. Give us a chance to explain.”
My arms folded. My jaw tightened.
‘I’m not in the mood to be lied to again.”
I turned to walk away.
Chiara caught my hand. “Just listen. Please.”
Rita added, “You don’t have to forgive them. But hear them out. That’s all we ask.”
I hesitated.
Matteo looked like a man ready to bleed for me.
I exhaled.
“Fine. Talk.”
Chiara and Rita slipped out, quietly. The door closed behind them.
And I was alone.
With the three men who flipped my world upside down.
I walked into the room, my feet feeling heavy, like I was dragging the weight of the entire world behind me. The atmosphere had changed. It wasn’t just thick with tension–it was suffocating. The light above flickered slightly, but maybe that was just my imagination. My heart beat fast, unsure of what I was walking into.
Enzo, Matteo, and Dante were already seated. Their faces were serious, and when they looked at me, I saw something deeper. Sadness? Worry? Maybe even guilt? I wasn’t sure, but it made the hairs on my arms stand.
“Sit,” Matteo said gently, rising slightly from the arm of the chair.
I didn’t move. My arms crossed over my chest instinctively. “What is it?” I asked, voice harder than I meant.
Dante exhaled slowly. “We need to tell you the truth. Everything.”
The truth? My breath caught for a second. “About what?”
They exchanged glances again. Enzo looked like he didn’t even want to speak. Matteo gave him a nod.
Dante leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Your father… he wasn’t just a regular man, Aria. He worked for the Russian mafia.”
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Chapter 146
I blinked. Once. Twice. “What?”
He was one of their best men, Enzo finally said, his voice quiet. “Trusted by the Russian capo himself. He handled important secrets, sensitive information.”
I stared at him, my legs suddenly weak. I stepped back until I found the arm of a chair to hold onto.
When you were born, he left the mafia, Matteo added. “He disappeared. Uld himself and you, changed everything to keep you both safe.”
Safe. My dad had always told me we were safe. That nothing could ever hurt me.
He lived in hiding for years. He kept his past buried. No one could find him. Until recently, Enzo continued.
My breath hitched.
“Someone tipped them off, Dante said. “And they found him. They killed him. Shot him execution style… because they believed he still had information.”
No.
“And now,” Matteo added, voice heavy, “they think you have that same information. That he passed it on to you.”
My lips parted. But no sound came out. My hands began to shake.
“But I don’t know anything,” I whispered. My voice cracked. “I didn’t know any of this.”
“We know,” Enzo said. “But they don’t. And now, being close to us… it puts a target on your back.”
Because you’re the heads of the Italian mafia,” I murmured, understanding now. “And the Russians are your biggest enemies.”
Silence.
A thousand thoughts raced through my head, clashing, colliding, spinning like a storm.
Intel? Secrets? Russian mafia? My father?
He had smiled at me every morning. Made me pancakes with strawberries. Held me when I cried. I never saw anything dark in him. Never.
I felt like the floor gave way beneath me. My legs buckled.
And then–warm arms caught me.
Enzo.
He pulled me into his chest, sitting down and holding me on his lap. I didn’t fight him. I couldn’t. I collapsed against him, my face pressed to his shoulder, the scent of his cologne washing over me.
And I broke.
The tears came hard. Fast. Sobs I couldn’t hold back. They ripped out of me like they had been waiting, hiding deep in my chest all this time.
I remembered his blood. The way he fell. The emptiness in his eyes.
He had been killed because of something I didn’t even know.
Because of me?
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Chapter 146
Dante sat beside us. He took my hand gently, rubbing slow circles on my thigh.
You don’t have to carry this alone,” he whispered.
Matteo came behind me, kneeling to press a kiss on my hair. He rubbed my back in long, slow motions. “We’re here. We’ve got you.”
Enzo buried his face in my neck. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Aria. Ever.”
The pain came in waves. My body shook, and all I could do was cling to Enzo like he was my anchor. I cried and cried, each tear feeling like it burned a piece of me away.
“Why didn’t he tell me? I choked.
No one answered. There was no answer.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I sobbed. “I don’t know what they want. I don’t have anything.”
“You have us,” Dante said softly. “That’s all you need.”
We stayed that way for what felt like hours. They surrounded me. Protected me. Loved me without saying the word out loud.
Eventually, the sobs slowed. My breathing evened. My head felt heavy.
I felt lips on my forehead. Enzo. Then another on my cheek. Matteo. Then Dante kissed my hand.
I closed my eyes, sinking into the warmth, the strength of their presence.
Sleep tugged at me.
I didn’t want to face the dreams, but I had no strength left to stay awake.
I was lifted gently, carried like I weighed nothing.
Matteo.
He held me close as we climbed the stairs. My arms stayed around his neck.
I felt the bed beneath me as he laid me down.
“Don’t leave me,‘ I murmured.
A kiss brushed my forehead.
“Never,” he whispered.
A/N hiiii, I didn’t know the other chapter was cut off, probably because the chapter was too long, this is a direct continuation from where it ended. Enjoy and tell me what you think about this revelation
