Chapter 186
Aria First Person POV
Mar
I was still lying across Matteo’s lap when Enzo cleared his throat. He wasn’t joking now. His voice had changed. Serious. Focused. I lifted my head a little, enough to see the look on his face. Dante had stopped pacing and was now standing near the window, arms folded, jaw tight. Something was coming. I could feel it in the air.
“We found something,” Enzo started, his arms
now, his eyes locked on mine. “About your father.”
My body tensed, and Matteo’s arms instinctively tightened around me. I didn’t say anything. I just nodded once and waited for whatever they were about to drop on me.
“It wasn’t random,” Enzo said slowly. “His death. It wasn’t some freak accident or unlucky day. Someone told them where he would be.”
My breath caught.
“What?”
“There was a leak,” he went on. “Someone betrayed him. Someone gave his location to the Russians.”
I felt like the floor beneath us shifted. My chest tightened. I pushed myself up a little more, still on Matteo’s lap, my hands gripping his arms now. “You’re saying someone he trusted… gave him up?”
Enzo nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. We don’t know who yet. But it wasn’t just bad luck.”
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t understand. Who would do that to him?”
Matteo didn’t say anything. He just held me tighter, his hand stroking my side slowly. I could feel the warmth of his body grounding me, keeping me from falling apart.
Dante spoke next. His voice was rough, deeper than usual. “That’s not even the worst part.”
I looked over at him, my heart thudding hard now.
“The Russian mafia didn’t stop with him,” he said. “They sent out a death threat. To you. And to anyone close to you.”
I didn’t even realize I had gone still until Matteo shifted underneath me, his hand moving slowly up and down my back.
“They want you dead,” Dante said bluntly. “They want to wipe out his legacy.”
I blinked hard, trying to keep the tears from rising too fast.
“And,” Enzo added, his voice getting sharper, “they tried to bribe us. All three of us. Offered money, power, even territory if we’d hand you
over.”
My head snapped toward him. “What?”
Dante let out a low laugh. The sound was dark. Dangerous. He pushed off the wall and walked toward me slowly. “They thought we could be bought.”
“They thought wrong,” Enzo said, looking at me dead in the eye.
I swallowed hard. My throat burned. My eyes stung. I didn’t even know what to feel. Anger? Sadness? Fear? All of it was crashing down on me
1/3
Chapter 186
at once. I turned my face into Matteo’s chest and let out a long breath. Everything was so much. Too much. Every time I felt like I could breathe, something new came crashing down on me again.
I sat completely still, the weight of it all pressing down on my chest until I could barely breathe. My father had been betrayed. Someone had sold him out like he was nothing, like his life didn’t matter. And now they wanted me dead too, I couldn’t even process it properly. My mind kept spinning in circles, searching for answers that weren’t there. Who? Why? How could anyone do that to him? To me? The room felt smaller now. Hotter. My skin was prickling even though Matteo was holding me. I looked at each of them, trying to read something in their eyes, anything that would tell me this wasn’t as bad as it sounded, but all I saw was quiet rage and unspoken protectiveness. The triplets weren’t just telling me this like it was information. They were telling me because they were going to war for me. Because someone had put a target on my back, and they were already preparing to take that person down. I swallowed hard, blinking fast, my fingers curling around the fabric of Matteo’s shirt like I needed something solid to keep me grounded. I hated feeling like this, like some fragile piece of glass everyone had to protect. I hated that this was happening at all. All I had ever wanted was answers. Closure. Now I had something worse. More questions. More danger. More fear. I leaned deeper into Matteo’s chest, trying to block it all out, if only for a second.
Matteo kissed the top of my head and whispered, “You’re safe with us. I promise.”
I nodded weakly, still resting against him.
“We’ll be moving you soon,” Enzo said. “Somewhere more secure. Somewhere they can’t reach you.”
“We’re already planning a hit on the Russian capo behind this,” Dante added. “He’s sneaky. Changes phones, names, even locations every few days. But we’ll get him. Eventually.”
I didn’t respond. I just stayed quiet, letting the words settle. Letting the truth burn its way into my chest.
Then Matteo shifted a little and whispered against my ear, “We might have to lock you up with us around the clock.”
I let out a breathy laugh, grateful for the break in tension. “Sounds like a punishment.”
Enzo chuckled. “You say that now. But you’re very soft when you’re tired.”
“And needy,” Dante added with a smirk. “She practically melted into Matteo’s chest earlier.”
“Shut up,” I mumbled into Matteo’s shoulder, but I was smiling now.
“She did,” Enzo said, teasing me now. “Might have to keep snacks by the bed for her. Food and forehead kisses every hour.”
Matteo’s voice was low and soft again. “And belly rubs.”
“Shut. Up,” I said again, lifting my head just enough to glare at them, but the smile was still tugging at my lips.
They laughed.
The tension eased.
Just a little.
It didn’t erase what they had just told me. It didn’t take away the pain or the fear. But it helped. They helped. With their arms. Their voices. Their teasing. They reminded me that I wasn’t alone in this.
Not anymore.
I was theirs now.
And they were mine.,
Whatever was coming, we would face it together.
