Bound To My Mafla Stepuncles
Chapter 209
But I had to tell them. I had to say it now, while I still could.
“There’s a mole,” I whispered
Their eyes met each other quickly, like they already suspected it.
I took a slow breath. “I think it’s Valentina.”
Dante froze. “What?”
“There have been too many strange things. The missing papers. The delay in the security change. The note I found on the beach that day… the handwriting looked like hers. Then the call on the study phone, warning me, it sounded panicked, like someone knew something was about to happen but couldn’t say it outright.”
she’s been around a long time. But I don’t think she’s on our side anymore.”
I looked at Enzo. “I know you trust her. I know errupted me. They were just listening. Watching me closely.
Silence stretched through the room. None of them
“I could be wrong,” I said quietly. “But something doesn’t feel right. The way she looks at me. The way she always appears right before or after something bad happens. She’s too calm. Too polite. Like she’s trying to stay close but keep her distance. And she was one of the few people who knew where I was that night.”
Enzo’s jaw clenched.
“I had to tell you,” I added. “Even if I’m wrong. You need to know.”
Matteo leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently. “We’ll look into
- IL.
You did the right thing.”
“I’m proud of you,” Dante said softly, brushing my hair away from my face.
Enzo didn’t say anything. But the look in his eyes said everything. He was listening. He believed me. Or at least he was willing to check.
My head throbbed again and I closed my eyes.
“You need sleep,” Enzo finally said. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re right here.”
Their hands stayed on me. Warm. Steady. Protective.
I turned my face toward the pillow and let my eyes flutter open again, just enough to see the ceiling above me blur into soft shapes. My body still felt heavy like I had been poured full of wet sand, but their hands grounded me, kept me tethered to the now. I could hear Matteo’s breath, steady and close, and feel the way Enzo’s fingers brushed against the inside of my wrist like he was counting the beats of my heart for himself. There was a warmth in the room now, something that hadn’t been there when I first woke up. It wasn’t just the temperature. It was the feeling of not being alone. I wanted to cry from how safe I felt even though every part of me still ached. I was remembering things slowly in pieces and flashes. The cold air against my skin. The way the masked figure had moved without hesitation. The sound of my phone clattering to the floor. Then nothing but darkness. But now I was here. They had found me. They had stayed. Even as I tried to piece together what happened, I could tell they weren’t just shaken, they were wrecked. Dante looked like he hadn’t slept in days and Enzo’s jaw was tight like he’d been holding something back this whole time. And Matteo’s hand in mine, that quiet steadiness, told me more than any words ever could. It made me wonder how they felt finding me like that. If they had to carry me out. If they thought I wouldn’t wake up. That thought hurt more than the ache in my skull. I didn’t want to be the girl who needed saving, but right now, I was. And even though it made my chest sting to admit it, I was glad they were here. I was glad I didn’t have to be alone with this fear.
And this time, when sleep pulled me back under, I/let it take me. Because for now,
I was safe.
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