1
CANDI
The photo of Liliana Bellanti—akaJuliana Guerra, aka my best friend—trembles in my hand. I’m still reeling. It feels like the floor just dropped out from under my feet.
Liliana didn’t drown in a boating accident all those years ago. She’s alive and well.
And she’s been raised by…the Brunos. The Bellanti family’s archenemies.
How the hell did this happen?
I had no idea that such an earth-shattering revelation would come to me when I showed up at my sister-in-law’s house today to help her put together a christening scrapbook for her baby. But here we are. Our little crafting session has turned up quite a bit more than a dusty old box of Bellanti family photos.
Yet even as I’m shocked into a stupor, I realize that I can’t go around making wild accusations without any proof. I can’t let on that anything is amiss until I fit all the pieces together and make a legitimate case. I have to be absolutely certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Liliana Bellanti in this photo really is Juliana.
The very same woman who has spent her life plotting to get revenge on the Bellantis for killing her parents. The woman who’s about to marry into the Russianmobto seal a Bratva-Bruno alliance that will enable the Brunos to take the Bellantis down for good. Juliana just might be working to annihilate her own flesh and blood, and she doesn’t even know it. Does she?
“Candi, are you okay?”
“What?” I snap my gaze to Frankie.
“You’re a million miles away,” she says.
I force a sheepish smile. “Yeah, sorry. I totally zoned out for a second there.”
Still in a daze, I set the photo back on the pile. That’s when a wave of dizziness suddenly washes over me. Gripping the edge of the table, I press the back of my hand to my forehead and silently remind myself to keep my shit together.
“Let me get you some water,” Frankie says, sliding her chair back.
“No! I mean, thank you, but I’m fine. I just…haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
It sounds weak even to my ears, but Frankie just eyes me with concern.
Is it possible I’m wrong about this? Maybe it’s just a coincidence that Jules looks like Liliana. In fact, I don’t even know when Juliana’s parents were killed. Maybe she was eight or ten or twelve; older than the girl in this photo who allegedly died the same day as her mother.
Dammit, none of this makes sense. Dante admitted that Enzo Bellanti could have been responsible for the death of Juliana’s parents, and Juliana says that the Bellantis killed her parents…but if Juliana was the Bellantis’ sister, then…does that mean Enzo murdered his own wife and attempted to take out his daughter as well? Why would he do that? What could make him lash out at his own family so horribly?
One scenario instantly comes to mind. Did Enzo maybe suspect—or find out—that Juliana wasn’t his biological child, and then order a hit on his allegedly adulterous wife and her daughter? It makes sense, but then…how did Juliana survive the boating accident? And how did she end up getting raised by the Brunos?
I need more information. I need to talk to Juliana. As soon as possible.
God, and I need to talk to Armani, too. But will he even take my suspicions seriously?
“I’m actually feeling a little nauseous,” I tell Frankie, hoping it’s enough of an excuse for my odd behavior. “Maybe that water is a good idea.”
“Of course. Just sit tight. I’ll be right back.”
She quickly checks on Lili in the bassinet—still sleeping like a baby, of course—and then glides out of the room, returning moments later with a full carafe and two glasses, pouring a cup for each of us. I down half of mine in a rush and then lower the glass, slightly out of breath.
“Ah. Better already!” I say. “I just got dizzy.”
Frankie just rolls her glass slowly between her hands, assessing me.
“Are you…sure you’re not pregnant?” she asks. “I mean the nausea, the not sleeping…”
I nearly drop my water. “No! God, no. Ha. I’m fine now. Really. It was probably just low blood sugar or something.”
She nods slowly, but she looks skeptical.
