“Where the hell did you get this?”
I don’t miss Frankie ducking her head guiltily, but I choose not to call her out.
“That’s not important. What matters is the young girl looking at you.” I hand him a printout of the recent picture of Juliana I got from Candi. “What do you see?”
He studies the pictures for a moment and then shrugs. “I guess I see an uncanny resemblance.”
“Marco?” I say, motioning him closer.
Marco leans in, and so do Frankie, Karina, and Clayton.
“Holy shit!” Marco’s voice trails off, stunned. “Is that…is it possible…?”
“No, it’s not,” I scoff. “It’s a trick, courtesy of Sergio Bruno, and one that you all need to be aware of. It’s the only reason I’m even telling you at all.”
But they’re not listening. The pictures are passed around, but as soon as Dante gets them back, his eyes stay transfixed on the image of us as children. Is he remembering her the same way I did when I first saw the old photo?
“Explain,” Dante says gruffly, gripping the pictures tightly.
“Candi found this in a pile of old photos that were being used for Liliana’s baby book,” I say, careful not to implicate Frankie even though it’s obvious who must have dug up the old pictures. “She thought the resemblance to her friend Juliana was too striking to ignore. She’s basically convinced that her friend is…our sister. And look, I don’t believe it myself, but if this is some sick strategy the Brunos plan to use against us, we need to be prepared.”
“She looks like Mom,” Marco says wistfully. He runs a finger over the photo of Juliana, then pulls back, shaking his head. “Really, she looks just like Mom did around the same age.”
“How the hell would you know that?” I ask. “You were still sucking your thumb when they died.”
He looks at me defiantly, as if what he’s about to reveal might result in some sort of punishment, or anger. But whatever it is, he’s not about to apologize.
“Because I had Mom’s photo album from when she was young. I hid it behind the baseboard in my bedroom for years.”
Dante’s mouth drops. “Youtook it from my room? I figured it was Dad.”
Marco looks down at his hands. “No. You didn’t hide it well enough. But Dadwouldhave found it if I hadn’t taken it first. He’d never think to start prying off the woodwork in our rooms, but he would go through your closet.”
They look at each other with mutual understanding.
Dante nods. “Yeah, you’re right. And you’re also right that Juliana looks a lot like Mom, but so what? I have to agree with Armani on this one. It could be a trick. Or just a coincidence.”
“Seriously? Shouldn’t we at least check it out?” Marco prods.
“Clayton is on it,” I say. “Whatever we need to know about this woman, he’ll find it.”
All eyes turn to the Irishman. He shrugs. “Like I said, I haven’t been able to uncover anything yet. Graduated from UC San Francisco, works as a consultant for a reputable company—owned by the Brunos, sure, but the business seem fairly above-board. She pays her taxes on time, has lived at the same address for half a decade. I dunno. So far, she’s clean.”
Half rolling my eyes, I move behind the desk and sit. “It’s only been a matter of hours since I put you on it. It’s going to take time.”
Marco stands from the couch. “What do you mean when you say this might be a trick?”
“We know this woman is in Sergio Bruno’s inner circle and that she intended to marry into the Bratva to seal the alliance. Obviously, her loyalty lies with Bruno. He could have found her anywhere. Maybe she already looked like a ringer for Mom. Or maybe he had her doctored up. Either way, there’s no telling how he might be planning to use her against us.”
Marco visibly slumps. Of course my baby brother was holding out hope.
There’s a long beat of silence before Frankie speaks up. “But what if sheisLiliana? You’re telling me there’s not even the smallest chance she’s alive? When her body was never recovered?”
“No. It’s not possible.” It can’t be, and I won’t believe otherwise.
“It is possible.” Marco runs a hand over his mouth and looks over at Dante.
Slowly, our oldest brother nods. “It’s unlikely. It’s implausible. But…there is a possibility.”
