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Marco is looking at me now, waiting for me to decide on what I’m going to do.
I hold my belly.
“You’re right about the secrets,” I say. “The secrets are what creates divisions. And I’ve got my own secrets that I’m keeping from Luca. And it’s not fair.”
Marco’s eyes widen as he looks again down at my hand on my belly. A smile comes to his lips. Then it disappears. “You …”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I remember my father talking about duty and honor and family, legacy, all this crap that gets thrown around in our family and this life. But the truth is, when it boils down to it, it’s are you going to do what you say you’re going to do. Am I?
Luca isn’t perfect. Neither am I. Luca has been a jerk. But so have I.
Despite all that, we’re tied together by one teeny tiny thing …
The baby in my belly.
“I’m pregnant,” I say softly. The very first time I’ve ever said it to anyone other than Mimi.
Marco exhales sharply. “Wow,” he says. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I say, but I’m staring at the floor. I’ve turned red and the whole thing feels surreal now. Before the baby was a secret that I was keeping from everyone. That only Mimi knew, and if needed, would be the only one to know had I considered an abortion.
But I’m going to keep it. I need to tell Luca the truth.
“I need a drink of water,” I say.
Marco smiles and nods. “I’d say the same after that.” He laughs with glee.
I smile and head out of the bedroom and for the kitchen. It’s like keeping this secret for the last month has slowly dehydrated me. Or maybe I’ve only just realized what it’s been costing me?
I hear Marco follow me out. “You want a glass too?” I ask, talking over my shoulder.
“You know, before I said I was sorry,” Marco says, coming into the room. “Really I should be thanking you though for sharing your secret.”
I pause, wondering if he had apologized to me. I fill up two glasses with water. “No you never said you were sorry,” I say. “You just—” But I pause, looking at the reflection of Marco in the window. He’s watching me with the same anger as before …
“‘I’ve always suspected that you were keeping something from us,” he says. “And so I apologize that you’ve made the next steps even more fun for me!”
He lunges at me as I turn, and something hard bashes into the side of my head. I crumble into the kitchen counter and the two glasses fly from my hand. I hear them distantly smash on something. I hear the water running and it’s loud. I slide to the floor as the lights start going dim.
“Finally, thank you for making my torture of Luca even better.”
Chapter 22
Luca
BythetimeIpull up to the warehouse twenty minutes, later my anger that has been boiling away has returned to a simmer. It’s just after midnight and while I’m infuriated, I am more driven than ever to catch my father's killer and make them pay. If this is a trap, if it’s the blackmailer fucking with my head … My heart hopes to god that it’s not Sophie.
I screech to a halt and the guard’s already at the roller door waiting for me. “Mr. Colombino, I’ve got—”
“Give it,” I say, taking the tablet from him. I scroll through the software and come to a stop just inside the warehouse. I’m completely dumbstruck and my finger hovers over the screen. Nothing is missing.
“What the hell happened?” I ask.
“That’s the thing,” the guard says, swallowing. “It just updated. Maybe five minutes ago? All the stock returned and, well, it seems everything is fine now …” He steps away from me tentatively.
“Have you physically checked the stock levels?” I ask, looking at him.
The guard shakes his head. “That’s what I was doing now. I was on my way there when Sam radioed and called me back. It had changed again. Then you were here.”
