Page 51 of Broken Princess

I hid in the shadows, sneaking about the house to glean any piece of information I could. Thinking back, that was the first time I realised my natural talent for reconnaissance. However, they found nothing and over time, I accepted that we would never discover who took her away from us. I assumed my father had given up, too.

Isa was nine years older than me and after my mother died, she was my entire universe. She became both my sister and my confidant. We shared every secret we had with each other. I glance up at Zo in the rearview mirror and he’s looking at the road. We need to talk about my sister’s death. I need to know if he’s uncovered things I don’t know.

If I know things, he doesn’t.

“We’re here,” Nico says, pulling me out of my thoughts. As morbid as they are, it’s oddly refreshing to have something to think about other than the monumental clusterfuck we’re currently trying to navigate.

We’re meeting Manny and Stefano in the basement of a parking garage in the city. Fuck knows if it’s a good idea. Whether we meet in a densely populated area, or in the woods, the risks are still monumentally large if I’m seen. If the De Lucas find out I’m alive, they’ll murder me and anyone with me.

Zo pulls into a space and turns around in the front seat to take me in. His expression is serious, his tone authoritative yet reassuring. It soothes me. “Stay in the car until one of us comes to get you. I need to check if it’s safe first and get a feel for Manny and Stefano before we share what we know. Nico, you run the perimeter and keep your eyes on the car.”

I nod and let out a breath. Feeling protected. Every one of Zo’s men makes me feel safe, but Enzo… makes me feel protected in a way I cannot explain. His words inspire absolute faith in his intentions and abilities.

He pops the door and heads out, Nico following his lead but taking a different route, scouring the layout and whipping through the parked cars, checking for anything out of place. From behind the darkened glass, I feel like a spectator—a bystander in my own story.

Enzo heads to the back of the lot and approaches a dark town car. The front doors open and two men I’ve known my entire life get out, cutting Zo off at the hood of the car.

The last time I saw Stefano was at my father’s house a few months ago. During one of my rare injury-free spells, I’d visited Dad for dinner and Stefano had been there when I arrived, going over some of the day-to-day issues. You know, thugs encroaching on territory, foot soldiers that needed an attitude adjustment by their capo. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him. He’s even tempered, hyper-rational, and has a naturally empathetic disposition that makes him the perfect consiglieri.

Manny has always been a highly-proficient underboss. His ability to wrangle the capos is impressive, and he’s always been fair with them. That’s probably the greatest compliment I can pay him. Other than that, he’s a misogynist pig that spends too much time sticking his dick where it doesn’t belong. Every interaction I’ve ever had with him since I turned sixteen has left a horrible taste in my mouth.

I watch their rigid, inexpressive faces as mouths move, but I can’t infer anything from their interaction. I wish I could read lips. A shadow moves in my peripheral vision, and I startle before Nico’s frame appears from behind the back of a panel van. A sudden gasp from Stefano and the jerk of Manny’s head to glance at the rear window I’m hiding behind, and I know Zo has told them.

Told them that my husband tried to kill me. They walk towards me and Zo nods, giving me the signal.

As they approach, I step out, brazenly projecting a strength I don’t feel. Feet planted firmly on the ground, shoulders back and head held high, I greet them with a nod. “Gentlemen, thank you for agreeing to this meeting.”

Stefano takes in the fading bruises still very visible on my jaw and the cuts that are obvious, despite healing well. Although I avoid the mirror and I can feel the aches and pains, the guys never look at me the way Stefano is right now. The blatant shock etched into every line on his face takes me aback and reminds me of the reflection I so often forget.

It makes me feel like a victim.

Manny looks me up and down and turns back to Enzo. “I can see why you’ve been lying low recently, Enzo. I noticed your crew hadn’t been taking as many contracts and was getting suspicious. This explains it.” Turning his eyes back to me, I bristle at his business-like demeanour. “What happened?”

“I only told him you were here, and that you were attacked,” Zo says.

I nod, understanding that the rest is on me to explain. “I need to explain, but I need you not to interrupt me until I’m done. It will be tough to get it all out, but I’ll answer your questions afterwards.”

They both nod and I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing…

Starting from the day Max locked me in our basement, I cover everything up to the moment I stepped out of the car. As I talk, I can feel the anger radiating off Stefano while Manny remains cool, calm, and collected. Nodding at every revelation while Stefano either growls or grinds out another, “Motherfucker,” in response.

When I tell them about how Max killed my father, that’s the only time my breath hitches and they both cry out in shock. Stefano lets out an anguished cry while Manny brings his fist down on the roof of the car next to us with a loud bang. I tell them how he slit my father’s throat. How he mutilated his corpse.

What I don’t say is how I prayed to a God I no longer believe in that I would slip away as he cut into my father’s face. I don’t say that no matter how tightly I screwed my eyes shut, I still heard the knife scraping against my father’s skull.

Not only will I enjoy watching the light fade in my husband’s eyes as I kill him, but I will also take down every corrupt motherfucker that had a hand in helping him.

“If we are going to find out what’s coming next, we need support. The Bianchis. Family we can trust.” Stefano nods at my words. “We need your support if we’re going to go after the men—and I use that term loosely—that betrayed him.”

While Stefano is nodding, Manny holds up his hand. “Aurora, the severity of what you’ve been subjected to is obvious, and I would never doubt your word, especially when it relates to your father, but you’ve killed the only people who can corroborate that there is a larger conspiracy. If we’re going to garner the support of the family—challenge the status quo within The Syndicate—then we need more.”

Enzo moves to the trunk of the car and pops it open.

“Tony here, while oblivious to the implications of his involvement, can clue you in to the connection between Marco, Carlo, and Max. Even if he can’t validate Carlo’s intel, he can act as a witness to the four of them colluding outside of sanctioned Syndicate channels. That still warrants investigating.”

Both men peer into the trunk and Stefano produces a gun, while Manny rips off the duct tape as aggressively as he can. Tony squeals until the barrel of the gun is pressed firmly against his temple.

“Speak,” Stefano barks, his temper fraying at the edges.

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