Page 82 of The Last Vendetta

“What else?” I asked him, following him out toward another storage area that was likely once a cellar for wine before a newer one was built.

“Him.” Dean pointed at the floor, showing me a thick streak of blood that had dripped out of a cupboard area. “I noticed this when I ran through, and upon further inspection…” He pushed the small door open and revealed a body.

It wasn’t Giulia. Knowing she hadn’t been killed and shoved into this closet space was a relief. But she would be upset to see that her uncle had been treated with such disrespect.

Dario lay slumped in the small space, slanted against the wall like he was a sack of bones to dispose of later.

“Fuck.” I raked my hand through my hair, stunned and horrified at the escalation of deaths here.

I’d just seen Cecilia dying. It hadn’t been a full day since I’d spotted that woman bleeding out.

Dario seemed to have received a different, more immediate ending. Tucked away here on my family’s property, he had to have been killed by a Bernardi soldier. There was no other explanation for why he’d be dead and stashed away here.

But… I couldn’t connect the dots and assume that this meant whoever killed Dario was the same as whoever had ended the lives of all the others. Cecilia had been stabbed, not shot like it looked like Dario had been. And not poisoned either, like Rocco and Luka.

“Giulia…” I couldn’t think past the utter confusion and worry eating away at me. Dread built within me, and I breathed through the panic taking over.

“She’s not here, from what I can see,” Dean said, seeming to realize that I needed the direct reassurance. “I think she was here, if that earring is hers. But she must have escaped.”

“Have you—” I swallowed hard. “Have you heard from the others? The other guards and men?”

He shook his head.

“You haven’t heard of any orders from Giovanni?”

Dean often worked alone, almost like an independent and free agent as my right-hand man. He wasn’t tied to the stricter duties of patrol men and capos because he was expected to follow all my orders directly.

“No. I haven’t heard from your father directly. I haven’t been able to get any answers from the crew he orders the most, nor anyone in his personal security detail.” He tipped his head to lead me upstairs as he retrieved his phone.

Finding Dario like this wasn’t the end of it. He’d need to be removed. Buried. Dealt with. But none of that mattered as much as finding Giulia did.

“I came here right after getting word about those reports.” He furrowed his brow, checking his phone then frowning as we climbed the stairs back up to the main level of the mansion. “If I can get reception…”

I stayed at his side, looking over at his phone as he refreshed the tabs. “You received information?”

He nodded, bringing me toward the windows at the back of the lounge area. No one interrupted us. Guests hadn’t been staying here lately, and with whatever commotion had made the guards rush out that exit near the dungeon access, it seemed that all the forces were held up elsewhere.

I waited tense, agonizing seconds for Dean’s phone to refresh, and once it did, I realized that he was uploading a copy of a document. A medical document.

“The hacker was able to get a copy of the paternity tests sent in for Cecilia Romano. They were ordered and paid for by Marcus Romano,” Dean said, almost like needing to reiterate the facts that he already knew. As if I needed a summary.

“Paternity tests?”

I whirled back, facing Giovanni as he approached. For once, he was alone. No Bernardi guards came with him into the home. But he didn’t come close with any clear indication that he wanted to shout at me again.

Shock and confusion showed on his face. Lines tugged on his features, and with a gaping open mouth and wide eyes, he seemed absolutely stunned.

“For Cecilia Romano?” he asked, as though speech was difficult. “You doubt she was Marcus’s daughter?”

I shook my head. “Paternity tests for her child.”

He furrowed his brow. “She was pregnant with Luka’s child?”

Dean exhaled, still swiping on the screen to get it to upload. Since being down below in the cells, it had gotten locked with no reception. “No,” he answered.

It was on the tip of my tongue to demand to know where Giulia was. I couldn’t hold it in, no matter how caught off guard he was about hearing of Cecilia being pregnant.

“Where is Giulia?” I demanded. I wouldn’t waste time asking whether he knew. He had to.

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