Page 47 of Mafia King's Surprise Baby

Hana’s voice drifts to me as I get close to the conservatory. It’s strange, but I’ve never heard her speaking Japanese before. I know she is of Japanese origin, but Mattia said she’s from Hawai’i. I don’t know the language, but she sounds worried, panicked even.

Secrets, my gut whispers.Secrets abound.

When she whirls around and sees me, she goes so pale, I’m worried she’ll faint. I rush to her, pushing my suspicions away for the time being.

“Hana, what’s wrong?”

She blinks at me, then continues with her phone conversation. It sounds like a man on the other end.

Is she cheating on Mattia? The way she paled, it almost felt likeguilt at being caught. I frown, watching her, looking for signs of her duplicity.

The call ends, and I’m about to ask her if she has a lover when Mattia steps into the room, staring at us.

“Han?” he asks.

She gulps, hard. “It’s Bérénice. She’s in labor.”

Mattia pales, too. “But it’s too soon.”

“Hiro’s a mess. I have to be there for him.”

I blink, not able to follow their exchange. This is so not what I was expecting to hear or even what I was imagining.

“Wait, what’s going on?” A thought strikes. She mentioned labor. “Is this…are you guys using a surrogate or something?”

Hana and Mattia both freeze. Then she bites her lip, pleads with her husband with a look. When he finally gives a small nod, his shoulders slump, and he sighs.

“Hiro is Hana’s brother,” he tells me.

I’m stunned and stare at him. “I thought she was an orphan.”

He shakes his head. “She is, but…it’s complicated.”

“Matti, I have to go,” she says, almost begging.

He nods. “Yes. Sure.”

I’m still trying to keep up when she leaves and we’re alone in the room. The silence is ringing with surprise for me.

So yes, it turns out Hana’s indeed been hiding something. It has nothing to do with a lover, though, and even less to do with Bianca. What was I thinking, though? That Hana knows where Bianca is, that she’s hiding her? Why would she do this? Why on Earth would she put Mattia through such hell?

I shake my head, clasp the nape of my neck in my palms. I’m losing my mind. The monsters have taken over and are having a field day erasing any rational part of me. All this searching for Bianca, it’s making me paranoid. I’m going to lose my shit at some point if I keep this up.

“Matti,” she yells. “I can be on a plane that leaves in ninety minutes.”

“Book it.”

I blink at him. “She’s going to…?”

“Japan? Yes.”

“And she has a brother?”

Mattia sighs. “It’s a long story. You better come with me to the airport.”

Soon, we’re on the way JFK. Hana remains silent as Mattia brings me up to speed. Hana’s indeed an orphan, in that her parents are dead, but she does have a brother, who happens to be the foster son and heir apparent to a Yakuza boss in Tokyo. He’d been hiding her in Hawai’i, until gang activity ramped up there, putting her safety at risk. She came to New York then, met Bianca, but Mattia soon found out who she was.

In exchange for Mattia’s protection, his father suggested an alliance between their two families. I snort hearing this. Thatbastard of Roberto Bonucci is playing on all fronts, it seems, aligning with the Yakuza through one child and the Albanians with the other, and through the latter, with the syndicate, too.

---