Page 136 of Monster in Disguise

I shake my head. "Only a little... not much."

"Did he tell you he asked for your hand years back?"

"He did mention that."

"Rocco accepted the match. It was a few weeks before..." He trails off and I know he meansthe incident."After that, his father suddenly died and Marcello went missing."

"Why did Papa never say anything?" I frown. I hadn't realized how serious the marriage talk had been.

"It was too late by that point." Enzo grimaces. He means I was already damaged goods by then.

"Is that why you're so against him? Because he left the famiglia?"

"No." Enzo's lips curl around the corner sardonically. "It was because of what he did before he left."

"If you're talking about the orgies, then I've heard about that," I suddenly say.

Enzo blinks twice, taken aback by my comment, but he continues. "The orgies were but a small part. The Lastras were infamous ten years ago. Marcello and his father were always together, engaging in the worst, most debasing practices." Enzo pretends to spit to emphasize just how disgusting he finds those practices.

"I see." I turn to my coffee once more, not knowing how to answer. The man I know and the man he's describing are two different people. But that's the whole point, isn't it? He's a two-faced mafioso.

"Why did you call me here, Lina? And be honest. I can see that something's eating at you."

"I've been getting some harassing messages. At first, it was letters, and then they started showing up on my computer too."

"What does Lastra say about that?"

"I didn't tell him."

"Lina..." Enzo groans, slapping his hand over his forehead. "Why would you not tell your husband? I only agreed to the match because he was supposed to keep you safe."

"Because the messages are about him," I whisper, finally getting to the real reason I'd called him here.

"What do you mean?"

"The messages keep saying he's Claudia's father." I recount from the beginning what each message had contained, and then my ever-increasing doubts and observations.

"So your evidence so far is that they have the same hair, allergy, and blood type?" He's pensive as he asks, and I just nod.

"It's not exactly evidence. That would imply I already believe he is guilty. I just can't help being paranoid. I keep looking at every single thing they have in common, and I have these doubts..."

Enzo is silent, his jaw locked tight.

"It's crazy, right? It's too crazy to even contemplate." I shake my head. I just want Enzo to tell me I'm seeing too much into this. I want him to confirm that I am going off the deep end.

"I don't know if it's too crazy."

My head snaps in his direction, my eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" I ask, almost horrified.

"Lina, I told you he wasn't a good man. The Marcello I knew... the Marcello everyone knew was a monster. Fuck! I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for agreeing to this marriage." He presses his fingers to his temples in a light massage.

"What do you mean by monster?" My words are a mere whisper.

"Every bad thing you could think of, he was guilty of," he says with a sigh.

"But it's just rumors, right? You can't know for sure."

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