Page 12 of Masked Mafia's Runaway Bride

Ryan looked over at her, his face turning serious. “You really sure you want to go down that road again? Last time, it didn’t exactly turn out so great.”

“I know,” I said, running a hand through my hair, still not tearing my gaze away from her. “But something’s different now. I feel it. There’s more going on here than meets the eye.”

Ryan shook his head, giving me that look he reserved for lost causes. “Come on, Sergio. You already tried to save her, and look where she ended up—right back with him. She made her choice.”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to accept that so easily. “Maybe she did. But it doesn’t feel right, Ryan. You know, sometimes people don’t get a choice. Not when it comes to my father.”

He sighed, glancing over at her. “Sergio, listen to me. You can’t keep trying to fight his battles for everyone. Mirella’s smart—she knows who your father is and what he’s capable of. She’s not some damsel in distress.”

“Maybe not,” I admitted, feeling the weight of the past pressing down on me. “But if there’s even a chance that he’s got something on her or that she’s here against her will. I can’t just stand by and let him hurt her.”

Ryan looked at me long and hard, and then he glanced away with a resigned shake of his head. “You’re still haunted by her, aren’t you? Or maybe it’s something else.”

There was silence between us for a moment, the kind that only Ryan could break. “Look, Sergio, I get it. You can’t seem to let this go. But you’ve got a hell of a lot more going on than Mirella’s tragic love story.”

Ryan was right. This wasn’t only about Mirella. I took a deep breath, my eyes drifting to the tattoo on my arm. One word.Jacqueline. My mother’s name.

I knew what he meant. I could never forget her—my father had made sure of that. Jacqueline had been beautiful, with a spirit no one could contain, certainly not a monster like my father. He had turned that love to ashes, and I wore her name on my skin as a reminder of everything I’d lost and everything I’d come to hate about him.

“You know why I can’t let this go, Ryan,” I said, my voice low. “I won’t let my father destroy another woman the way he destroyed her.”

Ryan’s expression softened, a hint of sympathy flickering across his face. “Sergio…”

My mind drifted back to memories I had tried so hard to bury. I’d been a kid back then, not even old enough to understand fully, but old enough to remember. My mother, Jacqueline, had been full of life, kindness, and laughter. She was everything good in my world, and my father had snuffed her out as easily as if he’d blown out a candle.

Ryan watched me quietly like he always did when I drifted into the past. He knew the stories. He knew about my father’s “accidents,” the so-called “incidents” that left people hurt or mysteriously missing. He knew what I’d suspected for years but could never prove—that my father had been responsible for her death and that he’d done it as coldly and calculatingly as he’d done everything else in his life.

Jacqueline. My mother, my heart, my promise. I’d taken that name as a vow, something to keep her close even when I was a thousand miles away on the other side of the world.

“She deserved better,” I murmured, almost to myself. “Better than him. Better than I could give her, too.”

Ryan’s hand landed on my shoulder, heavy with the weight of a hundred shared battles. “Sergio, she’d be proud of you. You don’t owe him anything, and you don’t need to keep carrying this.”

But I couldn’t let it go. I could feel her presence with me in the quiet moments and in the nightmares that plagued me when I closed my eyes. She was my strength and the reason I kept going and kept fighting. And every time I thought about Mirella being anywhere near that man, the rage in me burned hotter than ever.

“I’m not letting him hurt her, Ryan,” I said, finally breaking the silence. “No one deserves to go through what my mother did.”

Ryan shook his head again, his voice resigned but knowing. “You’re as stubborn as they come, my friend. But remember, Mirella’s not Jacqueline. She’s not someone you can just save. You’re going up against your father. That’s a war you might not walk away from.”

I shrugged, offering a dark grin. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been in a fight that didn’t favor me.”

He laughed, a sound both amused and exasperated. “And here I thought all those close calls in the field had finally made you value your own neck.”

I raised an eyebrow, glancing over at him. “You know me better than that, Ryan. My neck’s never been the issue.”

He chuckled, shaking his head again. “Fine, go after her. Play the hero. Just don’t get yourself killed, alright?”

I flashed him a grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

But my gaze drifted back to Mirella, and the grin faded. This wasn’t some fleeting crush or childish love. No, it was a promise, one I’d made to my mother, to the woman who deserved everything and got nothing but betrayal and pain. I wouldn’t let another woman fall victim to him—not while I could still do something about it.

I watched her. Ryan could tell me to back off all he wanted. He could remind me of my duty, my responsibilities, and the risks. But none of it mattered. This was personal, and I wasn’t about to walk away.

Ryan glanced over at me, a glint of warning in his eye. “Just remember what we’ve got at stake here, alright? I don’t want to lose my partner over some damned vendetta.”

I nodded, giving him a reassuring smile, though I knew he saw right through it. “Relax, Ryan. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Ryan rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath, but I barely heard him. My gaze had shifted back to Mirella just as she turned, her eyes finding mine across the room. The look she gave me was soft and vulnerable, as if she was waiting for something, someone to pull her away from all of this. She walked away from my father, and this time, I didn’t follow her with just my gaze. My feet trailed after hers.

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