Page 31 of The Vendetti Soldier

“What is it, Severo?” Matteo demands, sitting forward with this unexpected turn of events.

“It’s our monitoring system. There was a ping on someone digging for information. We found them when we ran a system search on the dark web. From there, we were able to follow their trail and eventually pick up a location.” Severo pauses, but Matteo gives nothing away, staring him down.

After a beat of silence, he continues, “Capo, the location… it came from one of the personal laptops on the Estate.”

Matteo sighs, glancing around the room. “Ask mio fratelli while they’re all here. I’m not surprised they were searching; we’re exhausting every avenue on this manhunt. You already know this.”

Severo clears his throat, quickly peppering his gaze at each of us before saying, “Sì, I do, sir. Uh, the laptop doesn’t belong to them.”

At this, all of our eyebrows skyrocket in shock. Could this be the traitor we’ve so desperately been searching for? Finally? And in our own home, to top it off! They will bleed for this, and the best part of all, we can grab them right now without them having the faintest idea we’re on to them.

Santino quietly comments, “I had wondered if it was someone on the staff. Fuck, I should’ve gone with my gut.”

Severo sighs, his shoulders tight. He is seriously sweating over this new information, which is not like him. He’s calm, been in the game for a long time; hell, he was around to work under my father for many years. What could be so bad it has him nervous to speak up? “Capo, you may want to hear this privately.”

Matteo stands, staring Severo down. “Say what you came to say, Severo. I’m losing patience.”

“It came from one of the wives’ laptops.”

A few of us draw in a collective, silent breath of surprise. I did not see that one coming. “Who?” he demands, his voice low. “Wait,” he holds up a hand. He pins his stern stare on each of us, asking, “Was it one of you? Tell me now.”

I shake my head. My brothers follow suit, all of our answers a resounding no.

Our Capo swears, running his hand over his face before asking, “Who? Give me a name.”

“Arianna.” By the dejected expression he wears, he definitely did not want to confess her name aloud.

Cris immediately shouts, arguing it’s untrue, threatening to kill him for speaking her name. We jump into action, separatingour younger brother from having it out with the well-trained Mademan. Cristiano would kill him to prove his point, and Severo, being utterly loyal to the famiglia, would let him.

Severo speaks over our furious brother, telling Matteo, “But it’s not all.” Our stares fly back to his face. “I knew if I came to you with this, you’d require proof. So I followed the location, pinpointing it to a specific part of the house. I cross-checked it with the cameras and found another wife using Arianna’s laptop.”

We’re all waiting with bated breath. This can’t be happening, not with one of the wives. We trust them; they’ve practically been through hell to be married to mio fratelli. I won’t believe it until I have absolute proof, those women are devoted.

Mothers to the Vendetti future.

My heart pounds away in my chest, beating so quickly I nearly think I’m having one of my freak-out breathing things happen again. I find Santino’s gaze, his filling with concern as he notices me growing pale. I can feel the color draining from my face as I wait on whatever news is coming. My heart will break because I’ve grown to love these women as something more than just sisters through marriage. But it’s mio fratelli I worry about the most. This will absolutely destroy them. Our famiglia doesn’t handle betrayal well, but it coming from the woman they love? Well, it’s enough to make them wish they were no longer breathing, and the thought of losing one of them to this, frankly, is terrifying.

Santino moves to my side. I watch him, noticing how he’s exaggerating his breaths so I’ll mimic him. He does it without speaking so no one else will pay us any attention. If only the breathing and counting technique would fix this train wreck.

“Mischa was using her laptop.”

Santino bursts out, “No fucking way!”

At the same time, I say, “There has to be a mistake.” Our stares lock on Matteo, imploring our Capo to put an end to this madness.

“Bring her to me,” he orders, and Severo turns to do his bidding. We’re right behind him when our fratello says, “Not you two. Santino, Luciano, you’re staying here. If you push me, I’ll have her brought downstairs, and I’m sure you don’t want that,” he threatens.

“Fair is fair,” Valentino comments.Bastardo.He may’ve been fucking the enemy and had to watch her get tortured, but I’m not. I would know if Mischa was working for the Irish. I was there when she was taken, I saw with my own two eyes her reaction. I felt her bloody body tremble against me when I took her into my arms after I’d killed him. She’d have to be a damn good actress and fortunately for her, I can read her like an open book. Let’s hope mio fratello is able to see the same thing I do when I demand her honesty and loyalty.

We wait, the air filled with tension. I can’t speak; my mind is too busy racing as I try to remember every time I’d noticed shewas left alone. While me and Santy worked, it was never for too long. One of us or Rorik was always around her, checking in, eating together, or whatever. Oh, fuck. Please don’t let Rorik be involved in this. Matteo will be even harder on him because he’s a man, and I don’t know if my little Russian prince can hold his shit together long enough to survive the Capo’s questioning.

The door opens once again, an angry Mischa being closely followed by Severo and a few of the other men who work the Estate during the day. Severo must’ve called for backup, expecting a fight. She’s led inside, one of the guys passing off a laptop to Severo, who in turn places it on Matteo’s desk. The screen’s still lit up, showing the damning proof.

Matteo’s expression is completely passive, hiding his emotions aside from his furious stare. It bores into Mischa as she stands before him, appearing tiny compared to Capo’s towering frame. He’s the tallest out of all of us, his presence eating up the space around him in his finely tailored suits. Even if you had no idea who he is, you’d still find him unbelievably intimidating.

Her hands tremble at her sides, giving away her nervousness, even though she has her moments of bravery, I’ve discovered. She’s smart enough to know something is not right and she’s at the center of attention. In this famiglia, unless you’re getting married or having a bambino, garnering the Capo’s attention is a bad thing.

“Explain yourself,” Matteo orders, his voice cold and unforgiving.

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