Page 16 of Angelo

"I apologize for the delay,Signora," said Luca. "The model of your memory card is quite old and no longer in use. We had to visit several refurbishment shops to find one that carried the right adapter."

"Thank you, Luca, for all of your help." She then gave Marcello an apologetic smile. "I really appreciate you for coming today as well, and I'm sorry for the trouble."

"I-It is no trouble!" Marcello stammered with his signature lisp. He seemed a little nervous for some reason. With a cough, he reached inside his trouser pocket and removed an adapter, he offered it to her. "Here. This one should work."

"You're a lifesaver," Elyse said gratefully as she took it from him.

Luca side-eyed at Marcello. "I do not know why he insisted on coming here. This was a one man job. I could have delivered the adapter on my own."

"Unlike you, some of us have manners," Marcello grumbled, glaring at Luca. "I wanted to thankSignora Vitalein person."

Surprise flickered across her face. "You did?"

Marcello turned to Elyse with an awestruck expression. "Grazie, Signora Vitale. I would not be standing here if you had not helped me that night."

Her expression softened. "No, Marcello, I'm the one who owes you. If it wasn't for your courage, my husband might not be alive today. Thank you for shielding him."

"It was nothing," Marcello insisted. "Any one of us would take a bullet for the boss. He has saved us more times than we could repay him."

She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Marcello hesitated before continuing, "When I was a sixteen, I was was young and stupid. I did something to piss off the Berlusconis. Domenico would have killed my whole family if Cara had not persuaded her brother to stand down.Signor Vitalewas the one who convinced Cara to challenge Domenico."

Elyse blinked as she processed this information. Malina once told her that Alessandro pursued women from other clans for favors and intel. Had he used Cara to save Marcello?

Without missing a beat, Luca nodded in agreement. "I would follow him to the grave. I oweSignor Vitaleeverything. My father betrayed the Svizzis in a business deal gone bad. I was as good as dead. ButSignor Vitalegave me a chance to work for him when everyone else treated me like a dead man walking."

I cannot fuck around with loyalty.

Suddenly, it became clear to Elyse.

It is a matter of life or death in our world.

Men tended to forget a friend's charity when their lives weren't at stake. But men rarely forgot when kindness appeared atexactlythe right moment to rescue them from certain death. Elyse knew Alessandro. Her husband was more of an opportunist than a saint. He'd been playing chess—not checkers—this entire time.

Alessandro must've noticed something worthwhile in Marcello and Luca and chose to toss them a lifeline at their lowest. As a result, her husband was able to earn their loyalty and assemble an army of men who'd go to war for him. In spite of her husband's doubts about himself, more than ever, Elyse was certain that Alessandro wouldn't need to follow in his father's footsteps to succeed ascapo.

The beautiful bastard was brilliant in his own right.

Eyeing Luca and Marcello, she praised them whole-heartedly, "My husband is lucky to have men like you at his side.” Gratitude was twined with unease, though. Alessandro's tactics were as disturbing as they were impressive, and Luca and Marcello's loyalty was deeply admirable, but it all highlighted one troubling fact.Her husband wouldn't need to be so calculating if danger didn't follow everywhere he went.

Glancing at the adapter in her hand, Marcello asked with a blush, "Do you need help setting it up?"

Smiling, Elyse shook her head. "I think I can handle it from here."

Disappointment clouded Marcello's face. "You sure?"

"Signora Vitaleis a surgeon, Marcello. I am sure she can figure out how to plug in a fucking adapter." With a snort of disapproval, Luca reached over and grabbed Marcello by the arm, dragging him away. "It is time for us to go. Before the boss catches you making eyes at his wife."

Blushing harder, Marcello sputtered indignantly, "I-I was not making eyes—"

"Shut up and come with me," Luca muttered under his breath as he shoved Marcello out the front door.

"Drive safe, you two," she called after them with an amused expression. "Thanks again for everything!"

Once both men left thepalazzo, Elyse hurried back to her room, pulled out her laptop again, and inserted the adapter. At last, she could read the memory card. With a few clicks of her mouse, dozens of files and documents appeared on the screen. They were staggering and eye-opening. As she reviewed the contents of the data, three haunting words seized her mind.Knowledge was power. Those who wielded enough of it could turn any man into a king.

Or a queen into a corpse.

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