Page 28 of Angelo

"Lower your voice. Do not let your husband hear us," Benedetto warned. "This needs to remain our secret."

Elyse scoffed, "I can't promise to keep secrets from him."

"Then I will let everyone know that you understand Italian."

How the hell did he find out? She tried to deny it, "I don't know what you're talk—"

"Do not lie to me, girl. You may not be fluent, but I can see the concentration in your eyes when Italian is being spoken. I am old.Not fucking blind."

"I'm not lying," Elyse insisted, "you're right in that Itryto understand, but I'm still terrible with Italian. Learning languages has always been my weakness."

Scoffing in disbelief, he pressed on, "Do you know why I decided to tell you about your mother today?

"No," Elyse glanced at him nervously, "why?"

"Because family is everything. Blood is unbreakable. Never go against family.Marriage does not change the fact that you are a Graviano.”

"I don't know if I agree with you."

"Your mother went against family. Look at her now."

His tone seemed to suggest that Gianna hadn't committed suicide, after all. Elyse glared. "I hope you're not threatening me. "

"Never," her grandfather answered with a chilling smile, "we are family, after all."

"Of course." Elyse didn't dare challenge him as she stifled a shudder. They shared DNA, but whether or not they were truly family had yet to be determined.

"Never forget. You were born a Graviano, and you will die a Graviano. Alessandro Vitale will use us when it serves him then throw us away when we are no longer needed. But I will always have your back as long as you stand with me."

"Our alliance is very important to me," she stated diplomatically, "but so is my husband."

"Have you asked Alessandro about his relationship with Valentina Rizzo?" Benedetto asked suddenly.

Trepidation swirled through her, but she refused to let it show. “Not really. I haven't felt a need to do so.”

"Ask him about her," he advised. "You will not regret it."

Alessandro's strained relationship with Valentina often lurked in the back of her mind, but Elyse didn't want to fan the flames of her paranoia. Besides, it was clear that her grandfather was trying to stir shit up in her marriage.

"My husband has told me everything I need to know about Valentina," she retorted. "He doesn't keep secrets from me."

"Well, you must learn how to keep secrets from him."

Her gaze thinned. "What if I refuse?"

"If you tell him anything about this conversation," Benedetto continued, "I will know where your allegiance lies. Betray me, and our alliance is over. Let me remind you again. I will be fine if I cut ties with Alessandro, but I do not think he can afford to lose me."

Benedetto wasn’t fucking around, and her nerves were unraveling by the second. The stakes were high, especially with their epic battle royale waiting at Vincenzo's funeral. Her heart fluttered with dismay. She didn’t want to let Benedetto blackmail her into betraying Alessandro. But how could she changeher grandfather's mind without losing his support?

Elyse looked him dead in the eye. "What do you want from me?"

"Loyalty."

"You already have it."

"That is not how loyalty works," Benedetto chided with a smirk. "True loyalty demands choices. Tell me. Are you a Vitale? Or a Graviano?"

On this incendiary note, her grandfather rose from his armchair and wandered over to his desk. He opened one of the top drawers and pulled out a delicate music box. Every detail on the box had been masterfully crafted. The rosewood box was shaped like a miniature grand piano. Intricate floral inlays, stained in lighter elm woods, decorated the entire surface of the lid. Whenever it lifted open, a tinkling rendition of a Chopin nocturne filled the air.

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