Page 65 of Plus-Size Bratva Possession
“Gastone,” Dino said, nearly in a whisper. “Sometimes we don’t know people the way we should.”
“What are you saying?” I hissed at Dino.
“What Dino’s trying to ask is,” Carlo shot our brother a warning glare. “Could Elena have presented a truth you’re too afraid to face?”
I slammed my fist on the desk. “Not you too. Jesus Christ, whose side are you on?”
“Yours,” Dino said firmly. “Always yours. But brother, you need to ask yourself something. Why would Federico make such an effort to dig into your accusations? He could have easily said they didn’t do it, and Elena would have believed them. He’s her brother, for God's sake.”
Elena’s words came back to me. Something about how I didn’t truly want justice when she tried telling me something about a photo. My guilt must have shown in my face, for Carlo sat straighter.
“You didn't even listen to her properly, did you?” he asked.
“She didn’t come to me to talk. I found the envelope. There was nothing to listen to!” I defended myself.
“Maybe she was trying to figure out how to tell you,” Dino suggested. “It's not exactly easy news to deliver to someone, you know?”
“No, no, it’s not,” I said, reluctantly.
“Think about it, Gastone,” Carlo urged. “She was waiting. She kept the evidence. If her aim was to stop you from thinking her family did it, she would have come to you as soon as she had all that information at hand. Fake, or not. She held back because she knew how much it could hurt you. She wasn’t thinking of herself now, was she?”
My head was spinning. I hadn't considered it that way.
“That took courage,” Carlo said quietly. “And care. She carried that burden. It must have been for something, don’t you think? She was shouldering your pain.”
I found myself at a loss for words. What if they were right? What if Elena had been trying to help me, not hurt me?
“Fuck,” I muttered, dropping my head into my hands. “I've been an idiot, haven't I?”
“A colossal one,” Dino confirmed, in a way only a brother could, without judgment.
“What do I do now?” I asked, feeling suddenly lost.
“Go home,” Carlo said simply. “Talk to her. Really talk to her, not yell at her.”
I nodded, knowing they were right. I needed to face this situation head-on. Everything would have felt like a lie until I got to the truth. And no matter how painful the truth might be for me to bear, I knew Elena deserved to be heard.
“Thanks,” I said gruffly, gathering my things to head home.
My brothers nodded, and Dino clapped me on the shoulder as I passed. “Good luck, brother. Don't screw it up this time.”
—
When I got home, there was no sign of Elena anywhere. I checked her room, the living room, and the kitchen. When I realized she wasn’t in for sure, I hunted down Dom, who was working in the smaller office.
“Hey, Dom?” I popped in my head through the door. “You seen Elena anywhere?”
He swiveled his chair to face me. “She left, boss. Yesterday afternoon.”
My heart sank. “Left? Where did she go?”
“Back to her family,” Dom said. “She said something about spending a few nights there. Nothing more. I thought you knew. She told me she’d informed you already.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. She was gone. I'd driven her away with my anger, my refusal to listen. My stubborn insistence on clinging to a narrative that might have been false all along.
My hands went numb, and suddenly, I didn’t know what to do without her.
“Oh yes, that’s fine,” I told Dom, just because I didn’t want to talk about what happened, lest he ask. Nothing, however, was fine.
