Page 56 of Vows Made in Silence
I stare down at the pile in front of me. This isn’t just betrayal. It’s treason.
And it came from within my own blood.
His silence terrifies me more than his rage.
Luca doesn’t shout. He doesn’t punch walls. He just stares, breathing like a man trying to bottle a bomb inside his ribs.
When he finally speaks, his voice is ice.
“He touched my father. He stood in the same room while my father lay in his coffin.”
He turns, eyes blazing. “And now he thinks he can touch my son.”
I nod slowly, my throat tightening around the truth I’ve carried for years. “That’s why I had to get the box. I couldn’t leave it behind. I gave your father my word—I’d keep it hidden, untouched, until the moment came when it was life or death. If something happened to me or Daniel… this was the only protection we had left.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“I didn’t know if I could trust anyone. Not with this.”
Luca closes the space between us in two strides, his hands gripping my face, eyes burning into mine. “You can trust me now. You hear me? I saw you leave—I knew it had to be for something big. I even had my men retrace your steps, looking for the real package.”
I swallow hard, heart pounding as he continues.
“I figured as much, so I planted a decoy. I couldn’t risk it—not when I didn’t know who the hell to trust. But this?” His voice drops, deadly. “This stays close. With us.”
He leans in, his breath hot with promise. “Whoever’s tied to this—will be a memory. One by one. And we start tonight.”
17
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Inside the Walls
I stare at the box in my lap like it might explode. In a way, it already has—detonated something inside me I haven’t been able to name. It’s not just the contents. It’s what it means. What it could unravel. The illusion of safety. The lies I’ve lived with. And now that it’s in the open, everything’s about to change.
It’s heavier than it should be. Not just in weight—but in meaning. My chest feels like it’s caving in under it. My fingers tremble around the worn leather edges as memories pulse like aftershocks through my veins. I haven’t opened this thing in a decade. I never dared. I swore I wouldn’t.
And now Luca knows.
He’s standing just feet away, pacing like a caged animal, a storm building in his eyes. And I know him well enough to understand what’s coming—blood, vengeance, fire. That’s how the Moretti’s deal with betrayal.
But I can’t stop shaking.
Because I’m the one who kept this secret. I’m the one who carried it like a grenade. And now that it’s out… there’s no un-pulling the pin.
God, Vittorio. What did you leave behind? What did I promise to protect?
Luca crouches in front of me, voice low but taut with fury. “Guiliana. Look at me.”
I lift my gaze and I almost can’t breathe. His eyes are wildfire and loyalty and rage—all aimed at whoever dared to threaten what’s his. Me. Daniel. Us.
“You kept this for ten years. You swore to my father you’d protect it. So, tell me now,” he growls, “what the fuck are we protecting?”
I blink, once. My breath catches in my throat. A memory flashes—Vittorio’s voice, low and urgent, the night he handed me the box. I remember the fear in his eyes, and how I promised to guard it with my life. That weight is still here, coiled tight in my chest, rising like smoke.
My throat tightens. I can’t speak.?”
Because I don’t know.
