Page 86 of Claimed By the Enemy
Uncle Enzo steps closer, close enough that I can see the exhaustion etched in the lines around his eyes. “Then you’llspend the rest of your very short life looking over your shoulder, waiting for Riccardo to finish what he started sixteen years ago.”
I study his face in the soft glow of the yacht’s deck lights, looking for signs of deception. The gentle rocking of the boat beneath our feet is the only sound for a moment. All I see is a tired old man who’s spent sixteen years carrying the weight of a lie.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
Uncle Enzo runs a hand through his gray hair, suddenly looking every one of his years. “You don’t. But Sophie does.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s known for weeks that something wasn’t right about the story we’ve been telling. She’s been investigating on her own, trying to piece together what really happened.” He moves to one of the deck chairs, settling into it heavily.
“The documents she found. The business partnership between our fathers.”
“Those were real. Your father and I were planning to merge our companies, create something that could withstand any attack from our enemies.” Uncle Enzo’s voice grows distant as he stares out at the twinkling lights of the harbor.
“Including Riccardo?”
“Especially Riccardo. We knew he was getting too powerful, too ambitious. We were planning to stop him.”
“And he killed you both to prevent it.”
“He killed our families to prevent it. And then he raised both our children to hate each other instead of him.” Uncle Enzo’s hands clench into fists on the armrests of his chair.
The pieces click into place with sickening clarity. I push off from the railing, pacing the small deck space as my mind races. Riccardo’s warnings about Sophie. His insistence that I couldn’t trust her. His suggestion that I should eliminate her before she could betray me.
He’s been trying to turn us against each other from the beginning.
“Sophie knows about this?”
“Sophie suspects. But she doesn’t have proof. That’s why she’s been so conflicted, why she’s been lying to you about her mission.” Uncle Enzo watches me pace, his expression growing more concerned.
“She’s been trying to protect me.”
“She’s been trying to protect everyone. You, me, herself. An impossible task, which is why she finally chose to tell you the truth.”
I stop pacing, turning to face him. “How do you know about that?”
“Because I know my niece. And because Riccardo’s people have been watching both of you very carefully.” He pulls out his phone, checking the time with visible urgency.
A chill runs down my spine despite the warm evening air. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that your uncle knows Sophie confessed everything to you today. He knows she’s chosen your side over mine. And he knows that makes both of you a threat that needs to be eliminated.”
“Sophie.” Her name comes out as a whisper, and I’m already reaching for my phone.
“Is probably walking into a trap right now, thinking she’s coming to meet you for a romantic evening.”
I’m already reaching for my phone, but Uncle Enzo shakes his head, rising from his chair with renewed energy.
“It’s too late for phone calls, Domenico. If we want to save Sophie, we need to move now.”
“Save her from what?”
“From the man who’s been planning to kill her since the day she was born.”
I grip the yacht’s railing, my knuckles white against the chrome. “Riccardo wouldn’t hurt Sophie. She’s not a threat to him.”
Uncle Enzo moves to stand beside me, both of us looking out at the dark water. “Isn’t she? She’s Antonio Moretti’s daughter-in-law. The woman who could unite our families against him.” His eyes are hard as flint when he turns to me. “Sophie Bellini Moretti represents everything Riccardo has spent sixteen years trying to prevent.”
