Page 17 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
My stomach clenched before I even opened it. It had been months since his last message. He never pushed for more than I was willing to give. He never asked for my location or demanded explanations. We had settled into this uneasy relationship of distant siblinghood, connected by nothing but occasional emails that spoke of everything and nothing at once. He didn’t even know about the existence of my son. That was how distant we were, yet it was the only relationship I could give him. It took a while, but we got used to the mountain I had placed between us.
But tonight, his words were different.
Maria, please give me your number. We need to talk. It’s important.
I stared at the message for a long time, my fingers hovering over the keyboard.
Luca wasn’t the type to be serious, even when the world was burning around him. For him to send something like this…
I hesitated.
And then, against my better judgment, I typed out my number and hit send.
The call came almost instantly.
I pressed the phone to my ear. “Luca.”
A heavy breath on the other end. “Dio, Maria. You actually answered.”
I tried to keep my voice steady. “I figured you’d keep spamming me if I didn’t.”
A soft, humorless laugh. “You’re not wrong.”
Something in his tone made my stomach tighten. He sounded so different, serious, and not his usual jovial self. Gone was the Luca who never took anything seriously and always had a joke at the worst possible moment. This version of my brother sounded tired.
My heart squeezed. “How have you been?”
A pause. “Alive.”
That single word carried the weight of a thousand things left unsaid. It was so hard to hear him say that, and all the regret I had tried to bury came rushing down on me. It was unbearable. I grasped for air and held the tears. I didn’t want to break down.
I closed my eyes. “Luca…”
“No, it’s fine,” he cut in quickly as if brushing off the years of silence between us. “I just—shit, Maria, I don’t even know where to start.”
I swallowed hard. “Then just say it. You can start anywhere. You said there was something urgent.”
He took another deep breath before he finally spoke. “Enrico is trying to sell our inheritance.”
The room spun for a second. “What?”
“He’s making moves. Legal ones. And technically, he has the right to.”
My grip on the phone tightened. “That bastard.” I cursed out. I have always hated my uncle, and this just added to the list.
“Yeah.”
The inheritance wasn’t just money. It was our legacy, our father’s empire, and everything that had been built through blood and sacrifice. And Enrico? He was nothing but a vulture picking at the bones of what wasn’t his.
I pushed a hand through my hair. “What can we do to stop him?”
Luca hesitated. Then, quietly, “You.”
My breath hitched. “Luca—”
“If you come back, he won’t be able to touch it.”
I shot up from my chair. “What difference would me coming back make?”
