Page 102 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
“She’s your sister, Luca. You know her. You know she wouldn’t lie about this. And now she’s in trouble. I feel it. I know it.”
I pulled out my phone and showed him the message. He stared at the screen. He muttered under his breath. Something sharp and angry in Italian.
“Enri... You think she meant Enrico?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Damn it,” he growled and rubbed his hand down his face.
Something in him shifted. Like he cracked open. He looked back at me.
“You really think he has her?”
“Yes, but I am not sure. We should first check the Russo Mansion.”
His silence screamed. A second passed and then another. Then he gave a sharp nod, like a man about to leap into fire.
“You had not checked the Russo Mansion, and you came to me first with allegations. Then what the hell are we standing here for?”
“I did but couldn’t get in because it was locked,” I explained.
We climbed into my car. He still didn’t like me. I could feel it oozing from him. But for now, the hate was on pause because Maria meant more.
As we drove, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her voice. Her eyes when she said my name like she meant it. The way she looked when she told me Matteo was mine. A father. I was a damn father. And now she and Matteo were in danger. I could sense it. Again.
“How did we miss it?” Luca muttered from the passenger seat.
“What?”
“Enrico. He was always there. Like wallpaper. Smiling. Nodding. Helping. And he killed our father? That bastard. There is no way he killed his own brother.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I was too busy gripping the steering wheel like it could anchor me to this world. All I wanted was to see her just once more. I’d never ask for anything again.
“You think she’s okay?” Luca asked, his voice lower now.
“She has to be. She has to keep Matteo safe. That’s what she does.”
He looked at me.
“You really love her?”
I swallowed hard. “I’d burn the world for her.”
He turned back to the window and didn’t say anything else. Maybe that was enough.
I hit the gas harder.
Hang on, Maria. We’re coming. Hang on for me—for us.
The house was a mess. The front door was cracked open like someone kicked it in. Cushions were strewn across the floor. There was a broken vase by the hallway, and the sharp scent of spilled perfume clung to the air like a warning. My stomach dropped the second I stepped inside. Luca was right behind me. His jaw was locked, and his eyes were scanning the chaos like he was putting it all together in real time.
I stepped over a shattered photo of Maria and Matteo in matching red scarves, smiling like nothing could ever go wrong. My chest tightened.
“Maria?” I called out, though I already knew the answer.
Nothing.
Luca stormed past me, taking the stairs two at a time. I followed, gripping the handrail hard enough my knuckles turned white. Upstairs was worse. The bedroom door was hanging off its hinges. Sheets were ripped from the bed, and Kayla was on the floor, holding her arm.
