Page 46 of The Hitman's Secret Baby
But he watches me carefully, and before I can lose my nerve, I speak. "Can I ask you something?"
His brow lifts. "Of course."
I look at him then, fully, searching for whatever truth lives behind the quiet discipline of his face.
"If you had to choose," I begin, my voice steady but low, "between the Salvatores and someone you cared about deeply…someone you could love, even…if their life depended on it, would you stay loyal? Even if it meant risking that person's safety?"
The question hangs there.
For a moment, he does not move.
Then I see the truth settle into his spine like something forged long ago.
"I have made my choice already," he says. "And it is the Salvatores. My life was built on that loyalty. It is not something I can undo just because it becomes inconvenient."
His words do not sting.
Not in the way I thought they would.
But they brand something inside me.
They remind me that love, in his world, does not undo the past.
It must learn to live beside it.
"I see," I murmur.
His voice comes from a very remote place, as if he is speaking from miles away. "It doesn't mean I wouldn't fight for her. But the line has already been drawn."
My eyes begin burning, and I know full well that it is moments before I will burst into tears.
I don't want to do that, not in front of him.
If this is the end, it would serve me well to go out with a shred of dignity to my name.
"Enzo." I stand, my head lowered, eyes to the ground so he cannot see them. "Thank you for dinner. But I have overstayed my welcome and must go home."
"Aria—"
Before he can give me a speech on loyalties or remind me how lucky I am to live such a privileged life, I leave.
I step out into the foyer and call Mama, knowing full well that I've handed my family a live grenade that they're going to toss back at me.
At first, the call goes to voicemail.
I hang up, frustrated, when, moments later, she calls back.
The second I answer, she begins screaming at me. I take it as well as I can, with a simple, "I'm going to explain when I get home, please send the car."
Once I've said my bit, I hang up and pace the grounds, waiting for the family car to arrive.
I need a plan, something that'll help me get out of this city altogether, maybe even the continent.
As I'm knee-deep in thought, I notice a slim figure climbing down a pipe.
For a breath, I'm stunned, more so when I see who it is.
She lands with a soft thud, running for the servant's quarters, and I see an out.
