Page 213 of Legacy

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Angelo

The second she says“just my brother,”something in me locks up.

She says it too fast.

Doesn’t even look at me.

Doesn’t even flinch when she hits decline.

And I know the way she deflects when she’s lying to herself.Or me.

I don’t say anything—yet. Just file the note away like a blade behind my teeth.

Then my phone rings in my pocket.

I check the screen.

Luciano Castillo.

I answer with a clipped, “Yeah.”

His voice is smooth. Controlled. Just like always.

“Where’s my sister?”

That’s how we’re starting this? No hello, no acknowledgment?

I glance at her. She’s chewing the inside of her cheek like she’s bracing for something. Like she knows exactly what this is about.

I don’t like that.

I keep my voice even. “My wife is right here.”

A beat.

“Put her on.”

“No.”

Silence stretches thin across the line, until he lets out a low chuckle, one that isn’t amused in the slightest.

“I need my sister to do me a favor.”

My jaw ticks. “What is it?”

“I’d rather talk to my sister,” he says, then ends the call.

Typical fucking Castillo.

Her phone rings again. Instantly.

She pulls it out, rolls her eyes, about to decline—again.

Not this time.

I snatch the phone from her hand before she can blink.

“What the fuck—Angelo,” she snaps, but I’m already answering.

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