Page 56 of Luca
"Let them hear! At least then someone else will know the truth about what my daughters have become."
I move closer, lowering my voice to force him to do the same. "Tell me exactly what you've done since last night. Who you’ve talked to."
"I've been trying to find her. The real Sofia." He runs his hands through his hair. "I contacted travel agencies, banks, anyone who might have records of where she went. But she's completely disappeared. Your sister has vanished without a trace. You talked her into this! You did this!"
"Stop trying to find her. She's safe because she's invisible."
"Safe?" He laughs bitterly. "While you're destroying everything our family has built! The Romano alliance, the protection we've enjoyed for decades. It's all hanging by a thread because you decided to play house with a man who could have us all murdered!"
"The alliance still exists. The marriage happened. Nothing has to change if you just calm down and stay quiet."
"Are you crazy? Gabriella, I watched you last night. The way you moved, the way you spoke. You're nothing like Sofia, and eventually, someone else is going to notice. Luca is already suspicious. I could see it in his eyes. He knows something is up with you."
"What exactly did you tell him?"
"Nothing! But he's not stupid. Far from it." Papa sinks back into his chair, suddenly looking every one of his sixty-three years. "This can't continue. We need to bring Sofia back and figure out how to explain your... substitution."
"Sofia can't come back. Even if we could find her, even if she wanted to, it's too late. She's been gone too long. How would we explain where she's been?"
"We'll think of something. A medical emergency, a family crisis, anything that justifies her absence."
"And then what? She magically transforms into the woman Luca has been living with? He'll know immediately that something changed."
"Then we tell him the truth and throw ourselves on his mercy."
I stare at my father in disbelief. "This is the Romano family we're talking about. They don't have mercy. They have business interests and bullet solutions to problems that threaten those interests."
"What do you suggest? That you continue this charade forever? That you live the rest of your life as someone else? What was the long-term plan here?"
The question hangs in the air between us. I don’t answer because I don’t have a long- term plan. I never thought it would get this far.
And now every option leads to disaster for someone I care about.
"I suggest," I say finally, "that you stop making panicked phone calls. Stop trying to track her down. Stop doing anything that creates a trail of evidence pointing to what we've done."
The color drains from his face. "Do you think Luca knows about my phone calls? What have I done?"
"You've made this worse. But maybe not irreparably worse, if you stop now. Quit acting irrational and go back to normal."
"And Sofia?"
"She stays wherever she is. Far away from all this, living the life she always wanted."
We stare at each other across his desk.
"I can't do that," he says finally. "I can't just abandon Sofia. Will I ever see her again?"
"You're not abandoning her. You're protecting her. The moment anyone in the Romano family learns there are two of us, both our lives are in danger. They can't risk word getting out about the deception. They can't afford to have witnesses to their failure to properly vet an alliance marriage."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Choose the one option that keeps us both alive. The solution is simple."
Before he can respond, my phone buzzes. A text from Luca: "Where are you?"
"I have to go," I say, already moving toward the door.
"Gabriella, wait—"
