Page 75 of Secret Babies for the Italian Mafia Boss

“These are taken very high.”

“I climbed a few trees so I could stay out of their sights.”

“I like your dedication.”

“Thank you, sir.” He points to one photo where Taylor is shaking hands with another man. “I’m not sure who that is yet due to the glimpse of the side profile, but there is a tattoo on his hand. A ‘B’ crossed out. I think Taylor works for this man, and I think whatever fortune Camilla knows about, they want it.”

My blood runs cold when I stare at the tattoo. “That’s impossible,” I whisper. It has to be someone else. It can’t be him.”

“Do you know him?” Parker asks.

“I used to. It’s been a very long time.” The longer I stare at the picture, the more I realize how much danger Camilla is really in. “This is my stepbrother.” The B tattooed on his hand is the day my father divorced his mother. It was so long ago. I think I was 18 when my father met a younger woman. They weren’t married long. Maybe three months.

I thought nothing of it when they got divorced. She was just another woman breezing in and out of my life. I didn’t know her son very well, but he didn’t like my father or me that much, I know.

I’ll never forget when he came home with the B tattooed on him because he was excited he was a Bianco. It didn’t matter if he was just a kid. There’s someone somewhere that will do anything for money and tattoo whoever is part of that.

But then our parents split, and he got an X tattooed over the B.

Then, I never saw him again.

It was like he had disappeared from our lives for good. I haven’t given him another thought since he walked out the door. I see he has a vendetta.

“I didn’t know you had siblings,” Parker says in surprise.

“I don’t,” I clarify.

I toss the pictures down on the coffee table and rub my mouth. “So Taylor works for him. That makes sense as to why he randomly popped up out of nowhere.”

“Yeah, about that. I don’t have a lot of information on him, but the bookstore? The bookstore was owned by someone else, who went missing three months ago. Poor guy is probably dead.”

“And that’s how they were able to get the bookstore. If it was calculated, but how did they know the bakery would be across the street?”

“I think that was luck. Cora was across the street first.”

“Her father got sick, and everyone heard it wouldn’t be long before he died. Rumor spread about his daughter coming to town, and I think they prepared for that, so they aren’t stupid.”

“No, Xavier never was,” I mention his name for the first time since I was a teenager. “Xavier wants the fortune. The fortune he never got from my family. I wonder if he has always known about Camilla. I can’t help but wonder if there’s something I don’t know.”

“I’ll find out for you, Mr. Bianco.” He finishes off his steak and sips his water.

“You did good work, Parker.” I toss him a brick of hundred-dollar bills. “For your work and discretion.”

“My lips are always sealed, sir,” he states.

“You’ll do well here, Parker. I look forward to your next update.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bianco. I’ll try to get another update for you within forty-eight hours.”

“Thank you.” I sit back, watching Parker vanish down the steps and the folder with my stepbrother’s picture in it mocks me.

I should have killed him a long time ago. Family members who believe they didn’t get what they deserved are always the greediest. Leaving loose ends was stupid on my father’s part, but he didn’t want any harm to come to them.

And now harm is coming to my family because of that decision. If my father were still alive, I’d be afraid of what I’d do. Xavier always had a darker soul, menacing and deceiving. He wanted more, and he thought he’d get it with my father.

When his mother tried to steal from my father, he realized she never loved him at all and wanted him for his money, so he ended things.

Why wait until now? What’s his plan? There are so many questions and not enough time to answer them because if there is one thing I’ll make sure about, it’s that Xavier and Taylor won’t get near Camilla again.

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