10
More careful? The words echoed in my head, each syllable a fresh wound. Damn you, Lorenzo!
“Of course,” I said with my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “I’ll be more careful, Lorenzo.”
As Stefania’s sobs subsided, Lorenzo guided her to a chair, his hand lingering on hers in a way that made my
stomach twist.
I excused myself, retreating to the guest room under the pretense of needing rest. Once the door closed behind me, the facade cracked, and the weight of it all came crashing down.
Tomorrow was supposed to be the culmination of everything I’d dreamed for, but tonight had made it clear, this wasn’t my story. It never had been. I was just a side character here.
Stefania had taken center stage, and Lorenzo Lorenzo had let her.
I cried my heart out. I poured it all out of me with a promise that this would be the last moment I cry a river for Lorenzo. Enough is enough.
As I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, my phone buzzed. A message from Matteo lit up the screen. MATTEO: Fucking leave it all behind. The Vitale family is ready when you are. Stop making yourself a damsel in distress here.
I frowned. The Vitale family?
The Vitale family is my escape alright, but…
Why does Matteo know my mother’s family? And why did he message me like that?
I slipped out of Corvino’s Elysian Manor thick with tension inside me. The silence of the night outside was a sharp contrast to the chaos in my mind
Inside, Stefania had been basking in the glow of Lorenzo’s undivided attention, recalling how her crocodile tears ensured Lorenzo didn’t even glance my way. It was almost impressive, the way she’d mastered the art of manipulation, almost perfect.
Almost. For she didn’t impress me nor manipulated me. Stefania can fool everyone but me.
I walked toward my car, my heels clicking against the cobblestones, each step echoing the resolve building inside me. The USB drive in my clutch was a heavy weight, its contents was like a loaded gun that I could blow Tomorrow with some help from Liz.
I grinned. Tomorrow wasn’t going to be a wedding. It was going to be a reckoning.
But first, I needed a drink.
The dim light of a bar caught my eye, its neon sign flickering like a heartbeat. The place was nearly empty, save for a bartender polishing glasses and a man seated at the far end of the counter. I slid onto a stool, nodding at the bartender. “Whiskey. Neat“:
The man at the end of the bar turned his head slightly, his sharp features catching the light
Matteo. Of course. Of all the gin joints… he found me so easy again.
“Damsel,” he said, his voice smooth and low, like a predator acknowledging its prey. “On the eve of your big day…” He scoffed “Leaving the fun in the reunion?”
2.00 PM
The Malay Runaway Binde
I raised an eyebrow, taking the glass the bartender set in front of me. “You always did have a flair for dramatic approaches, Matteo. Shouldn’t you be out plotting something equally theatrical? You were there. Why not help me earlier to shock the Corvinos and Volantes?”
His lips curved into a smirk as he pushed his glass aside and turned to face me fully. “Maybe I’m only here to save you from making a mistake. But… I need to do it discreetly, right?”
I snorted, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. “The mistake was staying with Lorenzo for as long as I did. I know that already. And you know well I was planning to escape so why are they still following me?”
“Your plan?” Matteo’s expression shifted, his gaze sharpening “Anyway, what exactly is your plan? To reveal everything by walking into your wedding tomorrow and airing every dirty secret you’ve uncovered?” He grinned. “That’s suicide, Damsel,”
I froze, my glass halfway to my lips. “How do you know about that?”
That was not exactly my plan, of course. The plan I had was already arranged for Liz to do the airing of the content on the USB drive. But all of that will happen once I already boarded the jet to Sicily.
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “As I said, I know most women do, Damsel. And I know Lorenzo would do to you once you humiliate him.”
“Lorenzo Corvino will kill me… was it the one you will say next?” I looked at him sideways, I made a face. “And thought you already know that I belong to Vitale’s organization”
“Yep, but we are in a place ruled by the Corvinos and Volantes. Vitales are only ruling Sicily Your mother can’t do anything here in Milan.”
“Let’s say
that was really my plan Thummed the words. “And let’s say I changed my mind because of your convincing words…
Matteo chuckled. And again… I gave it to him. Matteo’s really good looking. In fact, much head turner than
Lorenzo.
“So what should you suggest this time for me to do, Signor Santoro?”
“Simply.” Matteo shrugged. “You don’t need to show the world what kind of man Lorenzo is. He’s already made that abundantly clear to everyone who matters.”
I set the glass down, staring into its depths. “But everything is not about him! It’s about me, Matteo… I can’t let them walk away unscathed after what they did to mel”
“And what happens after?” Matteo asked, his tone suddenly serious. “You humiliate him, Stefania cries her way into another pity party, and you what? Ride off into the sunset?”
I looked at him, my jaw tightening. “I’ll figure it out. And the Vitale family is waiting for me, right?”
*No, you won’t figure it out with your condition right now,” he said bluntly. “But yes with the Vitale family waiting for you in Sicily.”
I
“And?” I asked because I know he will have some additional remarks on his mind.
“The truth is that you’ll still be tied to Lorenzo, the Corvinos and Volantes, to everything you’re trying to leave behind. What you must do is to cut the cord they had on you completely.”
“And you have a better plan?” I asked, boringly asked because I already planned about that by leaving all behind
here in Milan.
Matteo’s smirk returned, but there was a glint of something dangerous in his eyes. “As a matter of fact, I do. I
almost told you that. You just don’t let me explain it to you at first.”
“Yeah, of course you do,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “So, let me guess.. it involves you swooping in to clean up
the mess and somehow coming out on top?”
“Something like that,” he admitted, his grin widening “But it also involves giving you the freedom you’ve been chasing. No strings attached.”
2:00 PM
The Seco for A Mafia unaway Bnde
I studied him for a long moment, trying to decipher his true intentions. Matteo Santoro was many things, but altruistic wasn’t one of them. Still, his offer was tempting.
“Fine,” I said finally, leaning back in my chair. “What’s the plan? And I want to hear your reasons, Matteo. You already told me you have your reasons, but what was that? You can’t let me work with you but I’m still clueless about
it
“I will tell you my reasons later. Just listen to my plan first.” He signaled to the bartender for another drink, taking his time before answering “First part of the plan, you’re going to disappear. Leave the wedding, the city, all of it behind. Let them think they’ve won. It’ll make their downfall that much sweeter.”
“But that’s already my plan!” I hissed
Matteo side–glanced at me. Smirk “Cool, so we go to the next part…”
“And which is?”
“The USB in your possession.”
“The USB?”
*Yep, leave it with me,” Matteo said, his voice casual but his eyes gleaming with purpose. “I’ll make sure it’s put
to good use. At the right time. Not tomorrow. Not with anything you think to blow the wedding.”
“And why should I trust you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “Because I hate Corvinos and Volantes as much as you do. And most of all, I never betray my allies
“But you’re Lorenzo Corvino’s ally, right?”
“I said, my allies. Lorenzo wasn’t one of them
“But-”
“I lead a bigger mafia organization, Damsel. And Corvino’s mafia was nothing to me.”
“Are you saying you have a double identity here?”
“Not that but at some point, yes.”
“Who are you really?”
“Matteo Santoro’s my real name, Damsel “He sneered “But the funny part is, Lorenzo thought I was just working under one of his big mafia allies. He thought of me as being so low, like some soldier or spy only from Emperio.”
“Emperio.” That’s the controlling organization of all. They were the one ensuring the balance in the underground society among the mafia organizations and clans.
I held his gaze, searching for any sign of deception. But Matteo was a master at playing his cards close to his chest. If he had ulterior motives, he wasn’t going to reveal them now.
ITTW
“And your reasons for hating Corvinos and Volantes?” I asked curiously.
“Luca Corvino and Domenico Volante plotted my family’s demise. They were the mastermind in the massacre of
y whole family. I only survived because when it happened, I was already in Emperio. Training there.”
“Oh…”
“Did that amuse you, Damsel?”
“I’m Domenico Volante’s daughter.”
“As if I don’t know. And… I know everything about how he treated you.
I gulped.
“Are we allies now?”
Finally, I nodded. “Alright. We are.”
His arin widened, and he raised his class in a toast. “To new beginnings.
2.00 PM & c
