The Truth Hurts: Part Two: The Twisted Betrayal Duet

Chapter 35

Alfredo Bianchi always was a man who sought to provide nothing but the best for his family. Whether it be nursing his sick wife or ensuring his family name continued with Serafina, he always made sure that they were well taken care of, and he’s always been proud of them.

Like right now, even though our crew crashed this dinner, he makes every effort to compliment Sera on her accomplishments. He even offered Giovanni a seat at his table, which has all of us eyeing him up warily because he’s just as much the enemy as Alfredo is at this point.

That’s also the reason why I’m helping Sera stick to her promise. Because once Giovanni has his daughter, he’ll be out of the picture. He’s still a threat in my eyes, but with Sera keeping him close, there’s not much I can do to remedy the situation. I can’t knock his chess piece off the board until Sera fulfills her promise and willingly lets him go. Though the more I see them interacting, the more I believe she won’t be able to.

We sit through an entire dinner filled with awkward remarks and sarcastic replies. Serafina doesn’t make it easy for her father, and by the time we’ve moved through three rich courses, I’m not only bursting at the seams, but I’m certain I’ve got whiplash from all the back and forth. I’m definitely going to need to hit the gym after this, and then get a massage because my neck hurts.

“I didn’t come here for niceties,” Sera finally snaps as she pushes her plate away. “You wanted to explain yourself, so go on…” she gestures with a palm to the whole table. “Speak.”

“Perhaps we can discuss this in private?” Alfredo asks in a low voice, his eyes scouring each of us. I’m not sure why he wants privacy all of the sudden. He must know by now that Sera trusts us all; there’s nothing he can say that won’t eventually reach our ears through her own repetition. Except he’s trying to save face. His regard for his daughter is a rollercoaster of twists and turns. For as long as I can remember, Alfredo flits between his love for his daughter and resentment, and I’m sure Sera senses that too.

“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to my men,” she states. The way she calls us her men holds more meaning than just the fact she’s our boss. Her tone is laced with adoration, protectiveness, a stubborn need to prove her father no longer holds the cards.

With a huff, Alfredo places his cutlery on his plate, wiping the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “Very well,” he sighs defeatedly. “I’m sure Enzo has explained everything, so there’s no need—”

“To repeat yourself?” she finishes, glaring daggers at her father. I can feel her irritation, the anger rolling off her in waves, threatening to crash against the man who raised her. “I think you do need to repeat yourself, Dad. If not for me, then for my men who constantly stuck their necks on the line for me, countless times.” Her voice raises as she drills her point home. “You didn’t just lie to me. You lied to them, too!”

Alfredo’s jaw ticks over with abated agitation. As much as he tries to keep his cool, I can see how difficult it is. He’s not the type to sit and take a berating from his daughter, so I have to commend the guy for not reacting vocally. Instead, he keeps his eyes locked on his successor, letting her rage infused breaths break the silence.

“You hurt me.” Her voice cracks with the weight of her returning grief, stunning us all with her admission. “You used someone I love. Why would you do that?”

“Tesora,” he soothes from across the table. “I thought I could protect you. Enzo was all but dead, he almost died protecting you.”

“Almost,” she counters. “But he wasn’t. And you took that from me, you took him from me.”

Her words spark a flame within me, the certainty that her feelings for me are more than just fleeting. It only confirms that what I’ve been feeling for so long is unmistakably reciprocated.

Alfredo darts his attention to me for a split second, but if he thinks I’m about to offer him any support, he’s sorely mistaken.

“Did you ever stop to think about what your actions would do to others around you?” she interrogates bitterly. “Did you ever think that maybe it wasn’t for my own good?”

“Many times,” he mutters.

Sera’s eyes blow wide in disbelief. “And yet you still did it.”

“Sera, I won’t pretend that I regret my actions. I don’t.” He swings his gaze around the table, acknowledging each and every one of us until he lands on his daughter once more. “At the time, it was something I believed would help. I knew the Verdis were to blame for the massacre at your inauguration, I just didn’t know what depths they would go to. The fact that Enzo took that bullet and not you is something I will always be grateful for.”

“And yet you show your gratitude by faking his death?” she scoffs. “Taking him away from his family to save your own. It’s selfish at best!”

“I show my gratitude by not killing your men for failing to do their job!”

Sera’s fists slam on the table as she pushes up from her chair. It takes everything within me not to say something, but this isn’t my battle. I’m not here to seek an apology from Alfredo, I’m here to support Serafina.

“Don’t you dare pin this on them!” She points a sharp fingernail at her father. “You did this!”

“To protect you!”

“Yeah, and how did that plan work out?” she screams back, the tension thickening with every passing minute. Between Sera’s stubbornness and her father’s determination, I’m not sure these two will ever see eye to eye. Sera’s chest heaves as she glowers down the table, but Levi is there to slide his hand into hers, calming her gently.

Alfredo catches the gesture, rolling his eyes as he pushes back from the table to stand. “I didn’t ask you here for an argument,” he confesses. “I wanted to explain myself and my actions. I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize?” Sera breaks into an incredulous laugh. “I haven’t heard you say those words, ever. Why would you say them now?”

“Because I understand that I shouldn’t have kept this from you. I should have told you months ago what was happening. Though, I’m certain you would have fought me on it, I still stand by my decision because it did keep you safe.”

“Hardly,” Levi mutters, causing Alfredo to snap his focus to the man who dared to speak out.

“I tried my best,” he snarls. “As did all of you.” He returns his attention to Serafina. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I lied to you. And I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you how I wanted to.”

For a moment, Sera stands motionless, speechless. Her mouth moves but no sound comes out. She’s like a gaping fish, floundering without water, and I’m too stunned to jump in.

Did Alfredo Bianchi just apologize?

The general mood of the dinner soon lightens. It’s like a weight has finally lifted, and even though Sera still has her guard up, I instantly notice the relaxed demeanor that emanates from her as we sit in the lounge drinking whiskey. The pair aren’t exactly reminiscing over old times, but at least they”re not screaming or ignoring one another.

I watch with rapt attention. She’s locked in conversation with Luca and Levi, talking about Luisa, while Giovanni remains resolute in the doorway, keeping up the pretense of Sera’s bodyguard despite the fact he’s proven worthless in my opinion. I might not be much better at protecting Sera so far, but I wouldn’t ever walk her into the lion’s den or give away secrets for the price of someone else’s life. Then again, I don’t have a child, so maybe my statement is void.

That doesn’t mean I like him, though.

“Any news on what you found?” Alfredo asks me, keeping his voice low as he pours me another helping of whiskey.

“Mancini is on the case, but I’m not sure if he’ll find anything.”

Bianchi pauses, brows furrowed with his hand closed over the decanter. “And what makes you think it’s a calling card?”

Digging out my phone, I produce the photo I took of the card. There’s no way that thing is being caught in my possession, so I thought it was safer to just take a picture of it. I hand my phone to Alfredo, displaying the image of the black playing card. “The Queen of Hearts, it’s too strange for Verdi to have it in his possession.”

Bianchi inspects the screen, tapping his chin in thought, his eyes taking in the details. “What did Verdi say about it?”

“Nothing, he’s proven himself useless and we don’t have time to chase empty information.”

Bianchi nods, brows furrowing as he investigates the image further. I don’t need to say anything more than that. We both know that in this line of work, if you don’t have the right information, you’re as good as dead. And after Sera’s order, that’s exactly what I did–give or take a few days.

It was a lot less eventful than I would have liked. Verdi was already on the precipice of dying. After days of torture, there wasn’t much left of the old man, so the only thing to do was to run my blade across his throat. It was by no means a small mercy. I watched him kick and flail, blood oozing from his throat so slowly that it took at least five minutes for the light to die in the man’s eyes. And I watched every moment of it, letting me be the last thing he saw before he was dragged to hell.

“That emblem,” Alfredo murmurs, tearing me from my recent memories. “I recognize it.”

My eyes widen eagerly. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t recall where from, but… yes… I’ve seen it before, I’m sure of it.” He hands the phone back to me, keeping his voice low. “Does Sera know?”

“Know what?”

I spin around, coming face to face with the other Bianchi in the room, the one that terrifies me more than I’m willing to admit. She glances down at the phone in my hand.

She snatches it from me before I have time to react, turning her back so she can inspect the image. “What is this?”

All eyes turn on me, making me the main feature. There’s no way I can escape this now, as much as I wanted to keep it quiet until I knew more information. Up to this point, all my good intentions have proven worthless, and I know keeping more secrets from her will only hurt us both.

Guess It’s time to come clean.

“I found it in Verdi’s pocket,” I reply hesitantly. “We don’t know what it means, yet.”

“We?” She spins around to face me, her brows knitting together into a deep scowl. “Who’s we?”

Before she can point blame at the rest of the group, I stop her with a hand on her shoulder. “Me and Raf. He’s looking into it. It could be nothing.”

“It could be something! And you kept this from me!”

Shit.There’s the infamous rage firing up again. “No. Yes. I—”

“Which is it?” she hisses, slamming the phone into my chest.

“I wanted to be sure before bringing it to you, Sera.” I reach out for her, but she flinches away from my touch. Guilt seeps in, her reaction stinging like a freshly cut wound. “Please—”

“We’re done here,” she snaps, slamming her glass onto the side table. “I want to go home.” She turns around before I can say another word..

Levi and Luca are already standing while Giovanni guides our leader by the small of her back. A possessive growl rumbles through my chest, unsettling me. Regardless of the fact those two have a history, I still don’t like the way he touches her. Levi and Luca I can settle for, but not Giovanni.

Alfredo clasps a hand on my shoulder, giving me a knowing look. There’s no chance I’m battling my way out of this one. Much like him, I’m going to have to grovel to get back on her good side.

“I’ll be in touch if I find anything,” I provide before stepping past him.

It was too much to ask for the journey back to hold a less grim atmosphere than the trip here. I sit up front with Giovanni the entire ride, and even then, I’m iced out. Guess the guy is pretty good at keeping silent after all.

By the time we make it home, Sera all but storms out of the car. Her anger is palpable, and I hate that I’m the reason for her sour mood. I really was looking out for her best interests because I didn’t see the point in worrying her over nothing. But I’m not na?ve. I know that as my leader, she should know everything, but as my—fuck, can I call her my girlfriend?—I want to protect her.

I follow her steps across the courtyard, catching up to her quicker than she’d like. “Sera, talk to me,” I plead, reaching for her wrist.

She spins around, her expression seething as she yanks it out of my grasp. “Talk to you?” she huffs. “What’s the point? You’ll just keep lying to me!”

“It’s not like that and you know it.”

“When were you going to tell me?” she steps forward, anger roiling off her.

“I don’t know,” I admit, running a hand through my hair. “When I knew what we were up against.”

“And what are we up against?” she pushes.

“I don’t know!” I yell back. “I don’t fucking know! I just know that it can’t be good.” My admission makes her pause, her eyes blinking up at me. But instead of yelling back, she just sighs. It’s a discontented sigh, but it’s also filled with understanding.

“When will you learn to stop keeping shit from me?” She grips the lapels of my jacket and pulls me close in a way that should be threatening, yet it only makes me want her more. The scent of her designer perfume fills my nose, her signature smell enveloping me. It’s so goddamn addictive that I almost forget that we’re even fighting. “Enzo, I—”

“I know. I’m sorry. I just…” I sigh, wrapping my arms around her waist and resting my forehead against hers. “I’m sorry.”

“We can’t keep doing this,” she rasps, moving to bury her face in my chest. “You can’t keep lying to me. You can’t keep secrets from me.”

I agree with her. It’s not healthy for us to keep things from each other in the name of protection. We both have a right to the truth. “I know. But you must know that it was never to hurt you.”

She gazes up at me from beneath her eyelashes. “Promise me, no more secrets.”

Fuck. That’s not something I can promise right now, not even for Sera. I shake my head, hating the wounded look she gives me. “I can’t promise that right now.”

“Then what can you promise?”

I smile at her question. She doesn’t push me for an answer as to why I can’t give her exactly what she wants, but I know her patience will wear thin eventually. I lean down, pressing a kiss to her nose. “I can promise to protect you.” I kiss the left corner of her lips. “I can promise to make you happy.” I kiss the right corner of her lips. “I can promise you that I will destroy anyone who tries to hurt you.”

My lips hover over hers, desperately wanting to close the sliver of distance between us.

Her breaths falter, stuttering in the tiny space between our mouths. “What else?”

“I can promise to love you because fuck, I love you, Sera.”

“I love you, too,” she whispers without hesitation, and damn, I love how those words sound coming from her. “Just promise me no more lies?”

“No more lies,” I confirm because that’s something I can promise. “Now can we go inside and make up?” Aside from the slight chill that threatens the air, there’s nothing more I want to do than to make up with Sera physically. I want her body beneath mine, writhing in the pleasure only I can give her to make up for being an ass.

“Not tonight,” she smiles mischievously, stepping away from me. “I have something to take care of.”

I shake my head with a smirk, knowing exactly what she’s referring to. “You mean someone,” I chuckle, not even the slightest bit annoyed, but definitely jealous.

She doesn’t answer me, though. She just leaves me standing in the courtyard, watching her walk away.

But damn, I’m not complaining about the view.