8. Marco
Marco
I barge into Olivia's penthouse, my heart racing in my chest. The place is a mess; the coffee table is broken, and the furniture appears to have been moved. And there's a bold message on the wall written in what looks like blood. It reads, “She's mine now!”
My fingers clench into a fist and I slam it against the wall, the impact creating a dent in the affected area. My knuckles hurt—that's nothing compared to the pain of losing Olivia.
“Fuck!” I yell, my hands ruffling my hair in frustration.
I'm still struggling to come to terms with what's going on here, when the Bellanti storm into the house.
They stop by the entrance, their gazes sweeping across the room.
Luca, Matteo, Isabella, Lorenzo, Angelo and even Nico Moretti are all here.
Yes, it's a fucking full house. Except without the owner, Olivia.
I can see the anger in their eyes and the glint of fear dancing underneath.
“Marco, what the fuck happened here?” Isabella asks me.
“I'll tell you what happened,” Lorenzo chips in, charging toward me with a blow that turns my face. “You were supposed to protect her!” he snaps at me, his eyes blazing red. “Where the fuck were you when this happened, huh?” He swings another punch, but Matteo's fast enough to grab his hand.
“Chill, bro,” Matteo says to him, his voice calm but urgent.
“He's the reason she's gone—this is all his fault!” Lorenzo yells, pointing accusing fingers at me. “You know, I never really liked you,” he adds, glaring at me. “Ever since you started dating Olivia three years ago, I knew you were trouble, but I said nothing because I knew it wasn’t my place to—now look at what you've done.” He pushes Matteo to the side, but he won’t move.
“I swear to God, Marco, if anything happens to our sister, you'll know why I'm the family's enforcer!”
“Bro, chill!” This time, Matteo’s authoritative voice shuts him up.
Lorenzo goes quiet, his chest heaving rapidly as he sneers at me.
“Wait a minute, Marco's dating Olivia?” Angelo asks, shock flickering in his gaze.
The others, except for Luca and Matteo, all looked surprised and confused at the revelation.
“Let's not derail here,” Matteo says, replying to Angelo, his arms spread apart as if spreading calmness over the scene.
Luca steps forward, his shoes clicking against the floor. “What happened here?” he asks me, his tone calm and collected.
I can't say for sure what happened. I know that now is the time to let them in on what's going. So, I tell them the whole truth about what I've just recently discovered.
It's a good thing that I have a copy of the video on my USB drive. I bring my laptop and they gather around me at the dining table, where I play the footage from seven years ago.
As shocked as everyone is, only one person sees what the rest of us don't—Angelo.
“Hold on, can you play the video again?” he says to me.
I do it.
“There.” He points at my screen, bringing everyone's attention to something we all missed the first time. “Do you see that?” He taps on the footage of Enzo on the ground after young Olivia has driven off.
“Did he just—?” Isabella asks.
“—move?” her husband, Nico, completes her question.
“Fuck, he just did,” Lorenzo concurs, peering closely at the recording.
“You know what that means, right?” Angelo asks, throwing the question at all of us.
“It means that there's a chance Olivia didn't kill Enzo–he was still breathing when her car left the scene,” Matteo says, his eyes shifting across his siblings’ faces.
“The chance of her innocence is slim, but we'll take it,” Luca says. “Going with that. If she didn't kill him, then who did?”
“Nova,” I chip in without taking my eyes off the screen. “Nova Koslov. He did it, or at least he finished Enzo DiMartino off.”
It makes sense. Nova saw a chance seven years ago, and he took it—it’s all still just a theory, but it makes sense.
“Uh…guys,” Angelo says, drawing our attention.
All eyes turn to him as he stands beside the broken coffee table, a document in his hand. He picks it up from the floor where other books and paperwork lie in heaps.
“This doesn't look good at all,” he says, his eyes glued to the pages. “Not at all.”
“Gimme that,” Isabella says, snatching the document from his hand, curiosity flashing in her eyes.
Matteo and Nico gather around, their gazes focused on the paper.
“No, this can't be possible…right?” Nico asks, doubt creeping into his tone.
Luca walks over to them and looks for himself.
“What's going on?” Lorenzo demands.
“This suggests that Olivia has been feeding sensitive Bellanti information to Nova over the past years,” Isabella says, stuttering, her voice low and filled with disappointment.
“That's impossible,” Lorenzo says, a scowl flashing across his face as he steps forward and joins Luca to look for himself.
“I don't want to believe it either,” Matteo says, “but the timestamps coincide with several Bellanti operations that were compromised.”
I can sense their doubt and now isn't the time to play Nova's games. “Guys, we're getting sidetracked again,” I say, being the voice of reason. “You all know Olivia. You know she'd never do this. He's messing with us–this is nothing but a ploy to turn us against one another.”
The room is silent for a moment as my words sink and they consider the possibility that I'm right.
“Now, what?” Angelo asks. “How do we find Olivia? How do we get her back?”
I think for a minute and raise my head. “I have a plan. And we're gonna need the Russians to execute it.”
The Bellanti exchange glances but say nothing.
“So, you want me to help you save your damsel in distress…why?” Petrov asks, relaxed in his chair, a corny smirk playing on his lips.
“You sneaky bastard, you think this a joke?” Lorenzo snaps, almost losing control.
Matteo and Nico grab him immediately and shove him aside, telling him to calm the fuck down. His outburst could jeopardize this entire plan, and we don't need that.
“Temper, temper, boy,” Petrov snickers, clearly enjoying the desperation he sees in our eyes.
He's a businessman and I'm sure he'll want to salvage this situation to his own advantage.
“Your sister's safety is quite important to you,” he says. “I get that. But what's in it for me if I help you? I don't run my organization on charity, you know.”
“If you help us, you get to catch Nova, the man that's been selling mafia secrets to the Chinese triad,” Matteo says to him. “I'm sure there's a million ways you can torture him for his crimes.”
Petrov is silent, as if weighing his options. “That is true. I will delight in seeing him suffer. But unfortunately, that won't cut it for me,” he adds. “Gimme something I cannot resist, and then you have yourself a deal, da?”
Matteo thinks for a moment, his eyes shifting across the rest of us.
"Help us, and you will gain access to Bellanti's established southern routes.
You'll enjoy joint ventures in legitimate businesses that both families can use for operations. Plus, a united front against Chinese expansion. That good enough for you?”
“Hmm.” Petrov strokes his jaw, his eyes pinned on Matteo. “Add one more thing to the list and we're good.”
Matteo's eyes narrow. “What's that?”
“Olivia's legal expertise to help us legitimize certain business holdings in America.”
Matteo looks at his brothers, and in a moment of silent understanding, an agreement is made.
“Deal,” Matteo says.
“Fantastic.” Petrov rises to his feet and extends his hand.
Matteo shake it, sealing the alliance between both families.