Chapter 18
EVA
My stomach plummeted the moment I saw Ivan.
First in fear that he might try to take me, but then, as he taunted Adriano, I was terrified he’d expose me.
In fact, I think he did when he called me a little spy.
Adriano's hand is firm around mine as he guides me out of the theater.
Tension radiates from him.
I can only imagine what he’s thinking. I steal a glance at Adriano.
The man enjoying a night out with his family is replaced by the ruthless enforcer.
I’ve known that it was a matter of time before the truth came out.
But I never imagined that it would happen like this, with Ivan Vasiliev revealing my secret.
Once we’re in the car and heading back to Long Island, Adriano checks on Mirabella in the review mirror.
I can only think he’s making sure she’s asleep.
"Eva." Adriano's voice is tight. "What did he mean by 'little spy'?"
I can't look at him, can't bear to see the suspicion in his gray eyes.
"Not here," I whisper, nodding toward our sleeping daughter.
His jaw tightens but he doesn’t press me.
I rest my head against the cool window of the car as memories I've fought so hard to forget come flooding back.
Standing before Maksim Vasiliev as he showed me photos of my father beaten and bloodied.
The ultimatum.
The first time I walked into the Dante compound with a mission to gather intelligence.
The sickening dread each time I passed information, knowing lives hung in the balance.
And then Adriano. Falling for him hadn't been part of the plan. Loving him made me a liability to the Bratva and a traitor to the Dantes.
Faking my death had been the only way I could save myself, my unborn child, and I’d hoped my father as well.
I knew disappearing alone wouldn’t work.
Lorenzo Dante and Maksim would hunt me down, both for being a traitor.
Only my death could make it stop and ensure my father survived.
Of course, I was wrong.
Maksim killed my father anyway.
And now here I am, with Adriano, on the verge of having all my secrets revealed.
All that effort to protect myself and Mirabella was in vain.
If Adriano doesn’t kill me, surely, Alessandro will.
Perhaps it’s time to tell the truth. Maybe I’m not giving Adriano enough credit.
He knows I’m hiding something and yet he’s still wanting to build a family with me.
At least that’s how it seems with picnics, a night out at the theater, sensual nights in his bed.
I want to reach for him, but my hands remain frozen in my lap.
What could I possibly say that won’t destroy everything?
"You're going to tell me everything." Adriano's voice breaks the suffocating silence as we pull up to the compound. "Not tomorrow. Not when you're ready. Tonight."
The finality in his tone leaves no room for negotiation.
We enter the house, and Adriano carries our sleeping daughter upstairs while I trail behind. I feel like I’m walking to my execution.
"I'll take her," I say, wanting time away from him to think, but he shakes his head.
"Let me." The words are rough. I’m not sure if it’s due to his annoyance at me over Ivan or my attempt to take Mirabella from him.
I don’t fight him. Instead, I pull back the covers as he gently lays Mirabella down.
She stirs slightly. "Daddy?"
"I'm here, Princess." He brushes her curls from her forehead. "Sleep now."
She clutches her stuffed unicorn closer and drifts back to sleep.
I watch her face.
She’s so innocent, so perfect.
It breaks me when I consider all the blood and darkness in the world.
She doesn't understand all that threatens her fairy tale life.
I press a kiss to her forehead and straighten, meeting Adriano’s eyes. Something unspoken passes between us.
Something that doesn’t involve Ivan.
It’s just him, me, and Mirabella.
For a moment, we're just two parents admiring their child.
There are no lies between us, no Russians hunting us down, no brother waiting to pass judgment.
Just this tiny bubble of peace.
But as quickly as it’s there, it’s gone again, replaced by suspicion.
Wanting to put off the inevitable discussion, I make sure Mirabella’s covers are tucked around her.
I click on the fairy nightlight.
“Eva.” The tone in his voice suggests he knows I’m dragging my feet. “We need to talk.”
"Alright," I say because I know there’s no escaping it.
We walk in silence down the corridor to his room, his hand hovering near the small of my back like he thinks I might run and he wants to grab me if I do.
The door clicks shut behind us with terrible finality.
Time has run out.
"How do you know Ivan Vasiliev?" Adriano's voice is sharp. "And why are the Russians after you?"
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
I've rehearsed this moment in my nightmares since Adriano found me, imagining every possible reaction, none of them good.
"Eva. Look at me."
I raise my eyes to his, and the flicker of tenderness under the irritation is what nearly undoes me.
I consider telling him the truth again.
Is it possible to confess and not obliterate the happiness we’ve started rebuilding?
I have only one chance at this.
Once spoken, the words can never be taken back.
They'll change how he sees me forever.
The question is, will he understand?
Will he forgive me?
Or will he kill me where I stand?
"Can we talk tomorrow? It’s been a long night and I’m exhausted."
“No more running, Eva." His gray eyes search mine like he’s trying to read my mind. “Is it because of Mirabella?”
I blink, not sure what he means.
“Is Ivan targeting you because he knows I’m Mirabella’s father? He sees you two as leverage to hurt me?”
His question is an unexpected lifeline that I grab with both hands. “I guess so.”
Relief washes over me, sweet and terrible. This theory offers me a way out, a path that doesn't end with Adriano looking at me with hatred in his eyes.
He paces the room. "I should have considered this possibility. Ivan's been looking for ways to hurt my family since he took over.” He pauses, his mind whirling. “How did he even think to look for you? I can’t figure that out.” He stops, his gaze turning to me.
“I realize now that I’ve made it easy for him to get to you. ”
The guilt in his voice makes my guilt nearly unbearable. He's blaming himself for something that isn't his fault, for my sins, my choices.
"Adriano, you can't—"
"No," he interrupts, crossing to where I stand. His hands frame my face with gentleness. "I'll fix this. I promise you."
His eyes burn with determination, and for a moment, I almost believe he can protect us from anything, even from the truth I'm hiding.
But as he pulls me against his chest, his heartbeat steady against my cheek, reality crashes back. I've just added another lie to the list I started the moment I walked into the Dante home to work for Lorenzo.
Ivan knows exactly who I am and what I did.
He won't stop until he's extracted every ounce of value from me, whether as bait for Adriano or something worse.
And Alessandro's suspicions haven't vanished.
He’s biding his time until the truth comes out.
And it will come out.
There is no escape from it.
At some point, Adriano will know that I was the traitor his father suspected all along.