30. Man Of His Word #3
“I think it’s extremely hard on the family to be put in those situations. Sometimes it’s easier for someone less emotionally affected to step in and help.”
Soraya suddenly stood up and walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a drink before leaving the room. I chewed at my bottom lip as Elle and I watched her go.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” Elle shook her head, relaxing into the sofa cushions. “Not at all. Raya is… complicated. She’s been caring for our mamma since the diagnosis. She has a lot on her shoulders, and now that things are progressing rapidly, it’s hard for her to let go.”
I nodded, trying not to take her reaction personally, but it was a stark contrast to meeting the other women in the family. “Sani said she and him are very close.”
“They are.” Elle smiled. “Always have been. But they’re very different. You’ve probably noticed that.”
I nodded again.
“Sani was born to command a room, while Raya struggles with social settings and meeting new people. It can take her a while to warm up, so don’t take it personally if she doesn’t speak to you straight away. She’s not being rude; she’s a sweetheart just…”
“Cautious?”
“Si. She’s an observer. I think she’s spent her entire life hiding in Sani’s shadow because it felt safe, but now he’s not around as much, and she has nowhere to hide. She’s still trying to figure out who she is without him. But she’ll get there.”
That made sense. Sani was a huge presence. Not having him around so suddenly must have been a hard adjustment.
“Raya didn’t talk to anyone except Sani for the first four years of her life. Slowly, she began to get used to speaking to her family. But Sani has always been her safe space. She has anxiety and still struggles with speaking to new people. Just give her time, and she’ll come to you.”
“She didn’t talk? Not even to Cecilia?”
“Mamma has always struggled with her mental health. Her most challenging years were when Soraya was a baby. After our papi’s death, things got really bad, and she became more of an absent mother.
I think that affected Raya a lot. Sani too.
They were so young, and they lost their papi and, in some ways, their mamma overnight.
Gio and I didn’t have a clue how to be parents while we were grieving, but we tried.
” She smiled. “And things got better when Olivia came along, and Mamma got the help she needed.”
The security phone started ringing down the hallway, and Santino emerged from his office, ruffling his hair.
He glanced in my direction, gave me a quick smile, then stormed past, but I could see the stress in his eyes.
Alessio must have been giving him hell about something, probably because he refused to divorce me in exchange for the investigation being dropped.
“That must be Max and Cami,” Elle said, standing up. “Have you met them yet?”
Ah, the biker cousin and his wife who came into the wedding shop to spy on me while I was dress shopping. “Si. We met briefly.”
They both walked in behind Sani and Alessio and greeted me with smiles. Then Max dumped a folder on the coffee table. Sani sat down beside me, grabbed the folder, and flicked through the documents and photographs with a focused frown.
“This is all they found at his warehouse?” he asked, glancing up at Max.
Max nodded, running a hand down his beard.
“Nothing incriminating. I’ve run a check on every company mentioned in the shipment rota.
All legitimate business channels. He’s using the port to transfer retail and building supplies between his warehouses and his other companies across Europe, mainly the UK, Spain and Ireland.
The money flows as investment returns, consultancy retainers, profits and buyouts of failing assets.
Nothing suspicious.” He leaned over and flipped a few pages, pointing to what looked like financial accounts and shipment routes.
Sani groaned in frustration, staring at the information on the page as if he were about to uncover a secret. “Or it’s suspicious because it’s been made to look too clean.”
“Or that. But aggressive capitalism isn’t a crime, unfortunately,” Max chuckled, folding his arms over his chest. “D'Ardenzi pays his taxes on time, files all the correct documentation, and has no links to any dodgy investments or offshore accounts. He’s just a fucking savvy businessman.”
“This is about Callum?” I asked in surprise. My skin prickled under Alessio’s unwavering gaze as he sized me up with suspicion.
“We should take this conversation into your office, Santino.”
Sani’s head snapped up, his gaze narrowing as he followed Alessio’s gaze to me, and he frowned. “No need.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
They stared at each other in challenge, and the air was sucked out of the room. The display of powerful men dominated all the oxygen meant for my lungs. Clearly, I wasn’t welcome to be privy to whatever this was.
“I’ll go,” I whispered, trying to stand from the sofa, but Sani’s hand snapped across my lap, keeping me there.
“No. Stay,” he ordered. “I trust my wife, Alessio.”