Chapter 22
Adriano Pov~
"I don't know about this, Adriano." Matteo sat across from me in my office, his expression showing the concern he was trying to hide.
"We are going to talk to her and find out what she knows," I said, my voice firm. "Why is that so hard?"
He scoffed. "Because we locked her up." He leaned forward. "Lei è pazza."(She's crazy.)
I sighed. "Lo so." (I know.) But knowing that didn't change anything. "I need to know why she's here." My patience was beginning to wear thin as I sat up straighter in my chair.
Matteo studied me for a moment before sighing. "Just be careful." A small smirk tugged at my lips. He always acted like he wasn't worried. But he was.
That was Matteo.
"Anyway," I said, changing the subject, "besides Clara showing up, did you speak to Raf?"
I pulled the folder from my desk and opened it, revealing another stack of problems that somehow continued growing no matter how many I solved.
"No," Matteo answered, picking up another file. "He's with the others."
He flipped through the papers. "They're cooped up for now, but it's only a matter of time before they get claustrophobic in this house and start demanding to leave."
I looked up. "They aren't leaving." My voice was cold. "Every time they step outside these walls, someone tries to kill them."
Before Matteo could respond, a knock echoed through the office. The door opened, and my beautiful wife and Yana peeked inside.
"Bad time?" Gianna asked.
"Never." A smile immediately spread across my face. No matter what was happening, seeing her always changed something inside of me. She walked toward me with that confidence I loved and sat herself in my lap.
My eyes traveled over her, and immediately my mind went somewhere else. She placed her soft lips against mine, and I deepened the kiss without hesitation.
A small breath escaped her as she pulled away. "Not now, love," she whispered. I noticed the devilish smile on her face.
She knew exactly what she was doing. "Don't tempt me, cara." (dear) I murmured the words against her lips before forcing myself to pull away.
I looked over at Matteo. He had Yana sitting on his lap, and judging by his expression, he already knew whatever brought them here wasn't going to be simple.
"As much as I love your company," I said, looking between them, "why are you both here?"
They looked at each other. That strange silent communication siblings had. One look. One conversation. Then they turned back toward us.
"Uh-oh," Matteo muttered.
I glanced at him. "Don't start."
"These two together are destructive," he replied.
Yana rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad this time."
I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, right."
Gianna smacked my arm. "We can't just come to see our husbands?" I stared at her blankly. She sighed. "Okay, fine." She gave in. "Clara is causing an uproar downstairs with everyone else."
My expression hardened.
"I suggest you handle it quickly. Leena and Mili can't stand her, and the kids keep trying to spy on her. Every time she catches them, they panic and end up in trouble."
She shook her head. "It's a mess, and then they come crying to me to save them."
I sighed. That sounded exactly like my family.
"Plus," Yana added, "Gio hasn't come out of his room since breakfast after speaking with the boys." Her expression softened. "This is affecting him."
She glanced toward Gianna. "And because it's affecting him, it's affecting Leena. The kids notice everything, so now they're avoiding them."
She threw her hands up. "And Ano V keeps asking questions, and we don't know what to tell him!"
Gianna sighed. "We need you guys to save us."
I looked over at Matteo. He already knew. "Let's go do this," he said.
I nodded. "You grab Clara and meet me in the basement room." Matteo nodded.
"We'll handle this." I looked toward my wife and Yana. "You two keep everyone calm and away from the basement."
Gianna nodded. Then she gave me a reassuring smile. And for a moment, I forgot about everything else.
Isn't it strange?
How you can fall in love with someone all over again every single day? I never thought it was possible. But with her...It was.
I reached up and grabbed her face, pulling her into a deep kiss. "Sii forte, amore mio. (Be strong, my love.)
She nodded before standing up and leaving with Yana. I watched her go. Then my mind returned to the problem waiting downstairs. Clara.
Ales Pov~
I ran my fingers gently through the flowers, a small smile tugging at my lips. After talking with my dad, I felt... lighter.
Not completely, the fear was still there, lingering in the back of my mind like a shadow that refused to disappear. But I could finally breathe again.
I had decided to take a walk through the vineyard behind the house, hoping the fresh air would quiet my thoughts.
Instead, I found myself stopping at the flower beds, letting my fingertips brush over the colorful petals as I walked past.
It was peaceful. Exactly what I needed. As I continued down the vineyard path, I noticed someone sitting beneath one of the massive oak trees overlooking the rows of vines.
The tree towered over him, casting a blanket of shade across the grass.
Raf. He had already noticed me. I could tell. But he never looked away from the view in front of him.
I smiled softly and walked over before lowering myself beside him, leaning back against the rough bark of the tree.
I gently nudged his shoulder. "Hey." He finally glanced at me. "What are you doing out here?"
"Thinking." His smart-ass reply made me smile.
"I can see that." I nudged him again. "What are you thinking about?" For a few seconds, he didn't answer. Then he sighed. "My decision." He stared out across the vineyard.
"I don't want to leave the family." His voice was firm. "This is my life. It's the path I chose." He paused. "And I knew exactly what came with it." His expression hardened. "When I have to get a job done, I shove those feelings into a box and do what needs to be done."
His jaw tightened. "Because I'd kill anyone who ever tried to hurt my family." Silence settled between us.
Then his shoulders dropped. "But yesterday..." His voice grew quieter. "Yesterday is what scared me."
He looked down at the grass beneath us. "The emotions never went into the box. They stayed right here." He pressed a hand against his chest. "I almost killed that guy with my bare hands."
His voice cracked slightly. "And I wanted to." He finally looked at me. "I don't know if that's the kind of person I want to be, Ales."
My heart ached for him. Yesterday had been traumatic for me. But somehow...he had carried part of that burden too.
"You're the one who saved me yesterday," I reminded him gently You stopped Kale."
He shook his head. "That doesn't change how it felt." I didn't know what to say.
How do you help someone who's afraid of the darkness inside themselves?
I looked out across the endless vineyard before speaking. "Look..." I smiled softly. "I can't tell you what to do. Only you know the answer. But I can tell you this."
I turned toward him. "You are one of the most amazing men I've ever met.
" His eyebrows lifted slightly. "You are everything people hope to be.
Loving. Caring. Respectful. You always try to do the right thing.
You help people without expecting anything in return.
"And even after everything you've been through... You still have a good heart."
I smiled. "So don't let one bad moment define who you are."
I pointed toward the vineyard stretching in front of us. "You have to look at all the good alongside the bad "If you only focus on your mistakes, you'll never move forward." He was quiet for a long moment.
Then he smiled. A real one. "You're right."
I grinned. "Aren't I always?"
He laughed. "Far from it." I nudged him again. "There he is."
He shook his head, still smiling. "What about you?" His voice softened. "How are you doing?"
I shrugged. "I'll live."
He studied me for a moment before smirking. "Cugina Forte." (Strong cousin.)
I looked back out across the vineyard. The breeze carried the scent of flowers and fresh grapes through the air.
A small smile found its way onto my face. "Cugino Forte," I whispered. (Strong cousin.)
Matteo Pov~
"Matteo..." Clara smiled as she settled into the chair across from the metal table. "You haven't changed one bit." I tilted my head, studying her in silence.
She looked older than I remembered. More tired, but the confidence was still there. If anything, it had grown.
Her smile widened. "Your wife is beautiful." A small chuckle escaped her. "Quite the firecracker, if I do say so myself." She rested her chin on her hand. "I never would've guessed she'd be your type."
I scoffed and leaned back in my chair. "Adriano is here." I stood as the door opened right on cue. Adriano walked into the room without saying a word.
His eyes immediately locked onto Clara. He gave me a small nod before unbuttoning his suit jacket and taking the empty seat beside me.
The room fell silent. "Clara." His voice was flat. Void of emotion.
She smiled faintly. "Adriano." Her tone mirrored his.
"Where have you been for the last twenty years?" Straight to the point. No small talk. No games.
She let out a quiet scoff. "Well..." "I guess we're skipping straight to business."
"If you don't answer," Adriano said calmly, "you're going right back into a cold prison cell." For the first time since we'd entered, her smile faltered. She held his gaze for another moment before finally sighing.
"I left to be with Andros." Her eyes drifted away as memories resurfaced. "We spent about five years traveling the world." A faint smile appeared. "Spain, England, The Netherlands., Ireland, Australia."
She chuckled quietly. "If there was a place worth seeing, we probably went there." The smile slowly disappeared. "But eventually...I realized what an asshole he really was."