Chapter 96

Alessandro

The light in my office was dim, the late afternoon sun throwing fractured shadows across the marble floors like broken glass. I sat behind my desk, my left hand throbbing faintly where the bandage wrapped around healing flesh, the ache a constant reminder that I hadn’t fully healed but had no time to stop. Three weeks. Three fucking weeks Marco had been rotting in my basement, and now he was ready to talk.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. Men always found their voices when they realized silence would kill them faster than the truth they supposedly swore to protect. I didn’t know how to feel about all of this, had no idea what to expect either. I had been reluctant to meet him for fear of information that would put me in opposition to Isabella.

I did not think I would be able to bear, so easily, another betrayal from her, even if unintended. So I stalled, and hoped and prayed that somehow Marco would have nothing useful to say. I still hadn’t seen her