“I killed him.”
That revelation hit me like a punch to the guy, freezing me in place, especially after the note Isabella had left for me.
I stared at Matteo, barely able to process his words.
My heart was pounding so loudly that it drowned out the sounds of the forest around us.
“You…. killed him?” I repeated, my voice shaky, hoping I had misheard.
Hoping it was a mistake. A joke.
Matteo’s eyes were on me, his expression hard, unreadable. The playful man who had been teaching me how to shoot moments ago was gone. And in his place stood a stranger, someone more colder, someone dangerous.
“Yes.” He said simply, as if it was a matter of fact, like discussing the weather.
The note from Isabella burned holes into my palm.
Did Isabella know who the fuck she was staying with now?
My mind raced with questions, but one stood out.
Why hadn’t anyone told me this before?
“Why?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He took a deep breath, his gaze never leaving mine. “Because Dante Ricci was a monster. I had no choice.”
“What happened?” I demanded to know, stepping closer to him, trying to hold onto the lash shred of control I had over this situation. “Why would you kill him? Mafia wars?”
Matteo’s jaw tightened as he glanced away, as though contemplating how much he wanted to tell me.
Finally, he sighed. “Years ago. Three or four. Caterina had just started working for us, taking care of Isabella, and teaching her everything she needed to know about how to live a higher mafia life. Dante was…. different then. Not as ruthless when he was outside. But inside….”
Matteo’s eyes darkened, the memory clearly weighing on him.
“One night, I went to check on Caterina on Isabella’s behalf. She wasn’t supposed to be working, but she hadn’t shown up tor days, and something didn’t feel right. I walked in on Dante… on a rampage. She was barrly conscious, and there was blood everywhere.” Matteo paused, his voice growing hoarse. “He was ready to kill her.”
I swallowed hard, feeling a wave of nausea hit me as I imagined the scene.
Caterina, the woman who always been so composed and calm, had endured this?
And with Dante Ricci, the man I now knew was dead because of Matteo.
But was supposed to be married to my sister.
“What did you do?” I asked, though I could already guess the answer.
Matteo met my gaze, his eyes cold and hard. “I put the second bullet in his head, right after Caterina put the first.”
That was even worse.
Caterina had….
The silence stretched between us, heavy with the weight of his confession. I wanted to recoil, to run away from the reality of what he had done, but I couldn’t.
This was Matteo’s world, my world now, and I had to face the truth.
“And Caterina?” I pressed, my voice barely steady. “What else did she do?”
Matteo hesistated for a moment, his expression softening slightly. “She continued. She made sure he was dead. Broke his bones too.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine at his words.
Caterina knew he was dead, she had been married to him. She had killed him. Yet, she kept that little information when I asked her about him.
“We buried him that night,” Matteo continued, his voice low. “No one ever found out. To the rest of the world, Dante Ricci disappeared without a trace. But I didn’t do it for power or control. I did it because Caterina needed help, and she had no one else.”
I turned away, pacing back and forth, my mind in turmoil. How could I trust anyone here? Caterina had helped me, protected me in ways no one else had, but now… now I wasn’t sure if I could rely on her. She had lied, and she was keeping secrets. And if she had been capable of killing Dante, what else was she capable of?
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I asked, stopping to face Matteo. “Why keep it from me?”
His face hardened again. “Because if I had no idea you were searching for information, I wouldn’t tell you. This isn’t something for you.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Why would that man lie to Isabella about something like that?”
Matteo’s gaze softened slightly as he took my hands in his. “Valentina, I’m telling you now because you need to think. You need to know who to trust. You need to know when someone is lying to you.”
Or you won’t survive here.
My thoughts drifted back to the note in my pocket, Isabella’s desperate words echoing in my mind. She had known about Dante, known enough to want to escape, but how could she have made plans if the man she was running from was already dead?
None of this made sense.
“Did Isabella know then? That Dante was dead?”
Matteo shook his head. “Caterina never wanted her to know. She kept it a secret.”
My heart sank.
Isabella was with someone claiming to be someone else. There was nothing worse than a man you couldn’t know anything about.
Who was holding her captive?
How was she getting notes into the estate if Jason had been captured?
I pulled the note out of my pocket, handing it over to Matteo. “This is supposed to be from Isabella.”
But I’m not so sure anymore.
He unfolded it, his brows furrowing as he read the words. I watched him closely, trying to gauge his reaction.
When he finished, his eyes found mine, his expression grim. “I thought the attack was the only one, but if someone is dropping notes for you in this estate, I have to do something.”
“Do what?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Matteo’s eyes darkened as he looked out toward the woods, his jaw clenched tightly. “There are worse people out there than Dante Ricci ever was. I would help Isabella escape, but I would not put you in danger.”
“You’re moving out.”
“No.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves.
Matteo folded the note and slipped it into pocket. “I’ll find her, help her. You’ll be safe in one of my other houses.”
A part of me knew I could trust him, to protect me, to find Isabella now that he knew she was actually taken. But another part of me couldn’t shake the doubt that he just wanted to get me away.
Forget all about my sister.
So I did the best thing I could, until I found a way to rescue my sister myself and have her close to me.
Safe at last.
I allowed the false smile to spread over my lips and held unto Matteo’s arm. “Help me get her out.” I whispered, tired yet hopeful. “And I’ll do anything you want.”