Chapter 8 - The Betrayal WithinThe golden sunlight of Tuscany was streaming through the heavy velvet curtains when I woke up. The side of the bed next to me was cold. Alessandro was already gone.
I threw on one of his oversized white dress shirts, the crisp cotton falling past my knees, and walked quietly out of the bedroom. The villa was eerily silent, save for the muffled sound of voices coming from Alessandro’s private study down the hall.
"...the shipment from Sicily has been compromised," a voice was saying. It wasn't Alessandro. It was Marco.
I froze outside the heavy oak door, which was cracked open by an inch.
"Compromised by whom?" Alessandro’s voice rang out, cold, hard, and devoid of any warmth.
"Vance," Marco replied grimly. "Your own underboss, boss. He tipped off the federal agents in Genoa. He thinks you've gone soft because of the American girl."
A heavy, suffocating silence hung in the room for several agonizing seconds.
"Vance has been like a brother to me for fifteen years," Alessandro said softly, a dangerous edge sharpening every syllable. "If he wants my throne... he should have aimed better."
My stomach lurched. The mafia world wasn't just about external enemies like Moretti; it was a viper's nest of betrayal from within. And Vance—a man I had briefly seen dining with Alessandro the night before—was gunning for him. Because of me. Because they thought my presence made Alessandro weak.
Panic flared in my chest. I took a step back, intending to slip back into the bedroom and pretend I knew nothing.
Clack. My heel hit a stray brass decorative vase resting against the wall.
Inside the study, the voices stopped dead.
The heavy oak door swung open instantly, revealing Alessandro standing there, his face carved from stone, pistol drawn. When his dark eyes landed on me, the lethal glare softened just a fraction, replaced by a flash of deep, protective anxiety.
"Sophia," he breathed, lowering the weapon slightly. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Alessandro, Vance knows about us. He thinks I'm your weakness. If I stay here, I'm going to get you killed."
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Alessandro stepped forward, closing the distance between us in two strides, and grabbed my shoulders firmly. "Listen to me. Vance is a dead man walking the moment he decided to betray this family. You are not the weakness, Sophia—you are the only real thing I have left in this dark life. Do you understand me?"
Before I could answer, the front windows of the villa shattered into a million glittering pieces.
