11
I held my breath, waiting for Marco to continue. The silence in the car felt heavy, pressing against my chest. “Why you wanted to marry me?” I prompted, my voice barely above a whisper.
His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. “It wasn’t just about protecting your family from the Kabbaros. I-”
A burst of gunfire shattered the window behind us. Marco yanked the wheel hard left, and I ducked down in my
“Later,” he growled, accelerating through a red light. “We need to move. Now.”
“No.” I grabbed his arm. “You don’t get to keep dodging this. Every time you’re about to tell me something. important, we get interrupted. I’m tired of it.”
“Isabella-”
“My father is in danger. I deserve to know everything.”
Marco’s jaw clenched as he took another sharp turn. “Fine. The truth is, I’ve been watching you for years before all this started. The way you handled the family business, how you stood up to Kabbaro’s threats years ago…”
“You were stalking me?”
“Observing,” he corrected. “I needed someone strong. Someone who wouldn’t break under pressure. Someone who could handle the truth about who I really am and what the Vercetti family really controls.”
I processed this, my mind racing. “So this marriage arrangement..
“Was never just about saving your family. I needed a partner, Isabella. Someone who could stand beside me, help me maintain this empire I’ve built. Your father saw it too – that’s why he agreed.”
The pieces started falling into place. All those times my father had insisted I meet with Marco, his cryptic comments about securing our family’s future…
“And what if I hadn’t measured up to your standards?” I asked, my voice sharp.
“But you did.” He glanced at me briefly. “You exceeded them. Every test, every challenge you proved yourself stronger than I imagined ”
“Tests?” My blood ran cold. “What tests?”
Before he could answer, my phone buzzed again. Another message from my brother: “They’re moving him. South
entrance of the mill. 30 minutes.”
“We’re not done with this conversation,” I warned Marco
“I know.” He pulled onto a side street. “But right now, we need a plan to get your father out alive.”
I stared at Marco’s profile as he drove, my mind racing with all these revelations. The man beside me wasn’t just some mid–level mafia boss – there was so much more beneath that carefully crafted surface.
“Your father’s at the south entrance,” Marco said, breaking into my thoughts. “We’ll need to approach from the east side. Less exposure.”
“And more questions you won’t answer?”
“Isabella” He turned those dark eyes on me. “Everything I’ve done was to protect you and your family. Yes, I had my own agenda. Yes, I watched you. But don’t think for a second that means what’s grown between us isn’t real ”
My chest tightened. “What exactly has grown between us, Marco? Because from where I’m sitting, this whole relationship started with manipulation”
“You think I planned to feel this way?” His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “To wake up every morning wondering if today would be the day you’d see through it all? To watch you slowly start to trust me, knowing I was keeping secrets that could destroy that trust?”
“Then stop keeping them.”
“It’s not that simple-”
“It is.” I cut him off. “You want me as a partner? Then treat me like one. No more tests, no more half–truths”
Marco pulled the car into a dark alley and killed the engine. For a long moment, he just sat there, tension
radiating off him in waves,
“After we get your father,” he said finally. “I’ll tell you everything. Who I really am, what I really control. But right now, I need you focused on the task at hand.”
I wanted to argue, to demand answers right then and there. But he was right my father’s life hung in the balance. Whatever game Marco was playing, whatever secrets he was keeping, they’d have to wait.
“Fine,” I said. “But this is your last chance, Marco. One more lie, one more secret, and I’m done.”
He nodded, his expression unreadable in the darkness. “Let’s go get your father.*
I stepped out of the car, the cold night air biting at my skin. Marco moved silently beside me, his presence both comforting and unsettling after our conversation.
“This way.” He gestured toward a narrow path between two buildings. “The mill’s service entrance is just ahead.”
“How do you know so much about this place?”
“I make it my business to know everything in this city.” He paused, checking his phone. “Your brother’s in position. He’ll create a diversion when we’re ready.”
I grabbed Marco’s arm before he could move forward. “Wait. If you really control as much as you’re implying, why didn’t you stop the Kabbaros before they took my father?”
“Because sometimes you have to let your enemies think they have the upper hand.” His eyes met mine in the
darkness. “The Kabbaros and Riccis believe they’re the strongest alliance in Chicago. That arrogance makes them
careless.”
“And what about your arrogance?”
“I prefer to call it confidence.” He pulled me closer, his voice dropping. “Isabella, I know you’re angry about the secrets. But everything I’ve done has been calculated, Including letting you see exactly who you’re dealing with,
piece by piece.”
“So I wouldn’t run?”
“So you’d understand.” His hand brushed my cheek. “The woman who walked away from her family’s legacy, who built her own life, who came back stronger – that’s who I needed. Not someone who’d be overwhelmed by everything
at once”
A distant crash interrupted us. My phone buzzed – another message from my brother.
“They’re moving him now,” I said, pulling away from Marco’s touch. “Whatever game you’re playing, whatever power you really have, it better be enough to save my father.”
Marco’s lips curved into a smile that sent chills down my spine. “Trust me, bella. When this is over, the Kabbaros will wish they’d never touched your family.”
