Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask (by Silver Spoon) novel Chapter 403

Chapter 403: Chapter 187 Dangerous Lies

Lila’s POV

We had gathered at Xavier’s secure compound for a relaxing afternoon by the pool and barbecue. It had been since the brutal takedown of that psychotic witch Nancy, and life within the Thorne family’s protection seemed to have returned to its usual dangerous normalcy.

Almost normal, anyway. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was eating at Daniel lately. Just moments ago, he’d stepped away from our group to take what looked like an urgent call, his entire posture radiating the kind of tension I’d seen when rival families made moves against Thorne territory. This wasn’t new behavior either. For days now, he’d been jumpy as hell, constantly checking encrypted messages on his burner phone and disappearing for mysterious meetings. I’d initially written it off as family business stress, knowing better than to pry too deeply into Thorne operations.

Ruby dropped onto the lounger beside me, her sharp eyes catching my worried expression immediately. "What’s got you looking like someone’s about to start a war, Little June?"

"Nothing’s wrong, Ru," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

She rolled her eyes with the exasperation of someone who’d survived too many family secrets. "Don’t feed me that bullshit. And don’t pull a Gemma by keeping us in the dark when something serious is going down. Should I just signal Zoe over here right now?" The threat in her voice carried real weight. I knew exactly what would happen if Zoe got involved in this - Daniel would find himself subjected to her particular brand of enhanced interrogation techniques, the kind that left grown men confessing sins they’d forgotten they’d committed.

"Please don’t bring Zo into this," I pleaded. "It’s just that Daniel’s been acting strange lately."

"Strange how?" Ruby followed my gaze toward him, watching as he paced near the compound’s reinforced perimeter. "I mean, yeah, he seems more on edge than usual, and he’s practically married to that encrypted phone. But he’s Thorne family security - paranoia keeps us all breathing."

"This feels different, Ru. I can’t put my finger on it, but my gut’s screaming that something’s wrong. Maybe I’m just being paranoid myself."

"Have you confronted him about it?" She continued observing as Daniel gestured sharply during his call, his free hand instinctively checking the concealed weapon at his hip.

I sighed deeply. "I don’t want to come off as some clingy civilian girlfriend who can’t handle the family business. The gap between his world and mine is already massive - I don’t need him thinking I’m too naive to understand how things work in this life."

"Lila, noticing changes in your man’s behavior and feeling concerned isn’t naive - it’s smart survival instinct. In our world, when someone starts acting secretive, it usually means blood’s about to spill. You need to have this conversation with him."

"You’re right. I’ll corner him when we get back to the safe house tonight."

Shortly after, Daniel approached me, his face carrying the kind of grim expression that usually preceded family enforcement actions.

"Little one, something urgent came up with Thorne operations. I need to handle some business at headquarters," he said, leaning down to kiss me with an intensity that felt almost desperate.

"I’ll come with you. You can drop me at the safe house on the way," I said, already reaching for my things.

"No!" The sharpness in his voice made me freeze. He immediately softened his tone, but I caught the flash of something like panic in his eyes. "Little one, stay here and enjoy yourself. It’s a beautiful day - spend it with the family."

"Trying to sneak away with your deadly enforcer, Lila?" Zoe materialized beside us, martini in hand and that predatory smile that usually meant someone was about to have a very bad day.

"Daniel got called away on Thorne business, so I figured I’d head back too," I explained.

Zoe’s eyebrow arched in that way that had made seasoned capos sweat. "Martinez, I thought today was your stand-down day?"

"Family business doesn’t take days off," he replied with a strained smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "But I’m telling my little one to stay here where it’s secure." He ran his fingers through my hair in that protective gesture that usually melted my resolve.

"She absolutely should stay," Zoe declared with authority. "Finn and I will escort her back to the safe house later - we’re in the same sector anyway."

"That won’t be necessary," Daniel countered with an edge to his voice. "I’ll come back for my little one once I’ve handled the situation at headquarters." His smile looked more like a grimace.

"Daniel, is everything really under control?" I couldn’t help asking, that gnawing worry in my gut getting stronger.

"Yes, just routine security protocols. I wish I could stay here with you though." He kissed me again, this time with a lingering intensity that felt like goodbye. "I’ll be back to collect you later."

As he prepared to leave, I noticed him discretely pull Xavier aside for what looked like urgent whispered instructions. Both Zoe and I caught this exchange, and the look that passed between us confirmed we were thinking the same thing.

"That was suspicious as hell," Zoe commented once he’d disappeared through the compound’s secured gates. "What’s really going on, Little June? And don’t you dare say ’nothing’ because I can smell lies from three blocks away."

Nothing ever escaped Zoe’s notice - it’s what made her so valuable to the Thorne family’s intelligence network. Seeing my increasingly worried expression, she quickly gathered the girls and led us to the private sauna room where we could speak freely without surveillance concerns.

Inside the steamy sanctuary, I finally opened up about Daniel’s increasingly erratic behavior - the encrypted calls at all hours, including middle-of-the-night conversations that had him speaking in hushed, urgent tones, his unusual solo trips to Thorne headquarters during his scheduled downtime, and his constant state of hypervigilance that went beyond normal family security protocols.

"When did this pattern start?" Ivy asked, her face showing the kind of concern that came from surviving too many family betrayals.

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