My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 450

Chapter 450

And for the first time since answering his call that morning, I found myself hoping he would listen

Not for my sake.

For his own.

“If you’re planning to sit in our house and maintain contact with an Underboss from another organization, Vincenzo needs to know.”

I blinked.

The statement hit me like a bucket of cold water, “What?”

“That’s how security works.”

“Raphael-”

“Imagine explaining it from my side.”

He gestured toward the phone now buried in my pocket.

“You live inside one of the most secure properties on the continent. You know routes. You know names. You know things people kill for.”

The room seemed quieter suddenly.

“Now imagine I discover you’re having conversations with a high-ranking member of another criminal organization and choose not to report it.”

I stared at him, “I’m not having conversations with him.”

The phone vibrated again right on cue. Raphael looked toward my pocket then back at me. One eyebrow rose.

“I answered one call.”

“Mm.”

“One.”

“Mm.”

The blue light from the monitors reflected in his eyes, turning them hard as ice.

“If I discover an active line of communication with another syndicate and choose to ignore it, that becomes my failure.”

I stared at him, “Vincenzo isn’t going to hurt me.”

“No. He won’t hurt you. He thinks of you as his little sister…”

The answer came instantly, that should have made me feel better. It didn’t because I know Raphael wasn’t finished.

“He’ll handle the threat.”

My stomach dropped. The way he said those words told me everything and suddenly Vincenzo with blood all over his face flashed before my eyes.

My phone vibrated again inside my pocket.

The sound seemed impossibly loud. Raphael’s eyes lowered toward it then lifted back to me.

“Still calling.”

“He’s not-”

“He is.”

Raphael watched me for a long second then looked away first like he couldn’t stand looking any longer or maybe didn’t want to.

“I don’t care who you used to be to each other. I care about risk.”

The words shouldn’t have hurt but they did because some stupid part of me had spent months hoping I mattered to him. And standing here now, listening to him reduce everything to protocols and threat assessments, it felt painfully obvious how wrong I’d been.

“Are you still attached to him?”

My heart lurched, “What?”

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