My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 672

Chapter 672

Gentle Note: This chapter contains a few moments of dark humor that reference neurodevelopmental conditions. The jokes come from the characters’ personalities and the way this fictional family teases one another, not from a place of ridicule or disrespect. They are never meant to diminish or mock anyone living with these conditions. Please read with care if this is a sensitive topic for you.

I stood a few feet away, my hands resting in my pockets as I watched the scene unfold without saying a word.

Ciro was strapped upright against one of the reinforced support columns. Heavy chains wrapped around his wrists and chest, keeping him from moving more than a few inches.

His shirt was stained with sweat.

There was dried blood at the corner of his mouth from where Adriano had already hit him once, not to punish him, but to remind him that this wasn’t a conversation.

It was an interrogation.

Vincenzo stood near the center of the warehouse floor. His expression gave away nothing.

Beside him stood Luca. His arms were folded across his chest, his face carved from stone as he

watched Ciro without the smallest hint of sympathy.

“I didn’t tell them! Fuck! You think I would do that?! I’m not an idiot! I swear on everything I have-I didn’t.”

Adriano tilted his head, “You expect that to be enough?”

“No,” Ciro swallowed, “But it’s the truth.”

His eyes moved toward Vincenzo.

“Don Vincenzo…” his voice cracked, “I would never give away one of our safe locations. You all know me. I was raised in this family. I’ve been taught since I was a kid what happens to men who talk,” he shook his head, “I’m not stupid. I’m not a traitor.”

Adriano didn’t react, “Leone Caruso had you.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

Ciro drew a slow breath, “He questioned me. When I refused to answer, his men got rough.”

He looked down for a moment before lifting his head again.

“They wanted names, locations, safe houses. They wanted anything connected to the Capones.”

Adriano nodded, “And?”

“I gave them nothing. I’m trained for this, Don Vincenzo, you trained me for this,” Ciro’s eyes hardened,” You think I’d crack because someone hit me? I know what my job is. I know what silence costs.”

Luca remained perfectly still.

Adriano continued, “Then explain how Giovanni Toricelli arrived at our gates.”

“I don’t know. I really fucking don’t.”

I let out a slow breath. He wasn’t lying. At least, not about this. Which meant Giovanni Toricelli had fed us exactly what he wanted us to believe.

I looked directly at Ciro, “Clear your head. We’re starting over. From the first moment they took you. Leave nothing out.”

Ciro nodded, “When they couldn’t get anything out of me, Caruso kept me locked in one of their underground cells for several days,” he frowned as he searched his memory, “Nothing happened, no questions, no torture, no pressure. It was almost like they were waiting for someone to make a decision.”

He swallowed.

“Then Don Giovanni showed up. I heard him talking to Leone before they reached my cell.”

Ciro looked at me.

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