My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 8

Gianna

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"Is that so?" A deep, smooth voice asked from behind me.

I spun around so fast I almost tripped. Standing in our living room was Don Salvatore Capone. He wasn't alone. Next to him stood a younger man I recognized as Don Vincenzo—his oldest son—and at least ten guards who seemed to fill every inch of the small space.

When did they even get here? My heart was hammering against my ribs. I had just called them predators, and now the king of the jungle was standing in my kitchen.

Salvatore didn't look angry. In fact, he looked... amused. He stepped forward, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Buongiorno, Gianna," he said. He didn't raise his hand to strike me, instead, he looked at me with a soft gaze that made my anger feel small, "It’s good to be protective of your family. I respect that. I hope one day you’ll see us as part of that family, too."

He turned to my mother and gave her a polite nod, his expression softening even more. He looked genuinely happy to see her.

Vincenzo, on the other hand, was like a wall of ice. He stood perfectly still, his suit without a single wrinkle. He didn't smile, and his eyes stayed flat and dark as he scanned the room. He looked at me, and for a second, I felt like a bug under a microscope.

"The cars are waiting," Vincenzo said. He wasn't being mean, but he wasn't being friendly either. He was just a man who wanted to get the job done, "We should move quickly. We have a schedule to keep."

He didn't comment on the names I’d called them. He just stepped aside to let the guards start grabbing our boxes.

Salvatore reached out and lightly patted my shoulder, "Don't be afraid, little one. You'll find that we take very good care of what belongs to us."

I swallowed hard, the hateful words I had prepared dying on my tongue. It was hard to keep up the act of hating him when he looked at my mother with such soft eyes.

Suddenly, a blur of movement shot past me.

"Papà Salvatore!" Jules screamed.

I met Claire first. She was the wife of Don Vincenzo. They had a young daughter named Aurelia, and Claire was already pregnant with their second. She seemed to adore her husband, though, which I couldn't quite wrap my head around.

Then there was Madeleine. She was the wife of the underboss, Adriano. She was much softer, with a gentle way of speaking that made you want to trust her. She talked a lot, and had a friendly warmth that felt out of place in a house of killers. She and Adriano had a son named Nero.

Named after the Roman emperor, I guess. I wondered if the kid would grow up to be a tyrant or if he’d inherited his mother’s sweetness.

I watched them both closely as they welcomed us. They seemed happy, genuinely happy. They looked at their husbands like they were heroes, not monsters.

They led us deep into the mansion. The place was huge, but it felt like every hallway was watching us. Each person had their own space, but naturally, we were placed in Don Salvatore’s wing. It was clear he wanted us close, where he could keep an eye on his new "family."

Claire walked me to my room. She moved with a bounce in her step. She pushed open a set of large doors and stepped aside, gesturing to the space inside.

"This is you," she said, her eyes bright. She leaned in a little, her voice friendly and full of life, "My wing is just down the hall. If you need anything, or if you just need to hide from all these men for a while come find me. My door is always open."