Page 188 of Inside the Sun

"You’re a purple alpha? Doesn’t look like it."

Ragnar shrugs, totally unbothered.

"Technically, yeah. I am. But the lines on my body are pale silver and so thin most people don’t even notice them."

Eliano tilts his head. "Anzo said you’re Moon’s twin. One twin is a purple alpha, the other a rose omega. Kinda fits."

"That’s correct."

"I figured you came here to get Summer out and find Moon, right?" Eliano asks, watching him closely.

Ragnar half-closes his eyes.

"At this point, I don’t think that’s much of a secret anymore. Unfortunately, I still haven’t found out what happened to Moon."

Eliano rubs his forehead and winces when his fingers graze a bruise.

"I tried to find out too, I liked him, he was a good guy. One day he was just… gone. Anzo lost it. Tore the place apart looking for him. Checked every single camera recording, interrogated everyone, tortured some of them. He even beat Rocco to a pulp, accusing him of kidnapping. I’ve never seen him that pissed. He was obsessed with Moon. I wouldn’t call it love, but he treatedhim like some broken little bird with broken wings, something that belonged to him and no one else."

"He really vanished with no trace?"

"Pretty much. There was this huge storm one night. Power went out across the whole compound. It was out for two, maybe three hours. When it came back, Moon was gone."

"Someone must’ve taken him or helped him escape. No way Moon made it past the guards and fencing on his own. That place is locked down tight, and there’s security on the outer wall too. Someone inside had to have helped him. I’ve looked into it. I have building blueprints," mutters Ragnar.

Suddenly, Mauro, who’s been slowly recovering during all this, raises a hand to get our attention.

Then he makes a slow, deliberate gesture, his fingers dropping lower and lower until they touch the ground, then rising up again.

"Mauro, are you talking about a tunnel?" Eliano asks.

Mauro nods. Then he starts signing something, and apparently Eliano can understand him.

"There’s a tunnel under the fortress? Where does it come out?"

"I think I might know," Ragnar says unexpectedly. "I’m not completely sure, but I’ve got a theory. Does Anzo know about it?"

Mauro signs again, nodding and tapping his temple gently.

Eliano shrugs. "Well, yeah. Figures. The fortress was built by our great-grandfather, Alessandro. Anzo probably found out about it one way or another."

"The real question," I murmur, "is who else knew about the tunnel?"

Mauro lifts five fingers.

Then he curls one down and points to Eliano with his other hand.

"Five fingers… and that bent one is you, Eliano," I mutter. "So the people who knew beyond Anzo were, I guess… Mauro, Ennio, Luca, and Rocco?"

Eliano stays silent.

"So there’s a traitor in your family. Someone helped Moon escape, right under Anzo’s nose."

Silence continues. No one comments. We all sink into our own thoughts, and probably even deeper into this creeping sense of hopelessness. For now, Anzo’s holding all the cards.

The ball’s in his court.

LUCA

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