Page 200 of The One
“Otherwise, he will meet his brother’s fate. And I doubt that’s something you want.”
My heart stops.The room sways.
“And you willnottell him, Mariella.” His voice drops, every word a blade against my skin. “Because if you do, you know what will happen.”
The blood drains from my head. The walls tilt.
“De Marco law is clear,” he murmurs, eyes gleaming.
He watches me closely, savoring my unraveling.
“Betrayal means death… for theentirefamily. I have betrayed them… but to set an example, Mateo would have to killyoutoo. And your mother. Isabella. Your other sisters.”
I suck in a sharp breath.
That vomiting sensation from my wedding? It’s back.
He tilts his head, studying me like he’s finally enjoying the exchange.
“Would you have your own family killed,figlia mia? Your innocent sisters?”
The walls press in.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t move.
I can’twin.
His smirk deepens as the truth sinks its claws into me. He’s got me right where he wants me.
“That’s what I thought.”
I swallow hard, my throat raw. My heartscreamsat me to fight, to do something. But what?
How do I save the man I love without signing my own family’s death warrant?
Trapped.
I’m trapped.
Chapter Seventy-Five
Mariella
Istand under the spray of the shower in my old room at Carloso, my arms wrapped around myself. I couldn’t bring myself to step into Mateo’s room. It doesn’t feel like ours anymore. Not with this secret sitting like a stone in my chest.
I don’t even remember leaving Father’s house. I must have looked awful, because Dario and Fabio kept asking if I was okay. They assumed it was because of our Don… ourlateDon.
News of Gualtiero De Marco’s passing is spreading fast. They thought my father had told me, and I let them believe it.
Fatherdidreceive a call, probably to confirm exactly that, but he dismissed me like I was a servant before he took it. By now, he’s likely informed his conspirators, setting whatever comes next into motion.
The thought turns my stomach. I double over, dry heaving.
There’s nothing left, though. As soon as I was home and in my own space, I threw up what little remained of my breakfast.
I turn up the hot water and let it beat down on me, but it does nothing to ease the nausea or the boulder sitting on top of my shoulders.
