I gawk at him.

"You've seen his pictures, the same one you stared at longer than the rest in my room," Elio softly says.

My mind fails to wrap around it. The guy who was present in almost every picture, the blue-eyed one I concluded to be his cousin, was his brother!

A ghost of a smile appears on his face. "I'm the secret unknown son."

I stare at him with my mouth agape. "No!" I gasp and back away. "For real?" I shake my head. "B-but how's that even possible!"

"Ciro was four years older than Kira, the Mariano Cosca's eldest son. He was the one who was supposed to take over everything and become the capo. My parents trained him extensively ever since he was a kid."

The pain in his voice breaks my heart and I don't even know what to say. Elio gazes down at our joint hands.

"The chance of me reaching this point was non-existent. About five months before giving birth to me, my father spread a rumor about my mother, claiming she was ill and had left for her treatment along with Kira. In a private hospital we own in Germany I was born. We stayed for over six months while Dad and Ciro lived in Sicily. She took me to Rome once the house and the caregivers were chosen and ready, and left me before returning to Sicily with Kira."

"But why?" I gape at him.

"In my father's opinion, if anything would've happened to Ciro, Kira was there to take over everything... he was so certain no one would even dream about harming his kids he was convinced I wasn't needed for the Cosca..." his voice trails down.

After long beats of silence, Elio glances at me. "He hated this life, Cerise. He hated Ciro and Kira had to go through the same hell he did, but as the capo, he had responsibilities he couldn't neglect. Though when it came to me, he saw it as an opportunity. A chance to give one of his children a clean life... one he wished he had. Away from all the violence, murder, and everything wrong and illegal. He wanted to give me a life he wished he could've had and given to Ciro and Kira."

Elio's voice grows hoarse, thick with grief, squeezing my heart painfully as I watch him gaze out of the window. His Adam's apple bobs as he presses his lips to a thin line.

"He didn't care his men would chastise him for making me an outsider, yet completely aware of everything. He risked being called a rat, the capo who broke Omerta. He used his entire power to hide me from Cosa Nostra and he did. My father had a vision, a dream of peaceful life and he wanted to accomplish it through me... if I got the chance to have a normal life, it'd be like he's got that chance; that's how he used to tell me."

I inch closer to him in a feeble and uncertain attempt at consoling him and he immediately pulls me to himself. I lay my hand on his chest as I nestle my head in the crook of his neck.

"I know he was a bad man... but he was a great father," he says quietly, resting his cheek on top of my head.

"I'm sorry you lost him..." and the life he wished you had. Even thinking about it is devastating, Luigi Mariano moved mountains to give one of his sons a normal life, yet here he is.

Elio's arms tighten around me, flushing me against his warm body.

"He started a business in Rome as an excuse and visited me whenever he could while pretending he's checking on that. For reassurance, Marco's family moved to Rome and they visited me every day, until Marco's father was killed and they returned to Sicily, leaving me alone with my three caregivers and bodyguards. I learned English and Russian from them, they were specifically there to teach me."

"And you learned Italian in Rome... that's why everyone thinks you're Roman?"

"Yeah, I rarely visited Sicily, some birthdays and Christmases, just a selected few."

"Wasn't living away from your parents hard?"

"It was," he answers, playing with my hair. "I think I was around five when my dad explained everything as best as he could to a kid. Of course, I missed them... sometimes I even hated him for keeping me away, but as I got older and he told me more, the more grateful I became."

"It still must've been really hard," I mumble, drawing idle circles on his chest.

He hums. "It wasn't that bad. He enrolled me in an English boarding school in Switzerland... my mom rarely visited, but he, Kira, and Ciro did; he and Kira came every weekend until... Kira was killed. I guess I never really knew Kira the way siblings are supposed to know each other... I never got the chance," his voice is barely above a whisper.

I crane my neck and meet his eyes clouded with pain. Timidly, I lay my palm on his cheek and when he leans into my touch, I gain confidence. "You all deserved so much better and way more than what life gave you."

Solemnly he nods, his palm planting atop my hand, and leads it to his lips, pressing a long kiss to the center of my palm.

My heart pounds as I watch him closely, noting every little detail of his handsome face.

"When my father got captured, my mom wanted to bring me back but he didn't allow it and warned me to be more careful... I didn't even know what I was supposed to be careful about. I was nineteen, reckless and arrogant, a spoiled rich kid who thought he rules the world."

"Which college did you go to?" I ask curiously.

Wicked gleam sparks in his chestnut eyes, his lips twitch to a smirk. "Harvard."

"What!" I back away from him.

He laughs. "We were in different faculties; I was in engineering and three years ahead of you." Elio pulls me closer to himself, his fingers lightly dragging down my neck and tracing my collarbone. "I'm sure you would've remembered me if we'd crossed paths, tesorino," he mischievously adds.

I want to roll my eyes and reply with a witty remark, but my mind is too dazed with his hot breath falling on my bare skin, tingling me, heat pooling in my core. "If John Harvard finds out you're one of the people who graduated from there, his ghost will have a heart attack."

He laughs, shaking his head. "Touché." His arms snake around my waist pulling me to his chest, he leaves hot kisses down the length of my neck. "But if things were different and we had met under any other circumstances... I'm sure we would've grown close to each other, maybe even closer than now," he says the last part so softly I barely hear him over the pounding of my heart.

"I wish things were different too," I breathe out. A small part of me knows it's a lie, but the idea's nice.

If things were different, his girlfriend never would've been killed and he wouldn't have even noticed me... we never would've been able to know each other the way we do now. We've seen each other at our worst.

For the first time, I acknowledge the small part of me that's happy for getting to know Emiliano Mariano.

Long moments of silence stretch past us as I stay on Elio's lap and he rests his forehead on my shoulder.

"When I started MBA... Ciro and Dad were so happy and proud... we all thought we'd won. I was entering a world far away from this dark and twisted one. No one knew a boy named Emiliano living seas away is the Luigi Mariano's son. My father even planned on how to help me start my own business, free from any traces of Cosa Nostra... I don't think I'd ever seen him that happy."

Mortifying envy stings my senses. Despite being a monster, a murderer, Luigi Mariano might have been one of the best fathers.

My dad was supposedly a good man, the one who stands and fights for justice, yet he was a horrendous father.

The irony.

Even though I lived with him under the same roof, I never received the fraction of affection Elio's dad showed him from a distance.

I wonder what I did to deserve a man like Vincent Campbell to be my father... one who's incapable of giving a shit about his child.

I shove aside the thoughts. No use wasting my time on matters I have no way of controlling or changing. Instead, I snuggle closer to Elio and focus on him.

"The reports about my father's death are wrong. He escaped prison."

Astound, my mouth hangs open as my eyes widen.

"About a week after he escaped, something happened... I still don't know exactly what, but the Russians were involved and so were the cops aware my dad would be there... some sort of conflict, or maybe a fake one dragged my father and Ciro to the location... a fight ensued and..." he releases a deep shaky breath. "They were both shot to death that night."

Holy shit! Same night! I suppress my gasp as I wrap my arms around him. "I'm so sorry."

"The same man who killed Kira planned the entire ordeal, killed them in the middle of the fight, and got away."

"Oh my God," I breathe out.

As if losing his father and brother wasn't horrible enough, his entire life turned upside down. Years of effort, enduring the hardships of living far away from his family, his father's dreams and hopes, all were shattered with just the pull of a trigger and two stupid bullets.

He had the chance to have a normal life, live like any ordinary man... and that guy—no, monster—took it away from him.

"The responsibility of our clan fell on my shoulders that night. The Morozov never would've accepted Pietro's father to take over. Money says the final word in Cosa Nostra. If my uncle became the capo, they would've backed out, and in no way my mom and uncle could've managed the associates demanding their usual share of the money. I had no choice... I came here for the funeral. It was all a show, to tell everyone in Cosa Nostra the Marianos are nowhere near done. That day they found out Luigi had a son named Elio. Eventually, they found out my full name and that was it. I was bound to Cosa Nostra for the rest of my life."

At last, Elio meets my eyes. No words can describe how terrible I feel for what happened to him, to his family, and unknowingly the things I've said to him that have probably thrown salt to his wounds.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, letting my fingers move through his soft curls before resting on his cheek. "I wish I had the power to change what happened. You all deserved so much better."

An intense detestation towards the man I've never even met sparks in me. "Whoever did this to you and your family deserves a fate worse than death."

He watches me with an unreadable expression.

"Let me help you avenge. I can help you track him down-"

A sad smile arches his lips before he interrupts me. "No, Cerise."

My shoulders droop. "Is it because you think I'll jeopardize it?"

He sighs, shaking his head. "No, luce mia." Cupping my cheek, he kisses my forehead. "Quite the contrary. I don't want this to taint your soul. Let me protect you from this one, please. Don't ask me to explain more than I already have. Just this once, let me do something right, let me keep you safe from the truths of this matter, per favore," Elio murmurs pleadingly.

Perplexed out of my mind, solely because of the desperation lacing his words, I give up with a nod.

He kisses the corner of my mouth, making my heart summersault as he whispers, "Thank you."

I gulp and close my eyes, my cells hum as his hand slides down to the nape of my neck, bringing me closer to him. His lips hover over mine. With each inhale, my chest brushes his, though he doesn't close the small gap.

My skin tingles, fire replacing my blood.

"I trust you, Elio." The words stream past my mouth without a thought. Somehow it feels fitting to confess, even though it's something I've just come to realize.

He shared one of the darkest moments of his life with me... I can be vulnerable too. He inspires me to not be so on guard and frightened all the time.

Elio incites emotions in me I've never felt before. It's exhilarating and electrifying, as much as it's terrifying and daunting.

"Che cosa mi stai facendo?" [What are you doing to me?] he breathlessly says under his breath, sounding hoarse.

At last, he captures my lips with his soft ones, kissing me painstakingly slowly.

Fireworks, ten thousand times stronger than usual flare up in me, fluttering my heart, bringing every cell to life. Bursts of color, hope, and everything good bloom in me as his lips move in sync with mine. I'm gravitating towards him, body and soul.

Scary and exciting.

Wrong and right.

I'll be damned if my emotions get the best of me... but I fear I've already jumped down the gates opening to hell.

And holy shit, no one ever said burning can be so damn sweet and pleasurable.

Elio breaks the kiss, panting; he rests his forehead on mine. "Tell me what you want?"

I cling to his shirt. "You. I want all of you."

A groan slips from him. "Penso," [I think] he breathes out as his lips find my neck, leaving starved sloppy kisses down my neck.

I moan and arch my back. His hands feel every inch of me, from my neck to my back, my breasts, and even down to my thighs. His movements are frenzied like he can't get enough of me.

Elio's darkening eyes find mine. "Mi sto innamorando di te," [I'm falling in love with you] he gruffly says and crashes his lips on mine, snatching my breath away as he kisses me ravenously like his life depends on it.

Lightheaded, and blissfully dazed I kiss him with as much intensity as I can muster. A fire ignites inside me, burning me, filling me with a completely new sensation... one that feels too good.

Carefully, he stands up, pulling me along, keeping his arms securely around me.

My fingers tangle in his hair, our lips are sealed, matching every move, as our bodies mold and move together. His hands press me against him, all of my soft parts meeting his hard muscles. His hardened shaft pokes me, making me more desperate.

Every inch of my body tingles, and my core throbs. My body grows hotter as my hands feel his back's well-built muscles, flexing with the movements of his arms.

He breaks the kiss, breathing heavily. "At any point if you want me to stop just tell me, okay?"

"Okay." As if that will ever happen.

❈ ☯︎ ❈

Hmm 👀 any thoughts on who murdered over half of the Marianos? And any speculations on why Elio didn't tell Cerise who the guy is?

Also, do you think he made the right choice for hiding who the killer is? Or do you think he should've said it and hiding it was wrong?

Anyyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, comment your thoughts, I'd love to hear your opinions on it, vote if you enjoyed it or if you felt bad for poor Elio, pressing the star button will make him happy (lol jk).

Thanks for reading ^.^

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡♡♡