Chapter 4 – THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

“Mr. Romano,” I gasped, dropping the skillet.

Gabriel leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Beside him stood a man I recognized from the news. Matteo Rossi. The head of a rival family.

“Get your things, Natalie,” Gabriel rasped. “We can’t stay here.”

“Daddy!” Lily launched herself into his arms. Gabriel winced but held her tight.

“You brought Rossi?” I asked, terrified.

“Raymond bought my men,” Gabriel said grimly. “Matteo owes me a life debt. Right now, he’s the only one I can trust.”

Matteo looked at me with cold, dead eyes. “The girl and the maid go to my compound. You and I go hunting, Gabriel.”

“No,” I said, stepping forward. I held up the photograph and the birth certificate. “You don’t need to hunt blindly. Look at this.”

Gabriel took the papers. His dark eyes scanned the birth certificate.

The betrayal on his face was agonizing to watch.

“A son,” Gabriel whispered. “My brother has a ten-year-old son with my fiancée.”

“Cassandra stole my mom’s bracelet,” Lily added, her voice small. “She said it belongs to her now.”

Gabriel’s jaw tightened. The grief in his eyes turned into pure, cold fury.

“Matteo,” Gabriel said softly. “Change of plans. We aren’t hiding.”

“What do you need?” Matteo asked.

Gabriel looked at me. “Natalie. I need you to do something incredibly dangerous. I need you to go back to the mansion.”

I swallowed hard. “Why?”

“Because,” Gabriel said, handing me a heavy gold key. “Raymond keeps his private ledger in the floorboards of the study. If we get that, the Commission will execute him themselves.”

“I’ll do it,” I said.

Gabriel touched my cheek. It was the first time he had ever crossed that line. “Be careful.”

I nodded. But as I turned to leave, Lily grabbed my hand and slipped something into my palm.

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