Chapter 68 THE UNTOLD TRUTH
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LUCIANO
My fingers dug into the polished wood of the desk as I clutched my phone. My jaw tightening with each passing second. The absence of Adeline sending wave of loneliness through my whole body.
My patience had worn thin, my mind clouded with a dangerous mix of frustration and unease. The moment Christian answered, his voice was sharp and commanding.
“Get in here. Now.”
The call ended abruptly, leaving the room in an eerie silence. Outside the tall windows, the city lights flickered, oblivious to the storm brewing inside my mind. Why was she doing this? And the hatred in her eyes sent chills down my spine as I refused to remember how painful it was.
I turned away, inhaling deeply in an attempt to control the fury simmering beneath my composed exterior.
The door to my office burst open, and Christian strode in, his brow furrowed with concern. He had known that my summons meant trouble, but the sheer intensity in my eyes sent a wave of apprehension through him.
“What happened?” Christian asked, his voice laced with urgency.
I clenched my fists, the veins in my forearms visible beneath my skin. I turned to face my right-hand man, his expression unreadable yet undeniably tense.
“Why is Adeline doing this?” I demanded, my voice a dangerous growl.
“How did she find out about her father? About his and my past?”
Christian stiffened, caught completely off guard. His lips parted as if to respond, but for the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words.
“She knows?” he muttered, more to himself than to me. A heavy silence settled between us before Christian finally whispered, “How could Vladimir have come here?”
My gaze darkened, my jaw tightening at the mere mention of the name. Vladimir. The very thought of him being involved in this mess only added fuel to the fire burning within me. He was a child. A mere sixteen year old but he was sent to boarding and why I was not aware about him. His responsibility belonged to ……… Bianca and …… Leonardo.
Before either of us could continue our conversation, the door creaked open once again. The weight of an unspoken presence filled the room as Leonardo stepped inside, his movements deliberate, his gaze piercing.
He didn’t hesitate, didn’t offer a greeting. Instead, he cut straight to the heart of the matter.
“Someone is manipulating her,” Leonardo stated coldly.
“Someone who knows that Adeline is the key to her father’s power. Vladimir is young and reckless—he’s not in his senses. But Adeline… she’s a much bigger problem.”
I turned my head sharply, my eyes narrowing as I studied Leonardo’s expression. There was something about the way he spoke of Adeline, something that sent a ripple of unease through me and I did not like it.
“Stay out of this, Leonardo,” I warned, my tone carrying a clear edge.
But Leonardo merely scoffed, shaking his head.
“I am your brother, Luciano. That gives me the right to claim what belonged to Ricardo—not Adeline. She’s just an innocent, naive girl who doesn’t understand the weight of this legacy.”
Christian observed quietly, but his sharp gaze flicked toward Leonardo with suspicion. There was something off, something calculated in his words.
Before anyone could respond, the door swung open yet again, and the room filled with a familiar tension as more figures entered.
My mother. Angelina. Bianca. Isabella. Francesco.
Their presence only thickened the already suffocating atmosphere. Bianca crossed her arms, exhaling sharply as she studied the three men in the room.
“I don’t understand what’s wrong with my children,” she muttered, her voice carrying both frustration and concern.
“Who is manipulating them?”
Isabella, standing beside her, folded her hands together.
“Are they in danger? Could someone be threatening them?”
Francesco, ever the observer, studied the situation carefully before speaking.
“No,” he mused, his voice thoughtful.
“She doesn’t seem like someone who’s being threatened. She looks like a wounded lioness.”
I let out a long exhale, rubbing my temples as my mind raced with thoughts. I had known that something was wrong, but the more layers they uncovered, the deeper the mystery seemed to grow.
My gaze flicked back to Christian, my voice leaving no room for argument.
“I’m giving you one hour,” I said. “I want all the details on my desk by then.”
Christian gave a curt nod and immediately turned on his heel, his mind already working through possible leads.
As the door closed behind him, silence fell over the room once more. But this time, it was different. It was heavy, weighted by the unspoken truths lurking just beneath the surface.
I turned my attention back to Leonardo, his expression unreadable. He looked …… unusually concerned and frustrated.
“Stay away from this, Leonardo,” I repeated, my tone dangerously low.
But Leonardo merely smirked, tilting his head slightly.
“You still don’t see it, do you?” he murmured.
“This isn’t just about Adeline. This is about control. And whether you like it or not, I intend to make sure that control stays in the right hands.”
My eyes flickered with something unreadable—something darker.
“And whose hands would those be?”
Leonardo met my gaze without hesitation.
“Mine.”
A tense silence stretched between us, the air thick with unspoken threats. Leonardo had always wanted control and power and I knew, he could even hurt Adeline in this matter.
Before the conversation could escalate, Alessandra stepped forward, her voice calm yet firm.
“This family has already suffered enough division,” she said.
“Now is not the time to turn against each other.”
I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to push aside my growing anger. I knew she was right. But that didn’t mean I trusted Leonardo.
Not even for a second.
Turning away, I walked toward the window, my hands resting on the cool glass as I stared out at the city below. I had an hour.
An hour to figure out who was pulling the strings. An hour to prepare for whatever storm was coming.
And deep down, I knew one thing for certain.
This was only the beginning.
And something was coming …… big.