Shadows Of Trust

Shadows Of Trust
Marco
Marco stood on the balcony of his office, knuckles white around a glass of untouched scotch. The cold air from the air conditioner beat against his nostrils.

His thoughts were elsewhere, dragging him back to everything that had happened, the burner phone, the look in Sofia’s eyes when he had foolishly accused her of cheating on him.

He had been kicking himself for days now over that mishap that he had made.

"I’ll go to Kristoff if I have to."

He hadn’t slept since.

There was a part of him, dark and primal that wanted to lock every door in the estate and never let her see sunlight again.

But another part, the one that had held her the night she killed a man to protect Alyssa, was unraveling under the weight of his own guilt.

He’d built a fortress around his heart, and now Sofia lived inside it like a ghost he couldn’t reach.

A knock sounded, distracting him from his thoughts.

“Come in,” he said, his voice rough.

Giovanni entered, sharp in a navy shirt rolled to the elbows. He looked at Marco like he already knew this conversation was going to be hard.

“You called me at 3AM,” he said, dropping into a leather chair. “Which usually means someone’s dead, or you wish they were.”

Marco didn’t answer. He turned and shut the balcony door.

“I want a full security sweep, new men, new codes, new equipment. Every access point. Every camera.”

Giovanni raised a brow. “Because a woman snuck out to the hospital?”

“That woman is my wife. And Kristoff was waiting for her there.” Marco's voice cut through the room like ice. “That’s not a coincidence, Gio. That’s a fucking breach.”

Giovanni exhaled. “You need to be rational, Marco.”

Marco knew he was right but as he had found out he wasn't rational when it came to Sofia.

“I’m going to ask once,” Giovanni said. “Do you still trust her?”

Marco looked away, jaw clenching.

“She lied about where she was going to and also lied about something else.”

“She’s scared, Marco. Maybe more scared of you than him right now.”

“That’s not good enough,I keep her on surveillance because it’s the only way to protect her, and she keeps defying that. Defying me.” Marco snapped.

Giovanni leaned forward, steepling his fingers.

“You’re not mad she defied you. You’re mad it hurt.”

Marco didn’t speak. His silence was its own confession.

Giovanni went on, gentler this time. “You’re not Nina, Marco. And Sofia’s not your punishment for what happened to her.”

Marco flinched, the name striking him like a wound reopened.

“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t bring Nina into this.”

But Giovanni didn’t stop. “You’ve got one foot in the grave with her, and one hand on Sofia’s throat trying to stop her from becoming the same story.”

Marco turned away, muscles tense.

“Did you ask her why she went to the hospital?” Giovanni changed the topic, knowing that his brother was hurting.

“She’s pregnant with my child.” Marco relayed.

“Are you sure the child is yours?”
Marco's expression shut Giovanni up.

“Sorry, I'm just looking out for you. My bad.”

They kept silent watching each other.

“I can’t lose them,” he said finally, voice low. “Not Sofia. Not Alyssa. Kristoff doesn’t just want leverage, he wants ruin. I’ve seen him do it before.”

“So protect them,” Giovanni said. “But don’t destroy what you’re trying to save.”

Later that night, Marco stood in the hallway outside Sofia’s room. The light was off, so he assumed she must have fallen asleep.

He raised his hand and almost knocked.

But he didn’t.

He walked away instead, the burn of silence like acid in his chest.