Chapter 152

Chapter 152
“It just doesn't add up,” Rafael muttered, squinting while flipping through the latest report. His office, usually his citadel of control and neatness, felt oppressively tight tonight. 

The soft light from the desk lamp cast an orange glow across the mountain of files laid out before him, each filled with lost opportunities and misfiled papers, or security breaches-minor and safely treated in isolation, it turned his stomach upside down when put together.

Somebody was setting him up, sabotaging him.

He leaned back in his chair; the fingers of one hand began a staccato beat upon its armrest. "It's aninsider….” That hung in the air, a bitter thought, for the pattern, if it continued, seemed already too deliberate to be coincidence.

It was the sharp knocking that brought him out of that mood. Without uttering one word, Gabriel appeared something out of his face now.

“Sir, another problem," he said, laying a new file on the desk. "The deal with the investors from Milan-it fell through. They cited concerns about security breaches."

Rafael's jaw tightened. "This is the third deal this month. Did they give any details?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Only general mentions of internal instability."

Rafael's hand on the file closed tightly. "Thank you, Gabriel. That'll do for now.”

Gabriel stuttered, seemingly wanting to continue talking, but something in Rafael's eyes silenced him. He nodded and left the room without a noise.

Rafael exhaled deliberately. “No streak of ill-luck can cause this. Someone actually is trying to bring my business down. Whom?”

His thoughts were suddenly cut by his phone on the desk. He peered at the screen: Bernice.

With the least hesitation, he picked up and said, "Bernice?

Her voice was tight, strained. "Rafael, there's still no news about Luca. And Mia… she's not improving. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

The vulnerability in her voice sliced through him. "I'm coming. Stay put."

He hung up, grabbed his coat, and strode out of the office. The reports could wait. Right now, Bernice needed him.

She paced the living room, her arms tightly wrapped around her, holding on for dear life. The shoulders hurt from such clenching, and the brain simply couldn't help but retreat into those worst-case scenarios: Luca was still missing, Mia grew weaker by the day, and she could do nothing to stop either.

She heard the door open and turned to see Rafael entering, his presence commanding as always. Yet tonight, there was a different energy around him—a mixture of concern and something deeper, something she couldn’t quite place.

“Rafael,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

He crossed the room in three swift strides, his dark eyes locked onto hers. “You’re spiraling. Sit down.”

“I can't," she snapped, frustration on a keen edge underscoring her tone. "It's as though I cannot breathe, and not knowing every second about Luca and her condition just not improving at all-it is all so terribly too much."

He reached out and took her shoulders, firm yet soft in his hands. "We'll find Luca, and Mia's going to make it. But you have to take a breath, Bernice-you can't help them when you break.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she let herself lean into him for a moment, the calm of his presence reassuring. "It's just-everything feels like it's crumbling. And being here, with you.it's stirring up things I thought I'd buried."

His hands remained on her shoulders until he drew back slowly, his face impassive. "We have been through worse. We will get through this too-together.”

She took another step away, hugging herself again. "I'm scared of what that means. Together. It's not just about the kids anymore, is it?"

Rafael couldn't reply because, just at the moment, a knock filled the space.

"Mrs. Bernice," a butler announced, entering the room. "Your cousin Liam is here."

Bernice stiffened. "Liam?"

Rafael lifted an eyebrow but didn't say a word, looking from her to the butler.

"I'll handle it," she said. "Thank you."

Rafael hovered. "I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

Bernice nodded and then turned back to the butler. "Please show Liam to the sitting room."



Liam was standing in the living room  with his hands in his pockets, his keen eyes drinking in the majesty of Rafael's mansion. He came around when Bernice entered. He offered her a small tight smile.

"Liam," she greeted in surprise. "What brings you here?”

"I was in Rome on business and heard you were back," Liam said, his tone light, but his eyes serious. "Thought I'd check in."

She gestured to a seat, taking one herself opposite him. "I appreciate it, but you really didn't have to come all this way.

Liam's eyes slightly narrowed. "Didn't I? You left Florence without a word, and now you're living here, with Rafael, after everything that happened?”

Bernice shifted uncomfortably. "It's not what you think."

"Oh?" Liam leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "Then tell me what it is, because from where I'm sitting, this just seems like an attempt at reconstruction of something best left in the past.”

"I'm here for the kids," she replied firmly. "Mia's sick, and Luca is missing. Rafael has the resources to help. That's all this is."

Liam cocked his head, looking at her. "And you expect me to believe that?"

"It's the truth," she insisted, though her voice shook. "Rafael and I aren't… we're not like that anymore."

Liam's gaze pegged hers. "You keep saying that, but do you believe it? It sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself as much as me."

With one swift action, she was up off the couch, pacing. "Why does it matter? I focus on my children, not Rafael, not the past.”

Still standing, Liam was soft and even relentless. "It matters because I care about you, and I know how easily you get pulled back into something familiar when you're vulnerable."

"I'm not vulnerable," she snapped. "I do what I have to do for my children."

"And what happens when Rafael decides he wants more?" Liam pushed. "What happens when old feelings surface?”

"They won't," she said, though her heart betrayed her with a sudden, sharp pang of doubt. "We've both moved on."

"Have you?" Liam's voice gentled, but his words struck with bruising force. "Or are you just telling yourself that because it's easier than facing the truth?”

Bernice ceased to pace, swinging to face him. "I know what I'm doing."

Liam stepped closer. "I'm not here to fight with you. I'm here to remind you to be careful. Rafael isn't just anyone. He's your ex husband, and that makes him dangerous."

“I can handle it," she whispered.

“Maybe," Liam conceded. "But don't lose yourself in the process.”

It filled the silence with what needed saying-the tension hanging so thick in the air, pressed between them. Liam let out a deep breath, laying his hand on her shoulder. "Be careful, Bernice. For your sake. For the kids' sake."

Slowly, she nodded, really slow, her resolve slipping.

Deep down, however, she was not very convinced how much longer she was capable of honoring that promise.