Chapter 86 COULD THIS BE TRUE?
••Luciana••
“Where are you taking me to?” I forced the words out when Marco kept dragging me deeper toward the dark hallway.
My voice sounded steadier than I actually felt.
I kept glancing around as we walked, hoping to see even the slightest sign of Roman or any of his men. But the hallway was empty and quiet, the music from the banquet hall already sounding distant behind us.
A chill crawled down my spine.
With everything I had heard about Marco Valerio, the knife strapped to my thigh could not save me from this devil in human form. Still, even if I knew that, I could not give myself in easily.
Not without a fight.
“I just want to show you something, princess,” he turned slightly and smirked at me. “As I said earlier.”
His grip on my arm was firm, almost mocking, like he already knew I could not escape.
After a few more steps, we arrived in front of a closed door. Marco reached into his pocket and pulled out a small access card. He slid it against the panel beside the door and it unlocked with a soft click. The door slowly opened.
I stepped inside cautiously.
Immediately my eyes began scanning the room. From the look of it, this seemed to be his private office.
The air inside smelled strongly of cigar smoke and alcohol. There were bottles scattered carelessly across the floor, some empty and some half full. A thick cloud of smoke still lingered in the room, and on the center table I saw a large tray overflowing with cigar ashes.
My gaze continued moving around the room until it landed on the wall.
Then my heart nearly stopped.
Pinned all across the wall were pictures. Pictures of me, and Roman.
My breath caught in my throat.
Oh my God.
He has been watching us all this while.
Before I could even gather my thoughts, his voice broke through my shock.
“Welcome to my private space, Luciana.”
I swallowed hard, trying to prepare myself for whatever his next move might be.
Marco walked further into the room and casually dragged out a chair. “You may now have your seat.”
But I did not sit. I simply stood there with my arms folded tightly across my chest. I shifted my stance slightly, positioning my feet the way I would if I needed to fight. If he wanted a fight, I was ready.
Marco stared at me for a moment. Then he burst into loud laughter.
“This is my territory,” he said slowly, his eyes darkening as he stepped closer. “And I’m the boss here.”
His voice dropped into a dangerous tone.
“So you follow my rules.” He stopped right in front of me.
“Rule one,” he continued, his voice suddenly sharp. “You do whatever the fuck I tell you to do.”
Before I could react, he grabbed my shoulders roughly and forced me down into the chair.
“Now you have your seat, bitch.”
The force of it made my body jolt. My butt hit the chair hard and pain shot up my spine, but this is not the situation to show weakness.
So I kept my face stern and expressionless, refusing to let him see any pain.
Marco walked slowly around the table and leaned against it casually. “Let’s get down to the subject matter,” he said.
Then he looked at me carefully. “You see… Andrian. Your former lover.”
The moment he said the name, It caused a spasm on my face. I hated that reaction.
Marco noticed the slight change in my face and smiled.
“I know you may have forgotten about him, given your little romance with Roman,” he continued, his tone mocking.
He paused for a moment before walking closer again.
Then he sat casually on the table in front of me. His fingers reached out and grabbed my chin, forcing my face upward.
“Rule two,” he said softly but firmly. “You look at me while I talk to you.”
I clenched my jaw but did not resist.
“You think I caused the death of Andrian,” he continued slowly. “But there is something you don’t know.”
His smile grew darker. “Something your Romeo hid from you.”
My stomach tightened.
“So I’ll do the honors and let you know.”
My eyes widened.
What the fuck is he talking about?
“He was the first to arrive at the scene of the accident that night, wasn’t he?” Marco asked calmly.
Then he paused.
“You didn’t bother to ask how he got there, did you?”
“Andrian called him that evening,” I shouted immediately. “So he would know.”
My voice trembled slightly as the memory surfaced.
“Even though he didn’t answer the calls,” I muttered quietly.
“I didn’t hear that,” Marco barked suddenly.
I stayed silent.
For a moment he just stared at me.
Then he stood up and walked toward a cabinet behind the table. He pulled out a thick file and returned to me.
Without warning, he scattered the contents across the table.
Papers. Documents. Photographs.
Everything spread before me.
Then he picked up one photo and held it in front of my face.
It showed him and Roman shaking hands.
“This was the night before that day,” Marco said calmly. “Your dear husband brought me a deal that involved your ex lover, his own brother.”
Then he began laughing again. Louder this time.
“This is bullshit,” I spat angrily. “If you expect me to believe this, you are really a joker.” My eyes burned with anger.
"It's no bullshit but the truth bitch." He shot back.
“This could have been any other day, asshole.”
Without thinking, I spat directly at his face. The saliva landed on his cheek.
For a moment the room went silent.
Marco slowly wiped his face with the back of his hand.
The expression on his face darkened into the deadliest frown I had ever seen, but just as quickly, that frown dissolved into another strange laugh.
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“Let’s make this more interesting,” he said.
He tapped the screen. Then turned the phone toward me. A video began playing.
My heart nearly stopped as I saw Roman on the screen. He was standing in a dim room, and across from him stood Marco. Roman handed him a briefcase. Then his voice came through clearly from the recording.
“It’s a done deal. I don’t want to hear about this anymore.”
My breathing became uneven.
Marco paused the video and looked at me with satisfaction.
“Your husband came to me with an offer,” he explained calmly. “He wanted his brother gone.”
He tapped the phone again, letting the video play a little more.
“The briefcase was full of money,” Marco continued. “Payment for the job.”
My mind refused to accept what I was hearing.
“Since Roman was becoming the new heir, he wanted it all to himself,” Marco added smoothly. “And with the added benefit of getting you as well…”
He shrugged.
“He didn’t want you to know the truth. So he turned me into the enemy.”
“No… no… no,” I whispered weakly.
I shook my head slowly.
“That can’t be true.”
But Marco’s words had already begun crawling into my mind like poison.
“Believe me or not,” he said calmly. “If you connect the dots, you will find the missing piece.”
I sat there in the chair, completely frozen.
Tears began streaming down my face before I even realized it.
Memories flooded my mind all at once. Roman arriving first at the accident scene and telling me to run. The way he avoided certain questions after we got married.
My chest tightened painfully.
Could this be true? Could Roman really have done something like that?
I stared blankly at the scattered papers on the table while my tears continued falling.