An Ugly Secret.

An Ugly Secret.
CHAPTER 74
SOFIA

The masked man still stood by the window, looking out silently with his back turned to me. I couldn't help but observe as his slick black hair caught the sunlight, the gentle wind blowing over it. The muscles of his broad shoulders tensed as he awaited a response, leaving me to wonder what his real face looked like.

I remained quiet, silently weighing his question in my mind. Then he began speaking again, his calm voice cutting through my thoughts.

“You don't know the kind of man you got yourself involved with, do you?” he asked, speaking in low tones. “Lucas is a dangerous man, and he's got his hands dirty in every kind of atrocity you can think of. Violence. Death. You name it. He once worked as an assassin for us back in the day. And oh, you do know he's got connections to one of the most notorious mafia groups in Italy, don't you? Have you ever heard of Unit 13?”

My breath hitched at the mention of Unit 13. Then something occurred to me. If he could speak of Unit 13 in this manner, then it meant one thing. He definitely wasn't part of the group.

“Unit 13 is one of the deadliest mafia groups in this country, if not the deadliest. Lucas has had many dealings with them in the past. You do know that if anything goes wrong between Lucas and Unit 13 while you're with him, you're going to be the main target, right?”

“And why is that so?” I asked, pretending not to understand what he was saying.

He laughed, shaking his head as he spoke.

“It's unfortunate that you really were kept in the dark about a lot of things. That's really sad,” he said, pausing to take a deep breath. “Unit 13 operates by a very deadly policy, and it's quite simple. They get to the hen through her chicks. They attack whoever is closest to their target and hold them ransom to lure their victim into a trap. Now imagine what would happen if you were with Lucas and he had a fallout with them.”

I felt boxed in, a knot forming in my throat and my chest tightening with emotion. He was absolutely right. Most of the time, Lucas had been too protective, and now it all made sense. He had been keeping me out of reach from Unit 13.

This man definitely knew so much about Lucas, and there was no reason for me to doubt anything he was saying. But I couldn't let him know that I already knew about Unit 13 and their methods. So I kept my mouth shut, absorbing everything he had to say.

The silence stretched between us for a long time, until I suddenly spoke. The words burst out before I could stop them.

“But why? Why are you telling me all this?” I asked, looking up at him. “Why do I have to be dragged into something I never wanted or asked to be part of?”

He said nothing as he slipped the mask back over his face and turned to face me.

“Giovanni, your father, owes me a task. Sort of a final payment, to be precise. And he has to pay, dearly.”

“A task? A final payment?” I asked, puzzled. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Giovanni has to pay dearly with his life,” he said, and I felt my blood go cold. “He has to die, but not by my hand. I won’t be doing the killing. That would be too easy. And there’s no fun in that.”

My eyes widened in shock.

“What?” I exclaimed. “You're going to kill Giovanni?”

“Like I said, there's no fun in killing him myself, so no, I won’t. But I have someone who's going to do it. And he's no other person than your dear husband, Lucas.”

Cold shivers ran down my spine as I stared at him in horror.

“But why?”

“Why does Lucas have to kill him? Oh, that's simple. He's always been the dirty boy, doing the dirty work. One more dirty job isn't going to hurt, don't you think?” he said, shrugging.

“No, that's not what I meant,” I said, raising my voice, tears gathering in my eyes. “Why do you have to kill him? What will you gain from his death?”

“Because it's a debt owed, young lady. And a debt owed must be paid,” he replied coldly.

“Please, Mr… whatever your name is,” I pleaded, breaking down in tears. “Please, leave us alone. Please.”

He said nothing as he walked back to the window, looking outside.

“It's what has to be done, Sofia.”

I flinched as he called my name for the first time since we started speaking. I stared at him for a long while, then pushed myself to make an odd request.

“I want to see your face,” I demanded, my voice firm.

He dismissed my request with a burst of laughter.

The door opened suddenly and Benedetta walked in, holding a tray in her hands. She placed it before me, and the hot aroma of rice and chicken sauce filled the room.

“I'm not hungry,” I said, pushing the food away.

“You're refusing your food?” the masked man asked, turning to face me. “Why is that?”

His phone began to ring before I could respond. He picked it up, pressing it to his ear while signaling Benedetta to keep a close eye on me.

“I don't trust you,” I said, turning to Benedetta as soon as the door clicked shut.

“You're not on my Christmas list either, Sofia,” she replied, chuckling. “You know, it was easy to find out who you were. I have an insider in Lucas’ penthouse, in case you weren't aware.”

I said nothing as I stared at her, completely speechless. She leaned closer, whispering into my ear.

“You're the daughter of the woman who destroyed my life, Sofia.”

I stared blankly at her, my thoughts tangled in my head as I tried to make sense of what she had just said.