Chapter 117: Chapter-117. (The Romano’s).
The silence that followed Matteo’s words was suffocating.
Only the crackling of the fire along with sound of everyone’s breathing echoed in the whole room.
Emma shifted in my arms clearly not liking the tension in the air. Her little fingers tightening on my sleeve.
I pulled her closer as if holding her was the only thing which would make me calm while watching all this drama unfolding.
Edward sat rigid, his shoulders were straight, but his face was grim.
Sophia stared at him for a long while, disbelief etched into every line of her face. She looked as if someone had just stolen the ground from beneath her feet.
Finally, she found her voice, though it came out in a shaky whisper, "Why did not you tell me, Edward? Why would you hide something this... this huge?"
Edward’s hand twitched against his knee, his lips pressing together before he replied, "Because I wanted us to live without it. Without this name, without its weight. I thought I could leave it behind."
Matteo leaned forward slightly, the firelight highlighting the sharpness and the slyness in his eyes. "Leave it behind?" His voice was smooth but biting, mocking almost.
"You don’t leave behind what you are. You were born into this, cousin. The blood in your veins carries our family’s name...The Romano’s name whether you shout it from rooftops or whisper it into the ear of deads."
Sophia’s chest rose and fell quickly, her breaths shallow. "So all this," she gestured weakly around the lounge, to the shelves, the fire, the heavy air of authority, "all of this is yours?"
Edward’s silence was louder than confirmation. He stared into the fire, jaw locked.
Matteo chuckled, low and humorless, before leaning back in his chair, "Not just this, my dear."
I frowned at his words, that’s when Sophia voice echoed in the room, "What do you mean by not just this? Say clearly." at last, her voice carried a sharp edge to cut through the tension.
His eyes glinted with something unreadable as he replied, "The estate, of course is his...but not only that."
Sophia leaned forward staring into his eyes, "Then what else?"
Matteo’s lips curved, as if he enjoyed dragging it out. "Lands. Businesses. Influence that stretches farther than you can imagine."
The words struck us like a stone dropping into the still water. Sophia stared at him for a while before she pointed at Edward as she spoke, "Edward? You’re saying Edward owns all that?"
"Not owns," Matteo corrected smoothly, pausing long enough to let the silence press against me.
Then, in a voice soft but heavy, he added, "He would have owned if and only if he would have stayed to inherit everything our family had."
The words crashed over like cold water. My fingers dug into Emma’s back as I stared at Edward, and Sophia.
Sophia’s lips parted, and her eyes glistened with something unspoken. Maybe hurt, or betrayal, "And you never thought I deserved to know?"
She took in a deep breath as she stared at her hands while rambling out, "I know it was your decision to tell, but...but, you could have atleast hinted about it. You just acted like acted like a normal man who came into the city to earn while parents were in their hometown."
Her eyes started to sting badly as her voice shook at the end.
Edward turned toward her finally, his expression softening, though it did little to ease the storm in her eyes.
He took in a deepbreath before his eye met with hers, "I know....I should have told you, but when I myself want to separate then why would I have introduced into it. I didn’t want this world touching you, Sophia. I didn’t want its danger, its greed, its shadows staining your life. I thought if I stayed away, if I buried it, I could keep you safe."
Her voice cracked as she whispered, "Safe...from who?"
Edward’s face hardened, a flicker of pain flashing in his eyes before he leaned forward, his voice quiet but firm. "Safe from them. From all of this. I never wanted you pulled into my...mafia family."
Sophia’s jaw dropped on the floor, so does mine. Her eyes widened at him, as her lips trembled as if she was trying to say something, but couldn’t.
Matteo laughe echoed in the surrounding making everyone’s gaze darte to him. The sound was smooth and sharp like glass breaking.
His eyes moved between Edward and Sophia, as he smiled, but it did not reach up to his eyes, "And yet, here she is. Here all of you are."
His gaze swept briefly over me and Emma, lingering for a second too long before returning to Edward. "You can’t hide forever. Did you really think you could outrun your bloodline? See now, you are here in front of me."
Sophia’s hand gripped the arm of her chair, her knuckles pale as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat, "But why now? You could have easily hid this fact for much longer, but why did you brought us here?"
Edward didn’t answer immediately. He stared at the floor, shadows covering his face. When he did speak, his voice was rough. "It’s because of what Elena told us. The kidnapping, about that guy who kept her, I searched about it and found something."
"What?" This time I spoke up getting all their attention which made me chew the inside of my cheek before Edward replied, "I...or should I say we might know the people who were chasing you and Dave Morris."
That’s when Matteo leaned back, folding one leg over the other as his gaze met with mine, "It was not you they were behind, but the Morris family."
My heart skipped a beat, as my mind processed his words.
What did he mean by they were behind the Dave’s family? And more specifically why?
I stared at my empty hands as my mind replayed those past memories. Caroline’s blackmailer.
The car chase. The accident. Everything started to point at one blank which could be filled by one person. Matteo freaking Romano.