CHAPTER 18
JULIA

I sat down on a bench and waited for Romeo to show up. I’d gotten a frantic call from him saying we needed to talk as soon as I could pull away. So I left Matteo with Enrico and my uncle, making my way to the park as fast as I could. I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about the conversation I had with his mother; if that was something Luisa wanted me to keep secret or not. But the sound in Romeo’s voice frightened me, and I was anxiously awaiting his arrival.

“Julia.”

“Romeo.”

I stood up and watched him approach me before we both sat down on the bench.

“What’s wrong? You sound panicked. It isn’t like you,” I said.

“I need you listen. And I need you to keep an open mind, okay?” he asked.

“What’s going on?”

“Julia, your uncle’s setting me up.”

I blinked several times before I furrowed my brow.

“For what?” I asked.

“For the death of the gun runners.”

“So you didn’t kill them?” I asked.

“Let me rephrase that. I think he’s planting evidence to make the police look my way.”

“So you did kill them.”

“Julia. I—”

He groaned and put his face in his hands and worry started to bubble in my gut.

“Okay, okay. My uncle’s planting evidence on you. Why?” I asked.

“To get me out of the way so he can take over the Martine empire.”

“Have you been drinking?” I asked.

He smelled lightly of scotch and I wondered how much he’d had before he came here.

“Look, I went to go talk to a trusted friend of mine. Someone who worked alongside my father for years. He has proof that Stefano has orchestrated everything to get to this point. So he can take over my family’s business.”

“What would there be to orchestrate?” I asked.

“The death of my father,” he said, taking a deep breath. “And the death of yours.”

I felt my blood run cold in my veins.

“You’re accusing my uncle of killing his own brother?”

“Julia, my father and your father were having backdoor discussions on peace between the two families. Your father told mine about Matteo. He said that the future generation of both families deserved a better life than the ones they’d been given. My father knew about his grandson, Julia. He was reaching out to broker peace with your father so we could make things better for our son.”

I scooted away from Romeo when he reached out for me.

“Where are you getting this from?” I asked breathlessly.

“Stefano’s been working behind the scenes, Julia. My father? He was nowhere near the site of the accident. My trusted source was with him when the accident occurred. But Stefano was in a restaurant two blocks from where the accident occurred.”

“I know,” I said. “He was the one who went running after my father’s body!”

I shot up from the bench and backed away from him.

“Julia, none of this is what it seems. And it’s hard for me to process as well. But Stefano’s out to frame me for the murder of—”

“There’s no framing, Romeo. You killed them!”

“Not out of spite, Julia.”

I felt sick to my stomach as tears rose to my eyes.

“Stefano’s encouraging you to spend time with me so he can get close to me and take me out.”

“No. My uncle’s goal is to take you under his damn wing, put old grudges to rest, and unite our families for Matteo’s sake!”

“No, it’s not. It never has been, Julia. Your uncle killed his own brother to take control of the Bianchi empire. And now that I want peace so I can have my family, he’s using my own family as a pawn against me to take me out and get what he wants. He’s power-hungry, and I have to get you and Matteo to safety. We have to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said breathlessly. “How dare you. How in the world could you accuse my uncle of killing his own flesh and blood?”

“Think about it, Julia. Who was the first one to scream that my family was responsible for your father’s death.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. Your family did kill both of my brothers!”

“But we didn’t kill your father. Who was the one in your family responsible for all of the bloody work your father did up until a certain point?”

“Stefano was only doing what needed to be done.”

“Who is the one sitting on the Bianchi throne right now?” he asked.

“That doesn’t mean he killed his damn brother, Romeo!”

I clenched my fists at my sides. My nostrils were flaring with anger. My mind was spinning a thousand miles a second, and I felt like I was going to be sick.

“You killed them,” I said.

“You have to get past that, Julia. You have to see the bigger picture here. You and my son are in danger.”

“He’s my son.”

“Just because you won’t let me near him doesn’t mean I’m not responsible for him.”

“Yes, it does,” I exclaimed.

Before I could think, I cracked my hand across his cheek and his head flew off to the side. I stood there, stunned, rooted to my spot. His stoic blue eyes slowly panned back around, and my stomach dropped to my toes. His cheek was a fiery red against his tanned skin, and my jumbled thoughts suddenly fell into place. My father was working on peace for Matteo?

“Your uncle is a brutal killer, whether you want to admit it or not,” Romeo said as he dabbed at his lip. “That man has slaughtered more innocent lives than my father and yours combined. You talk about wanting to keep him from me because I neutralized a very real threat to my family, yet you willingly leave Matteo in the hands of someone whose past is saturated with red. For fuck’s sake, Julia, you just said he ‘did what needed to be done’.”

I shook my head from side to side and wrapped my arms around myself. I couldn’t believe any of this was happening, and I didn’t know which one of the two men was telling me the truth. Did I believe my family or the man I loved? “Get your head out of the clouds, Julia, and look at what’s going on around you. You aren’t seeing the reality because you want to believe the best in everyone. Your uncle will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He’ll kill me, and he’ll kill you, and I know that because he killed his brother.”

“He didn’t kill my father,” I said as tears flooded my cheeks.

“He did. And then he spun it onto my family and that’s what killed mine. He wants me out of the way so he can head the largest criminal syndicate in all of New York City. And if you want to protect Matteo, you need to open your eyes.”

I felt my hand trembling. I wanted to slap him again. I was nauseous, and I didn’t want to stay in the park any longer. I didn’t want to be around Romeo, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be exposed the way I was. I grabbed my purse and stormed off, my mind refusing to process the information Romeo had just spewed at me.

There was no way in hell my uncle was capable of what Romeo was saying.