23. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Daniella

The night is heavy with silence. I sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, my mind a chaotic swirl of emotions.

The events of the day have left me feeling numb, yet beneath the surface, there’s a storm brewing. I can’t believe how quickly everything has unraveled and how deeply the deception has cut me.

A soft knock on the door breaks the silence. I don’t respond, but the door opens anyway, and Renee steps in, holding a tray with dinner on it. The sight of food only makes me feel sick.

“Hey,” she says softly, her voice filled with concern. “I thought you might be hungry.”

“I’m not,” I reply flatly, not looking at her. The weight of betrayal is too much to bear, and the sight of her, someone I once considered a friend, now feels like a cruel joke.

Renee sets the tray down on the bedside table and sits beside me. “Dani, please. You need to eat something.”

“I don’t need anything from you,” I snap, finally turning to face her. The anger in my voice surprises even me, but I can’t hold it back. “You and your brother have been deceiving me all this time. How could you?”

Renee’s eyes widen with hurt, but she quickly composes herself. “I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be. But you need to understand—”

“Understand what?” I interrupt, my voice rising. “That you’ve both been lying to me? That you’ve been watching me, manipulating me? How long, Renee? How long have you been playing this game?”

She takes a deep breath, her eyes pleading with me to listen. “Since the beginning, Dani. Since Jeremy started working for Massimo.”

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. The mention of Jeremy’s name is like salt in a wound that will never heal. “What do you mean?”

Renee sighs and begins to explain. “Jeremy was working for Massimo for a long time. Massimo sent him to spy on the Durettis, to gather information and feed it back to him. But Jeremy wasn’t very good at covering his tracks. I noticed something was off and told Lorenzo. He didn’t believe me at first.”

“Of course he didn’t,” I mutter, the bitterness in my voice evident.

“Vincent found out later that I was right,” Renee continues, ignoring my comment. “Jeremy was a double agent. He was feeding information to Massimo, and when we found out, Lorenzo wanted to handle it in his own way. The tradition in the Cosa Nostra is brutal—betrayal is met with death. But Lorenzo...he didn’t want to kill Jeremy immediately.”

I’m stunned, the anger momentarily giving way to confusion. “What do you mean he didn’t want to kill him?”

“Lorenzo was trying to figure out a way to handle the situation without causing more harm. He hadn’t decided what to do yet. But Massimo was scared that Jeremy would spill his secrets if he was caught. So, Massimo had Jeremy killed before we could get to him.”

My mind reels with the information. Jeremy, my Jeremy, was working for Massimo. And Lorenzo...he hadn’t been the one to kill him. It was Massimo. The revelation is almost too much to process.

“You expect me to believe this?” I whisper, my voice shaking. “You expect me to just accept that Lorenzo is innocent in all this?”

Renee reaches out to touch my hand, but I pull away. “I know it’s hard to believe, Dani. But it’s the truth. Lorenzo didn’t kill Jeremy. Massimo did.”

I stand up, unable to sit still any longer. “Even if that’s true, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve both been lying to me. Manipulating me. How can I trust anything you say?”

Renee stands too, her eyes filled with desperation. “I know we’ve hurt you, and I’m so sorry for that. But we were trying to protect you. We didn’t want you to get caught up in this mess.”

I shake my head, tears streaming down my face. “I can’t...I can’t do this. I can’t trust you. Either of you.”

Renee steps back, her face crumpling with sadness. “I understand. Just know that we’re here for you, no matter what.”

She leaves the room, closing the door softly behind her. I collapse onto the bed, the weight of everything pressing down on me. My mind is a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The betrayal, the lies, the truth about Jeremy—it’s all too much.

I feel the baby move, a small flutter in my belly and it’s a stark reminder of the new life growing inside me. I press my hand to my stomach, the tears flowing freely now. How can I bring a child into this world? A world filled with deceit and danger?

The hours pass in a blur. I don’t know how long I sit there, staring into nothingness. The food remain untouched on the bedside table. I can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t think straight. All I feel is an overwhelming sense of despair.

The door opens again and this time it’s Lorenzo. His presence fills the room and I feel a fresh wave of anger. He’s part of this too, part of the web of lies that has ensnared me.

“Daniella,” he says softly, his voice filled with concern. “You need to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” I reply, not meeting his gaze.

He sighs and sits beside me, the bed dipping under his weight. “I know you’re angry. You have every right to be. But you need to take care of yourself. And the baby.”

I feel a surge of anger. “Don’t you dare talk about the baby! Don’t you dare pretend like you care.”

He’s silent for a moment and when he speaks, his voice is filled with a quiet intensity. “I do care, Daniella. More than you know.”

I finally look at him, the tears blurring my vision. “Then why? Why all the lies? Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?”

He reaches out to touch my hand and this time I don’t pull away. “Because I was trying to protect you. I know it doesn’t make it right, but that’s the truth.”

I shake my head, the tears falling freely. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Believe this,” he says, his voice firm. “I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. You and the baby. I promise you that.”

I want to believe him, want to trust him. But the pain of betrayal is still too fresh, too raw. I pull my hand away and turn my back to him, unable to face him any longer.

“Please, Daniella,” he says softly. “Eat something. For the baby.”

I don’t respond, my heart aching with a mix of emotions. He stands up, his presence lingering for a moment before he leaves the room.

As the door closes, I’m left alone with my thoughts. The truth is out, but it doesn’t bring the closure I thought it would. Instead, it leaves me feeling more lost and confused than ever.

I lie down on the bed, curling up into a ball. The weight of the day’s revelations presses down on me and I feel a sob rise in my throat. I can’t do this. I can’t navigate this world of deceit and danger.

But I have to. For the baby. For myself. I have to find a way to survive.

As I drift off into a restless sleep, my mind is filled with thoughts of Jeremy, of Lorenzo, of the life growing inside me. The road ahead is uncertain, but I know one thing for sure—I can’t do this alone.

I need to find a way to trust again, to rebuild the shattered pieces of my life. And maybe, just maybe, I can find some semblance of peace in this chaotic world.