23. Gia

As I stroll down the boardwalk, my mind lost in thoughts of the day ahead, I catch sight of a familiar figure in the distance. It"s Mia and Matteo. They"re walking together, laughing, and smiling, their easy camaraderie evident even from a distance.

How in the Hell did these two meet?

"Hey, Mia!" I call out, my voice cheerful and welcoming.

She returns my wave, a smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I make my way over to them.

Matteo stands still, his eyes darting from me to Mia in shock.

"Hey, Sis," I reply, my voice warm as I reach them. "Who"s your friend?"

"Oh, Gia, this is Matteo," she says, gesturing to the man beside her. "Matteo, meet my sister, Gia."

His face pales, his eyes widening even further as he looks between us in disbelief. "Wait, you"re twins?" he stammers, his voice filled with shock.

Mia rolls her eyes, her annoyance is evident as she shakes her head. "Yes, Matteo, I have a twin sister," she replies, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Surprise."

A nervous laugh escapes his lips as he tries to recover from his shock. "Wow, I had no idea," he says, his voice strained. "Why didn"t you tell me?"

"I didn"t think it was relevant," she replies, her tone dismissive. "It"s not like I talk about my family all the time, we just met."

"So, is this my birthday present?" he asks, his voice low and suggestive. "Do I get to fuck both of you?"

My jaw drops in shock.

What a douchebag.

"Seriously, Matteo?" she says, her voice laced with irritation. "You"re such an ass."

I can feel my cheeks flush with disgust as I try to process his words, the implications sinking in with a sickening weight. But before I can respond, Matteo turns to Mia, his expression turning serious.

"So, how long have you two been seeing each other?" I ask, my voice steady despite the turmoil swirling inside me. "And how did you meet?"

The two of them exchange a glance, their eyes locking in silent communication before Mia turns back to me, her smile forced.

"We met at a bar when I first got into town," she says, her voice casual. "And we"ve just been hanging out ever since."

I feel a twinge of doubt at her words, a nagging suspicion that something isn"t quite right. But as I study their faces, searching for any sign of deception, I come up empty-handed. They both seem genuine, their smiles bright and their eyes clear.

"Are you from around here, Matteo?" I ask.

"Nah, just visiting for the summer. My dad has a house nearby and I have a niece close by as well. Family is super important to me."

Niece. He is talking about Chloe.

"Do you have siblings here too?"

"Nah, my sister died not long ago. We were really close, but I only just found out that she had a kid. The dad is a bit of an asshole who's too overprotective of her. He won't let me see her, so I've decided to stick around until he breaks down and lets me be a part of her life."

"Are they from here? Our brother is from here, he probably knows him and can vouch for you, if you'd like."

"I appreciate that. I'll take care of it myself for now, but I might take you up on that offer."

"I hope you do. Mia and I know all too well what it's like to have family kept from you. We only just met a few weeks ago."

"Really?" He asks in shock.

They apparently aren't very close if he didn't know that piece of information.

Here I am thinking that she only came to Ash Cove to set me up and it's not like that at all. It's just dumb luck that she got entangled with Matteo Carusso.

"Yeah, I knew I had a twin sister, I just didn't know where she was at."

"I had no clue I had a twin sister until she showed up at our half-brother's house. I only learned about them eight years ago."

"That's wild. It's cool that the two of you were able to reconnect though."

"I agree," I reply with a grin. "It's still a little weird to stare at my face on someone else's body though."

"We should get going," Mia says quickly. "We have reservations in a bit."

"Oooh, that sounds like fun."

It's a little early for dinner reservations so she"s lying to ditch me.

The two of them wave and leave me there to watch them go.

Something isn't right about any of this at all.

Did he think Mia was me? Was he trying to get close to me because of Ryder?

Does he know that I'm in the CIA and thought I wouldn't know who he was? Nah, he's smarter than that.

I make my way back toward the grocery store and do the shopping that I need to do. I visit a few of the boutiques and spend the day by myself.

Just as I'm about to get into my car to head back to the cottage, I see Mia again, but this time she and Allison are locked into a heated conversation outside of the nearby coffee shop.

Fuck.

Does Allison think that Mia is me?

I move closer to the conversation, gluing myself to a wall where the two of them can't see me but I can see them. I hit the camera button on my phone and record video.

"I don't know what to tell you, Allison. None of this is my fault. You got yourself into this mess."

"You told me that you could make it look like Gia was to blame."

"And I did that. You're the one who keeps fucking it up. Why would you fucking come to Ash Cove of all places?"

"She always talked about it like it was some peaceful, magical place. I thought it was some podunk town where no one would find me. How was I to know she'd show up here?"

"Where did you think she'd go while she was being investigated by the CIA?"

"I thought you'd hold up your end of the bargain enough that they'd immediately arrest her."

"Well, don't worry, it's coming. The undeniable proof is headed their way."

"Why were you so willing to help me put someone in prison that you've never met before, anyway? I've been meaning to ask you."

"I didn't need to have met her. She stole my father from me. She knew I existed."

"Stole your father?" Allison laughs. "You told me that your mother didn't tell him about you. From what Gia says, and the profile on that man, you didn't miss out on anything. And Gia never talked about you, she would have mentioned to me that she had a twin sister if she knew."

Mia shakes her head vehemently. "We were six years old and at the gas station at the same time. She saw me. We were identical. I mirrored everything she did. I asked her to take me with her and she said no."

Six years old?

I would remember that, right?

"You've been harboring an agenda since you were six? I don't think…"

"Don't get all high and mighty on me," Mia chuckles drily. "She's supposed to be your best friend and you were more than willing to throw her under the bus."

"But I…"

"Did it for love or whatever bullshit you claim, yeah, yeah. Spare me. I'll take care of Gia. You hold up your end of the bargain and get the fuck out of here. You're lucky Christoph thought I was Gia when I was at the cabin, or you would be dead by now. Get yourself clean too. You're pathetic."

Allison shakes her head. "I'm not…"

Mia laughs wickedly. "You're pathetic. Don't bring me into your bullshit. If you ever approach me when I'm with Matteo again, I'll end you immediately after. He may be my ticket to the good life and you're not going to fuck with my options."

Allison is quiet and I hear footsteps walk away. I peek out again and realize that the two of them are gone.

My twin sister thinks I stole our father and that I knew she existed. She's the one behind setting me up?

This is ridiculous. Did she get our mother's bipolar tendencies?

I mean, my dad said she was bipolar. I don't know if that was even the truth. I never knew what to believe from what he said.

Allison and Mia are working together to frame me for the money Allison stole, the secrets she sold, and the relationship she had with Christoph.

How can she think that I stole our father when our mother dumped me on him?

Okay, this is fixable now that I know what I'm dealing with.

I wait a bit, processing the information before I step out of my hiding spot.

What does Mia have that will put me away?

As I walk back to my car, I think about all of the events leading up to this moment. If the CIA truly thought I'd had any part in whatever Allison did I should be locked in a cell as they investigate.

Unless… unless they were using me to bait Allison, which is what I've always assumed. I thought Rodney let me leave but was keeping tabs on me with the thought that if I was working with her then we would rendezvous and he'd be able to have solid proof to put us both away.

Honestly, if I had been a part of her scheme he should have been more confident in the ways that he trained us to know that neither of us are stupid enough to do that.

We sure look like it now that we're in the same place though.

I could send the video to Rodney, but chances are he's already well aware of what's going on and he's using me to bait the entire situation, unbeknownst to me this entire time.

Damn it, I'm a fool.

I continue walking, lost in my thoughts as I make my way back to my car. I'm about to get in when I hear someone call my name. Just as I look up a black Cadillac pulls up between my car and me.

A man jumps out of the passenger seat, opens the back door and takes a step toward me.

"Hold on there, Turbo," I chuckle. "I don't think you want to do that."

"Gia Bennett," Matteo calls from the back of the Cadillac. "Get inside or Raf will put you in the car."

"Did something happen to Mia?" I ask, playing dumb, as though I don't know who he really is.

"You're smarter than that, bedda," he purrs, calling me beautiful in Sicilian.

"Lu nun mi mètto nta machina cu tia," I reply as I tell him that I'm not getting in the car with him.

He chuckles as he smiles wickedly back at me.

"Vogghiu nni parlari solu."

I only want to talk.

Does he think I'm a fool?

"Ci pozzemu fa lu quà, parliannu in sicilianu."

"We cannot do that here," he replies as he glances around the SUV. "If you'd like to keep Ryder and Chloe safe, get in the car, now."

The giant man holding the door takes a step toward me and I glare, moving back into a fight stance.

I'm not going anywhere with these men.