13. Chapter 13

13

I laria stepped out of the car and looked up at the front of Galen's mansion, finally feeling a sense of peace settle over her. Since she was a small child, she had visited with her parents many times, and this house was like a second home to her.

She also felt a sense of awe every time she stood in front of it. Built with stone, it sat on twenty-four acres, several acres of which contained manicured gardens. Modernized for comfort and convenience on the inside, it occupied four stories and held fourteen bedrooms, multiple living areas, a library, a theater room, and a massive kitchen.

More importantly, the family that lived within it was like her second family. She had known Galen all her life and loved him like they were blood related. And when she was thirteen, she met his nephews and niece. Caelum, Niema, and Arick were immediately favorite cousins. Even Soren she was close with until a certain point. And though they saw each other at most twice a year, they always picked right up where they left off. They treated her as if she were one of their own.

Which was why she was sure that Galen had nothing to do with her parents' deaths. It would just be so out of character from the man she had known all her life.

She climbed the steps to the iron front door. Maybe that was another reason she decided to come to Scotland on such a whim. Besides settling in her mind that Galen was innocent, she wanted to be near family. This family, in particular. She needed the comfort and reassurance that she was not alone.

Ilaria opened the front door, it being unlocked as usual during the day. She let herself take in the grand foyer that was surrounded by two circular staircases, and above which hung a crystal chandelier that somehow added to the casual elegance of the house without making it stuffy.

The house was silent. It was past dawn but still early, so she wasn't expecting anyone to be awake. Just as well; she was happy to take a rest and greet everyone later.

Soren came in behind her with her suitcase and Rae's pastries. He apparently had no compunction about rousing everyone out of their early morning slumber and placed two fingers into his mouth to release a shrill whistle.

"Ilaria's here!" he bellowed. "Get your asses up!"

She heard muffled grumbling from upstairs. Galen came out first from the dining room, already dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt. Ilaria remembered he had always been an early riser.

"Hi, love." His smile and open arms threatened to tear out the waterworks from her, with all the pressure that had been building up over the last several days coming to a head. But she held it at bay, refusing to bawl like a baby in front of everyone.

"Hi, Uncle Galen." She slid into his arms and sighed. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too." He pulled back and frowned. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming in?" He glanced at Soren, who shook his head. "Well, you're here now, and safe, and that's all that matters." He gave her another squeeze and kissed her temple. "We'll talk later, okay?"

She nodded.

"Ilaria!" Niema ran down one side of the staircase. "I didn't know you were coming!" Her black hair flew behind her as she ran to Ilaria and hugged her tightly.

"Niema," Ilaria grinned as she greeted the younger woman. "You're gorgeous."

"So are you," responded Niema. At twenty-six, she was the younger sister Ilaria never had. She also looked more like Soren than her other two brothers, with the same black hair and eyes that were more blue than gray. Striking, like Soren. Which Ilaria would only admit to herself.

Caelum and Arick thundered down the stairs and launched themselves at her, nearly knocking her over.

She laughed. "Hi, guys."

"How are you doing?" Caelum asked, looking at her closely. His dark brown hair was tousled and his hazel eyes still sleepy, making him look vulnerable and dreamy. Too bad she only ever saw Caelum like a brother. At twenty-nine, he was the same age as her, and she had always been the closest to him out of all the siblings.

"Much better now that I'm here with all of you," she grinned.

She looked Caelum and Arick up and down. Arick, the youngest at twenty-four, was the same height as Soren. Caelum was slightly taller than both of them. "You both look so grown up and handsome," she observed. Caelum gave her a crooked grin while Arick laughed.

"Don't tell them that," Niema remarked. "They're already getting big-headed. Especially this one." She poked Arick in the arm and rolled her eyes.

Arick's hazel eyes twinkled. "Can't help it if I'm the whole package." He ran a hand through his medium brown hair, messing it up even more.

"Does the whole package include leaving your dirty underwear all over the floor and drooling when you sleep?" Caelum said in a dry tone.

"Those are just lovable quirks of mine," Arick said.

"They're something, alright. Loveable isn't the word I'd use," Niema added.

Ilaria laughed. She had always loved this about the siblings. They made playful jabs at each other but at the end of the day, their loyalties lay deeply with one another.

She saw Soren out of the corner of her eye, watching their reunion. He had always been the serious one, leaving his siblings to do the playful jabbing, but he always watched over them with the utmost patience and care.

Arick slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Ilaria, you're looking breathtakingly beautiful. Do you think you can be my pretend date at the club tonight? I find women converge on me like bees on a flower when I have a gorgeous woman already on my arm."

Soren cleared his throat loudly. "Okay, who wants breakfast? We picked up pastries from Rae's."

"Yes!" Women temporarily forgotten, Arick and Caelum grabbed the bags and ran to the kitchen, with Niema and Galen closely behind them.

Soren touched Ilaria lightly on the wrist, causing a zing to run up her arm. She turned, again struck by his eyes. Would she ever become immune to this man?

"If you want to go up to your room and rest, go ahead," he said. "I'll explain it to everyone."

She shook her head. "I'm okay. I'd rather talk to Galen first before I go upstairs." She turned away.

"Hey." She turned back. He was standing closer now. He tipped his forefinger under her chin and scanned her face. Was that concern she saw? "When you're ready, just give me a sign, okay? It's been a long night. I don't want you to drop from exhaustion."

Ilaria didn't know what to make of his sudden thoughtfulness, but it would take more than a few nice words to make her forget what had happened between them.

She stepped back. "Don't worry about me." She ignored the expression that passed over his face, whatever it meant, and headed to the kitchen.

"Do you really need to hog all the bear claws?" Caelum said as Arick filled his plate.

Ilaria took a seat at the breakfast table across from Galen.

"I need my calories," Arick declared. "It's a leg day at the gym and it's my cheat day." He ate half a bear claw in one bite. "Soren, great timing, by the way, to pick up Rae's on my cheat day. If you'd gone tomorrow I'd be so sad."

"I planned this just to accommodate you, Arick," Soren replied in a wry tone. He sat down next to Ilaria and, to her annoyance, slung a lazy arm over the back of her chair. As if he was claiming her.

"Of course you did." Arick stuffed the other half in his mouth and reached for another.

Niema picked a chocolate croissant for herself. "Rae makes the best chocolate croissants." She also took a seat at the table and took a bite. "Yum."

"Ilaria, help yourself." Caelum moved the box toward her.

"Thanks, maybe later," she said. "I just had a croissant in the car." She paused. "Your brother forced it on me."

Eyes slid over to their oldest brother.

"Your grumbling stomach was distracting," he said evenly. "I was just trying to shut it up." He gave a sideways glance. "Since the gummy bears did absolutely nothing."

"What was distracting, and annoying, was your constant harping about the gummy bears," she replied calmly.

Niema looked between both of them, eyes narrowing, lips curving into a sly smile.

Galen also watched, but his face was impassive. Caelum looked curious, while Arick went back for his third pastry.

Ilaria smiled, not wanting to air out the drama between her and Soren in front of everyone.

"Is the Mercedes your rental, Ilaria?" Galen asked her.

She nodded.

"Why didn't you call us? We would have picked you up."

She was silent, not sure how to answer.

"She didn't want to inconvenience us since she landed in the middle of the night," Soren answered for her. "I had some…meetings last night, and we ran into her in Inverwick. So we drove up to the house together."

Ilaria glanced at him in surprise.

Galen looked between both of them, seemingly knowing there was more to the story, but he didn't pry in front of his niece and younger nephews. "Well, we're thrilled to see you. And," his voice became softer, "we are so sorry about your parents."

Caelum and Arick echoed the sentiment, and Niema took her hand across the table.

Ilaria swallowed hard and nodded, not trusting her voice.

After a long moment, Soren laid his palms on the table. "Okay," he said quietly. "Ilaria and I need to catch up with Galen, so the three of you—," He looked at Niema, Caelum, and Arick. "—go make yourself scarce." They all got up. "Make sure you're here for dinner," he instructed.

"Aww, I have a date—" Arick said. A look from Soren. "I'll be here," he amended glumly.

Niema came around the table to give Ilaria a hug. "Let's catch up later, okay? Come find me, I'll be around." Ilaria nodded.

Galen motioned to Ilaria and Soren. "Let's go to my office." He led the way to the office wing.

He unlocked the door and motioned her in. "Sit anywhere you like." Ilaria's eyes roamed across the expanse of Galen's office, feeling immediately at home. She selected an armchair in front of the fireplace. Soren took the armchair next to her.

She frowned. Why does he keep sitting next to me?

He watched her, an amused glint in his eye, as if he knew what she was thinking. She lifted her chin and faced Galen, who sat on the sofa across the coffee table from her.

"Do you want to tell Galen what happened, or shall I?" Soren asked her pointedly.

Her frown turned into a glare. So he only told the other version earlier in the kitchen for his siblings' sake. Both men watched her, waiting.

After a few beats, she opened her mouth. "On my way up here, someone tried to run me off the road."

Galen's brows raised in alarm.

"He tried to run you off the edge of the cliff," Soren helpfully clarified.

Ilaria gave a loud sigh. "Fine. Yes, off the cliff."

Galen's jaw clenched. "Then what happened?" His voice was too calm.

She was silent.

"Go on," Soren pushed.

"I called Soren," she continued. "He showed up. And the driver drove off."

"Jesus," Soren muttered. "Rowan, Elowine, and I were coming up the road right behind them, not realizing that Ilaria was in the Mercedes. She called me in a panic. We came up behind the other car, shot at it, and it eventually took off."

Ilaria rolled her eyes a bit. She begged to differ; she did not call him in a panic.

Galen's eyes moved from Soren to her. "You were very lucky," he said mildly.

"I know." She felt aggrieved but kept her voice even, knowing that Galen wouldn't want to hear any excuses.

"I'm sure Soren already talked to you about your safety while you're here," Galen continued. "You shouldn't go anywhere by yourself."

She burned with the indignity of being spoken to like a child. First from Soren, then from Galen. She knew she should be grateful, but her pride reigned at the moment. Irate words stood at the tip of her tongue, but out of respect for Galen she held them in.

"I don't plan on being here long." She couldn't keep the stiffness out of her voice. She felt Soren's eyes slide to her. "I only came for one thing." She leaned forward and stared at Galen. "I need to hear you say that you had nothing to do with my parents' deaths."

Soren sat up in his chair. "Now—" Galen held up a hand, and he quieted.

Ilaria kept her eyes on Galen, who sighed and visibly deflated, looking every one of his fifty-five years.

"I had a feeling you would ask me that," he said quietly. Soren swung his head to him in surprise. "And I don't blame you for wondering. I would do the same."

He leaned forward to look at her. "I had nothing to do with their deaths." He paused while she let the words sink in. "I don't know if your father ever told you exactly how we met. He saved my life." His eyes started to shine. "And I have spent every moment since then trying to repay him." He took a deep breath, blinking rapidly. "I was devastated when I heard the news."

Ilaria watched him closely, then slowly nodded. She got up, sat next to him, and put her arms around him. Galen in turn wrapped his arms around her, and they both let the tears fall.

"I miss them," she whispered.

"Me too, sweetheart."

After several moments, Galen reached for the tissue box, and they blew their noses and wiped their faces.

"Now you understand why I need you to be safe," he said, his voice raspy. "I absolutely cannot have anything happen to you. For your parents' sake. I owe it to them. Promise me you'll stick with Soren whenever you leave the house."

She sighed and nodded in understanding. "Okay." She wouldn't look at Soren, however. Just because she promised Galen she would stay safe didn't mean she had to be cordial to Soren. Besides, with her red and puffy eyes, she couldn't bear to see his pity.

"I had agreed to the partnership with your father primarily because I wanted to help your father succeed. I'm still a businessman at heart," Galen said. "I fully expected to make a good return on my investment." He looked at her. "It would have been my entry into the U.S. market, and Stefano would have taken care of the operations, since I don't have the manpower. It would have been a win for both of us."

Ilaria nodded slowly. "Then whoever killed them possibly knew about this partnership and wanted to prevent it."

"We've heard some rumors over the last few days," Soren said. Ilaria's eyes flew to him. He had been quiet, letting her and Galen have their moment. Not that she had forgotten he was sitting there. Her awareness had always zeroed in on him.

"The gunman was a local hire, but he was likely hired by an American," Soren continued. "We haven't yet found proof ourselves, but several of our contacts—both in and outside the families—have corroborated this." He held her gaze. "It's a promising lead, in any case."

"Your father also told us he suspected the possibility of a hostile takeover by another family in Chicago," Galen added. "Did you know about that?"

She nodded. "You think it could be one of our rivals?"

"It's a convincing motive," Soren answered. "Killing your father has created instability in the Carosi organization. If you had also been killed—and I imagine that was the plan—then your family would have been in pieces. Easy, then, for another family to come in and pick them up."

His voice was deceptively calm, and his casual stance in the chair suggested a relaxed manner. But the tic in his jaw told her otherwise.

Ilaria frowned. "And if they had caught wind of the impending partnership with you, that would have been the impetus to act now, before it was finalized."

Galen nodded. "Can you think of any recent major changes with the other families? Anyone recently promoted?"

She considered her family's rivals. "Two come to mind, but they're even smaller than we are. Well—" She cut off, another thought crossing her mind.

"What is it?" Soren asked, missing nothing.

Ilaria grimaced. "The Bianchi boss met with my father six months ago to propose a…marriage alliance. Me and his son. I agreed to meet him." She went quiet. "It would have made sense. But I didn't want to marry him. And my father respected my wishes." She took a deep breath. "And that might have gotten them killed," she finished in a whisper.

"None of this is your fault," Soren said in a low voice. His eyes glittered, darkening to a slate gray, his shoulders stiff.

"No, it's not," Galen agreed. "Stefano had already come to me with the partnership idea, so he already had a plan to solidify and grow your family's position. A marriage alliance wasn't necessary."

She knew that, of course, that the marriage wasn't necessary. But that didn't prevent guilt from rising. She had expressed to her parents years ago that she preferred to choose her own husband, and her parents had agreed. But they were unique in that way, and she knew it gave her father fewer options to protect the family. And in this case, the Bianchi's might have felt slighted and found a way to retaliate.

"Look, we're here to help you," Soren said, leaning forward in his chair. "Your father gave us the financial records and an overview of all the operations as part of the partnership agreement. So we have a pretty good idea of how things are. I'm happy to walk through everything with you."

Ilaria blinked. Surprise temporarily made her speechless. Of course Soren expected her to know nothing about the state of her family's business. But in fact, she had helped her father put that file together for the MacGregors to review, and it was after her final approval that he sent it to Galen.

Before she could correct his assumptions, Galen added his agreement. "Soren's right. We'll do everything we can to help you. And just so you know, I'm still willing to move ahead with the partnership. It would also offer you protection to have our name aligned with yours."

"We're also in the process of looking for the gunman," Soren said. His expression went cold. "Then we'll find out who's behind this."

She paused to find her words, but they were stuck in her throat. She didn't know whether to be grateful for their offer to help or offended for underestimating her.

"By the way, why didn't Silas come with you?" Galen asked.

"He doesn't know I'm here," she hedged.

Both Soren and Galen lifted their brows.

"Why not?" Soren said.

"That's another thing I wanted to tell you." Ilaria took an inhale. "I think there's a good chance that Vincent killed my parents."

Now they both looked surprised.

"Vincent was—is—dead-set against this partnership," she explained. "He still holds a lot of resentment after Cordelia and Leo died, about how you handled the punishment. And my father insisted on moving forward anyway." She sighed. "So he thinks Dad chose you over him."

"Galen gave those kids punishment on top of what they were charged with," Soren pointed out, frowning.

"I know," she responded. "I'm not saying Vincent is being rational. But that's what he thinks."

"But is that enough to kill his own brother?" Galen mused.

"He also believes you're using this partnership as an opportunity to take over our territory and expand into the U.S.," she told Galen. "So he felt Dad was jeopardizing our family with this partnership."

"Did Stefano tell you any of this?" Soren looked at Galen.

Galen squinted. "No."

"But Dad never expected Vincent to be capable of retaliation," Ilaria jumped in. "He just thought Vincent was expressing his opinion—albeit a strong one—and he put his foot down. So he wouldn't have thought it necessary to mention it to you."

He nodded. "That makes sense. If Stefano believed it to be merely a family issue, he wouldn't bring me into it."

"And that's why Silas doesn't know I'm here," she finished. "In case he mentions it to Vincent."

Soren looked coiled up, ready for a fight. "We'll find out who's responsible and root them out."