"Memories came back. Fragments, but vivid. I remembered teaching men to shoot. Standing at a range, correcting their form. I remembered—" His voice cracks slightly. "I remembered killing someone. Gun in my hand, pulling the trigger. Watching him drop."
My throat tightens but I don't look away. "Just one?"
"No." The word is barely a whisper. "Multiple times. Different situations. A warehouse. A car. An office where I sat cleaning that exact weapon while someone reported back on a job." He meets my eyes. "They called me boss. In the memories, they all called me boss. Ciro called me boss, too."
I set down my cup carefully. "Tell me everything Ciro said. All of it."
He tells me about the organization—his organization. About running operations across southern Italy. About the power, the money, the violence that came with it. About Dante, his bodyguard of eight years, who was forced to betray him to save his sister's life.
"The Florence family apparently wanted me dead," he says. "I was moving into their territory, and they decided to eliminate the problem by killing me. They grabbed Dante's sister, told him to kill me or they'd kill her. He chose her."
"Can you blame him?"
"No." Lupo's voice is soft. "If someone threatened Elena, I'd burn the world down. I understand why he did it. I don’t blame him."
The casual way he says it—the certainty—sends a chill down my spine.
"Ciro said my organization is falling apart without me," he continues. "That my enemies are circling. He wants me to come back to Naples, remember who I am, take my place again. As if I could possibly run a criminal empire when I don’t remember a goddamn thing about it."
"And?"
“I told him I needed time. That I had to talk to you first." He runs his hand through his hair. "But Isabella, the longer I stay missing, the more dangerous it gets. Eventually someone from the Florence family will get curious. Will investigate what really happened. And when they do—"
"They'll come looking."
"Yes."
I'm quiet for a moment. "What about your own people? Ciro and the others. Are they a threat to you? To us?"
"I don't think so. Ciro seemed... genuine. Loyal." Lupo shakes his head. "But I don't know for sure. I don't remember them, don't remember who I can trust. My driver for eight years tried to kill me and left me for dead in a field."
"What did Ciro say about me and Elena? About the life you've built here?"
Lupo looks uncomfortable. "He said it's good. That I seem happy. That he hasn't seen me look at peace in years." A pause. "He also said that by staying here, I might be putting you in danger. But that if I come back, remember who I am, take my place—I'd have the resources to protect you. Men. Power. Reach."
"Or you could take us and run."
"He said that too. Said we could try to disappear. But that these people have long reach, and we'd be running forever." Lupo leans forward, his hands flat on the table. "Isabella, I need you to understand something. Without me, my organization is vulnerable. My allies are nervous. My enemies are circling. The longer I stay gone, the more unstable everything becomes. And that instability—it increases the chances that someone finds me. Finds us."
"Your presence here is a danger, but your absence might be too?"
"Yes."
I take another sip of coffee, thinking. "What does Ciro want you to do?"
"Come back to Naples. See my home, my organization, talk to the crew. Hope it triggers my memory." He looks at me. "He gave me a phone number. Said to call when I'm ready. Or ifanything suspicious happens—anyone asking questions, anyone watching."
"Did you tell him about the men at the market?"
"No. I didn't want to give him more ammunition to pressure me into leaving. And we don’t know if those men were looking for me or helping Draco find you."
"That’s smart. What else did he say?"
“He asked what should happen to my driver, Dante. Said that's my decision to make when I'm ready."
"The man who tried to kill you? To save his sister?"
"Yes."
