"I was in the neighborhood," he says, attempting to lighten the mood.
I tell him about Ronan's threats, how they couldn't find Elio and were using me as leverage because of my connection to the Rossos. How I stupidly offered to work off the debt.
"I never wanted to work for them, Marco. Please believe me. It was a slip of my tongue. I was desperate."
"I know." His voice is strained but he squeezes my hand.
I continue with the rest—the meeting with my father that Marco witnessed, how dad just wanted money from my trust fund and then abandoned me when the Irish showed up.
"They've definitely been tailing you," Marco says. "They must have been watching Elio for a while, and once they saw him meeting with you..."
"So they've known who I am this whole time," I say bitterly.
"Most likely. The Costellos have eyes everywhere. Once they identified you as Elio's daughter, they would have started building their case for how to use you as leverage."
"Great. So I've been a marked target for months and didn't even know it."
Marco's expression darkens. "Which is why you should have come to me or Vito immediately instead of trying to handle this alone."
The thought makes my skin crawl. I take a shaky breath. "There's something else. Something I haven't told you yet."
I stand and walk to my bedroom, my heart pounding. When I return, I'm holding the ultrasound photo. My hands shake as I give it to him.
Marco stares at it, confusion flickering across his face. Then his eyes widen as he reads the name at the top. "Is this?—"
"Rina's," I whisper. "The man at the fountain gave it to me."
"Rina's pregnant?" His voice is sharp with surprise. Then concern. "Does Vito know they have access to her medical records?"
"I don't know if Vito even knows she's pregnant yet. They haven't announced it." Tears fill my eyes. "But the Costellos know. They gave this to me as a threat. They're saying they'll go after her. After her baby."
Marco's expression hardens into something dangerous. "When did you get this?"
"That day I went for a run. The man in the alley—he grabbed my throat, gave me this, told me it was my final warning."
"And you didn't tell me." It's not a question, not quite an accusation. Just a statement of fact.
"I was trying to protect her! I thought if I could just handle it myself, if I could find a way to pay the debt or make a deal, they'd leave her alone." I'm crying now. "But it's all my fault. She's in danger because of me."
Marco pulls me into his arms. "It's not your fault that your father is a piece of shit who left this on your shoulders."
"But it is my fault it's gotten this far. I should have told someone. Told Vito. Told you."
"Yes, you should have." His voice is firm but not unkind. "But you're telling me now. And we're going to fix this." He pulls back to look at me. "We need to tell Vito everything. Today. He needs to know about this threat, and he needs to know the Costellos have access to Rina's medical information."
"He's going to be so angry."
"He's going to be furious," Marco corrects. "At the Costellos. At your father. At me for not figuring this out sooner. But mostly he's going to be focused on protecting Rina and taking down the people who threatened his wife and child."
The certainty in his voice steadies me slightly. "What if telling him makes it worse? What if the Costellos find out we went to Vito and they?—"
"They won't get the chance." Marco's eyes are cold. "Vito will lock down security on Rina immediately. And then we're going to hunt down every single person involved in this threat."
I want to believe him. Want to let myself lean on him completely.
But forty-eight hours is ticking down, and I have no idea what the Costellos are planning when time runs out.
"I'm scared," I whisper.
