Her throat works. Her hands tremble. “I knew it would be you.”
I step out from behind her. “What the hell is going on?”
My mom turns slowly, like she’s about to confess a crime.
“Lorenzo . . .” Her voice shakes. “This is your uncle.”
I blink. “What?”
The man steps forward, hands clasped behind his back. “Your father’s brother.”
The world tilts. My ears ring.
My mother turns to me, eyes wet—not with soft tears but terrified ones.
“Your father . . .” she breathes, “he was part of a powerful family. After he died, I ran. And then ran some more. I didn’t want that life for you.”
“What life?”
“A criminal one,” she whispers. “Your father was in deep. But then, when he was gone, I knew they’d come for you eventually. I ran, and we’ve been running ever since.”
My blood goes ice cold.
“You lied to me.”
“I protected you.”
“No,” I choke out. “You hid me. You made me feel like nothing, when I was something all along.”
The back door of the SUV opens.
A young man around my age steps out. Tall. Sharp. Familiar.
The moment I see him, something inside me cracks open. A memory crashes in—a backyard, dirt bikes, a boy shouting,Come on, Lorenzo!
“You’re him,” I breathe.
He grins. “You remember.”
He strides toward me and pulls me into a hug.
“Matteo,” he says. “Your cousin. Brother, really. We’ve been searching for you for years.”
I stagger back, staring.
I turn to my mother, betrayal scorching under my skin.
“You said I didn’t have any family,” I whisper.
Her face crumples. “I was trying to protect you.”
“All this time—”
“I thought I could keep you safe!”
My uncle steps forward. “Your boss made it easy. He ran a background check. DNA. Everything. Once he realized you were going to be a problem, he called us.”
A sick twist hits my gut.
