All of it is suddenly uncertain.
"She might be working for him," I said slowly. "Or she might be a victim."
"Exactly. I don't have enough to know which."
I looked back toward our bedroom where Valentina slept, completely unaware that the sister she'd come to love might be compromised—willingly or not.
"Don't tell Valentina yet," I said. "I need to handle this carefully."
"What are you going to do?"
"Find out what Livia really wants. Find out if she's here because she chose to be or because someone forced her hand."
"And if she's here to hurt your family?"
"Then I deal with it. But I need to be sure first."
"Good." Domenico's voice was quiet. "Because if you're wrong and you hurt her, Valentina will never forgive you. And if you're right but act too soon, we might never find out what Marco's planning."
He was right. Both scenarios were traps.
"I'll be careful," I promised.
"Always are, fratello. That's why we're still alive."
After we hung up, I stood in the dark hallway for a long moment.
Tomorrow, I'd confront Livia. Get the truth, whatever it took.
Tonight, I'd let Valentina sleep peacefully beside the sister she'd come to trust.
Because once I revealed what I'd found, everything would shatter again.
And I wasn't ready to be the one who broke her heart.
Not yet.
I returned to bed, pulled Valentina close, and tried not to think about what the morning would bring.
CHAPTER 24
Valentina
Morning came with a knock on our bedroom door.
I'd woken feeling off—a low, dull ache in my back that wouldn't ease no matter how I shifted, tightness across my belly that came and went. Braxton-Hicks, probably. I'd been having them for weeks. But something about today felt different.
Alessio was already awake—I'd felt him slip out of bed hours ago, heard the low murmur of phone calls from the hallway. Something was wrong.
"Come in," I called, sitting up carefully, one hand on my belly—thirty-two weeks now, the twins restless this morning, all elbows and knees against my ribs.
Alessio entered with Domenico, both wearing expressions that made my stomach drop.
"What happened?"
"We need to talk about Livia," Alessio said quietly.
Ice flooded my veins. "What about her?"
