Luca's jaw tightens. "People aren't always what they seem, Katerina. You, of all people, should understand that."
"Yes." The fight suddenly drains from me. "I'm learning that lesson all over again, aren't I?"
Luca’s controlled expression slips for a moment before morphing back. "You didn't tell anyone about the papers Pyotr wanted until Enzo was kidnapped. If you’re loyal to the family, why didn’t you tell anyone?"
I hate that he's right. I sink back onto the couch, strength leaving me. "I was going to. I swear I was." I press my palms against my eyes. "But it had only been hours between when he asked and when he took Enzo. I was trying to figure out what to do."
When I look up, Luca's face remains impassive, waiting for more. Waiting for the truth.
"I've spent my entire life caught between worlds," I continue. "The Bratva raised me and then I was sent here. I've never fully belonged to either side, but I've been loyal to both."
"That's not possible," Luca says, but his voice has lost its edge.
"Isn't it? I've spent years making it possible. Smoothing tensions, translating intentions, finding common ground." I shake my head. "When Pyotr came to me, I knew something was wrong. But he's my brother. The last blood family I have besides Enzo."
"Had," Luca corrects softly.
The word stings, but I nod. "Had. And despite everything he did, there's a part of me that grieves him. Does that make me disloyal to you? To the Dantes?"
Luca sits beside me again, closer this time. "No. It makes you human."
"I never would have betrayed either family. That's not who I am." I turn to face him fully. "I was trying to find a way to confront Pyotr, to understand what he was doing without destroying everything. I thought I had time." But Luca is right about one thing. My decisions nearly got my son killed. "I was wrong. And Enzo paid the price for my hesitation."
Something in Luca's expression shifts, the hardness melting into sympathy. His hand finds mine again, and this time, our fingers intertwine.
"You were caught in an impossible position," he says. "I understand impossible choices, Katerina. I believe you.”
His words are a relief. "Thank you.”
“Has anyone with the Morozovas reached out to you?”
“No.”
“With Pyotr gone, they must have questions?—”
“I said, no.” But it is odd.
I can only imagine that they’ve decided I’m too much on the side of the Dantes, especially with the truth about Enzo’s father now being in the open.
Luca studies me for a moment, probably looking for signs of deception. He won’t find any. I’m telling the truth.
He gives a small nod. "Lorenzo had been keeping it for months before his death. Names, dates, suspicious activities. I need to know if you recognize anyone besides Eva."
He pulls a folded paper from his jacket pocket and spreads it on the coffee table between us. In Lorenzo's handwriting, nearly a dozen names are listed down the page with notations beside each.
"Lorenzo believed they were working with the Russians. Some are business associates, some are staff, some I've never even heard of."
I scan the names, searching my memory for anything useful.
My heart sinks as each name either means nothing to me or represents people I'd never have suspected.
"I'm sorry, Luca. I don't recognize most of these people." I shake my head in frustration. "Danny Bellini? He'd been your father's driver for years. And Antonio Costa has managed shipments since before I arrived. They’re both up in age. I can't imagine either of them betraying the family."
Luca's jaw tightens. "That's what makes this so dangerous. If Lorenzo was right, we've been compromised from the inside for years."
"What about this one?" I point to a name near the bottom. "Franco Vieri. The name sounds familiar, but I can't place him."
“I don’t know. I have a couple of men I plan to look into first. I’ll add him.”
