As soon as Tobias parks the car in front of the house, I jump out and head straight for my Uncle's office. I vaguely hear Tobias yell out for me, but I need to talk to my Uncle; this can't wait.
Can it really be Enzo?
Is he really this infamous and lethal assassin from Italy?
I burst into my Uncle's office. "I need to talk to you, Uncle! Alone, please." I pant out. Tony, JP, and Joey all look back at me worriedly. Tears are burning my eyes at the recent revelation.
My Uncle stands and dismisses the men out of the room, but Tony turns to him, "Capo..."
"Tony, take John Paul and Joey out with you. Wait for me out front." My Uncle orders. JP starts coming towards me, as I head for my Uncle, hugging him while I cry, thinking of my sweet childhood best friend.
"Go, JP." My Uncle orders.
I hear the door shut, and my Uncle walks us over to one of the couches in his office and sits us down on it.
"What is it, cara mia?" He rubs my hair soothingly.
"I know who he is—the man from the library, Furia," I say in between my crying.
"We know it's Furia, Charmaine." Uncle Timo says gently, and I shake my head at his not understanding what I mean.
"No, I know who he is. He knows my real name, Uncle. He only calls me Stella." My Uncle straightens at the mention of my real name. "Who is he, then?"
"He's my old neighbor. His dad is Frank Romano; Pops told me a few years ago that he worked for you. But his son, he was my best friend until the day his dad took him, and they left, his name is Lorenzo." I cry into my Uncle's chest, thinking of the last time I saw him.
"Frank's boy? Are you sure?" He looks at me contemplatively. "I suppose he could have several aliases," he mutters to himself.
"It has to be him; no one else knows my real name and what I looked like before the change. Other than Tony, Tobias, JP, and you, of course. Well, I mean other than my school mates, too, but Enzo and I were always together." I'm starting to have doubts now, but those eyes, those are definitely Enzo's.
"I don't know what happened to him, Uncle. How did he become who he is? An assassin?" I stare unfocused at a wall in his office, wondering what his life has been like since he left.
"I'll see what I can find out. I know he's spent a lot of time in Italy, but I'll look into it. What has he told you?" My Uncle leans back to look at me.
"He told me he was trying to find out why he was contracted to hurt you and me, he said he doesn't usually ask questions on jobs, but when he found out who I was, he wanted to know. He also said he thinks you have a mole working for you, but he doesn't know who.
And then he said the Cardinale guy is working with someone else to bring you down. And Uncle, that day at the library, Enzo wasn't trying to kill me, he was sent to send a message, to scare you, but he didn't expect me to fight back.
He apologized for hurting me, he didn't recognize me with my hair color, and I don't go by Stella. Don't you see? At the restaurant, he stopped the other guy from killing me, too."
"If he's telling the truth, then he's putting himself in danger and at risk for double-crossing those who hired him." My Uncle tells me.
" I have to help him, Uncle." I stand and pull my phone out, but he stops me.
"We can't do much right now. I need to make sure he's who you say he is. Did he say anything about the benefit?"
I nod my head. "He told me not to go because he said something is supposed to happen, and if I do go, he told me to stay in crowded areas and not be alone, but I told him you were taking extra safety precautions."
YOU ARE READING
For the Empire - Inganno
General Fiction[Book 1] Stella and her father had no choice but to move in with her Uncle Timo, in New York, in refuge, after witnessing her mom's murder, as a child. She feels a connection to her Uncle, but his responsibilities as the leader for one of the large...
