In the shadows of Betrayal where secrets unravel and trust shatters

Evelyn

Maria stood in the doorway, the gun in her hand glinting in the dim light of the hidden room. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes—sharp and calculating—locked onto mine.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, her voice calm but laced with menace.

I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. “Maria… what are you doing?”

She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “I could ask you the same question. Snooping around where you don’t belong. Did you really think no one would notice?”

I glanced at the journal in my hands, then back at her. “I was just… curious.”

“Curiosity can be dangerous,” she said, her tone icy. “Especially in this house.”

She walked closer, the gun still trained on me. My mind raced, searching for a way out, but the room was small, and the only exit was blocked by Maria.

“Give me the journal,” she said, her voice firm.

I hesitated, clutching the journal tighter. “Why? What’s in it that you don’t want me to see?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t understand what you’re playing with, Evelyn. This isn’t a game. People have died for less.”

“Then tell me,” I said, my voice trembling. “What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”

She didn’t respond, her expression hardening. “The journal. Now.”

I took a deep breath, my mind racing. If I handed over the journal, I’d lose my only lead. But if I didn’t, Maria might pull the trigger.

Reluctantly, I held out the journal. Maria snatched it from my hands, her eyes scanning the pages.

“You took something,” she said, her tone sharp. “What else did you find?”

I shook my head, trying to keep my voice steady. “Nothing. That’s all I have.”

She studied me for a moment, then reached into my pocket and pulled out the folded pages I’d hidden. Her lips curled into a cold smile.

“You’re not as clever as you think,” she said, tucking the pages into her own pocket.

Maria stepped back, the gun still trained on me. “You need to stop digging into things you don’t understand. This isn’t your world, Evelyn. And if you keep poking around, you’re going to get hurt.”

“Why do you care?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Whose side are you on?”

She smirked, but there was no warmth in it. “That’s not your concern. Just know this: if you value your life, you’ll stay out of the shadows.”

With that, she turned and walked out, leaving me standing there, my heart pounding and my mind racing.

I sank to the floor, my legs trembling. What had I just stumbled into? And who could I trust?

The door creaked open again, and I looked up, expecting Maria to return. But it wasn’t Maria. It was Sofia.

“Evie,” she whispered, her eyes wide with concern. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, though I felt anything but okay. “How did you find me?”

“I followed you,” she said, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. “I saw Maria heading this way and knew something was wrong.”

She knelt beside me, her expression serious. “What happened?”

I told her everything—about the journal, the hidden room, and Maria’s threat. Sofia listened quietly, her face growing darker with each word.

“Maria’s not who she seems,” Sofia said when I finished. “She has ties to a rival family. I’ve suspected for a while that she’s been feeding them information.”

“Why would she do that?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Sofia sighed. “Power. Money. Revenge. Take your pick. But one thing’s clear: she’s dangerous. And if she’s involved in this, it’s worse than I thought.”

I pulled out the folded pages I’d managed to save, my hands trembling as I unfolded them. Sofia leaned closer, her eyes scanning the words.

“This is Victor’s handwriting,” she said, her voice low. “He was trying to warn someone. But who?”

I pointed to a name near the bottom of the page: “Gianna Russo.”

Sofia’s eyes widened. “Gianna… she was Alessio’s ex-lover. But she disappeared years ago, after Victor’s death. If she’s involved in this…”

She trailed off, her expression grim.

“What?” I asked, my heart pounding.

“It means this goes deeper than we thought,” Sofia said. “Gianna was always ambitious. If she’s working with someone to take down the Romanos, it could destroy everything.”

As we sat there, piecing together the clues, we heard footsteps on the stairs. Sofia and I exchanged a panicked look, then scrambled to hide behind a stack of old crates.

The door creaked open, and Alessio stepped inside. He walked over to the desk, his expression dark and unreadable. He picked up Victor’s journal, flipping through the pages, and muttered, “So, she found it.”