Chapter 11

Kayla Santino. The guy Rico, stretches his hand forward for a handshake, but I just stare at him blankly. He has a wide smirk on his face, making me wonder what is so amusing. This is what I was talking about. Secrets. "Let's get you out of here," Carl mumbles, about to touch me, but I move away before he can. " You do not touch me," I warn through clenched teeth. What makes him think he's free to touch me when he's been with countless bitches. And I don't like being kept in the dark, especially with a man who is not even serious about the fucking damn marriage. "Feisty, just the way I like them," Rico says, and I don't know why, but he gives bad vibes. He seems sinful, maybe it's just my trust issues. "Let's go," I tell Theo, and he follows me without hesitation, leaving Carl and his business behind. " You knew about that?" I ask, pointing behind my shoulder. "No. I swear, Sam doesn't tell me anything. He's 100% loyal to Carl to tell me his secrets," he says, frequently shaking his head. "What were you about to say before the shootouts?" He asks, looking at me with curiosity. "Yes, Someone has been sending me black roses and threatening notes," I whisper, looking around to make sure no one hears me. "What?" he whispers in disbelief. "I'm suspecting Thomas, considering what we found out yesterday." He must be the one putting them in my room because he lives with us. "Shit, does anyone know about this?" he stops to look at me with worry. "No. I want to find the person behind it first." "Fuck, this shit is crazier than we thought, good thing we have a lead," he says, cussing out repeatedly, and resumes walking. "Did they talk last night or anything suspicious in his room?" I whisper, referring to the cameras we put in Thomas's room. " No. They didn't." Fuck. I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. Thomas didn't follow me here today. Who is this master, though? He didn't approach me either. I hate to imagine he was creepily watching me the whole time. "Drive me home, I need to talk to my grandpa, he's the only person who will never lie to me," I tell him, and he leads me to his car. I need to find out about that Rico guy. "Be careful, okay, I will stop by tomorrow morning." I didn't even realise we had reached my house. I am overthinking again. "Don't mention the notes to anyone, please," I remind him, and he nods before driving away. "Grandpa," I call as soon as I enter the quiet house. He's sitting on the couch watching a football match on TV. "Yes, darling," he says with his eyes still glued on the screen. "I have some questions," I mumble, sitting next to him and lowering my head on his right shoulder. "Anything you want to know, my love," he says, running his fingers through my hair and loosening it in the process. I close my eyes and sigh contentedly at the feeling of his fingers on my scalp. "Tell me everything about the Moreno family," I head straight to the point because I know my dad will never tell me anything. "Get me good weed first, and I will tell you everything. It's a long story," he says, and I stand up to grab him one of my dad's blunts and a lighter. "Thank you, sweetheart." he lights the thing up before taking a long drag and puffing out thick smoke. "Our families go a long way before darling. Our fathers worked together, I worked with Carlos's grandfather, and your dad worked with Carl's, and he's still working with them." I take my previous position, lying my head on his shoulder again. "His grandfather was my best friend, and he still is. We always wanted to unite our families through marriage, but it backfired when we both had boys, and my wife didn't want any more kids. So I had to hope for a grandchild, and guess what happened?" he looks at me and taps my nose with his index finger." An angel was born, and with Moreno's grandkids being males, we took that chance to finally make it happen," he proudly says and I scowl at him. "So it was your idea, it was not necessarily because of business?" I look at him suspiciously " We always did business together, dear, and this marriage will only strengthen our legacies," He says, but that's not enough reason if you ask me. "What if one person is not okay with it?" What if maybe I don't want Carl? "Are you not okay?" he asks quickly, looking into my eyes. " No, no, what I mean is what if Carl is not ready to commit to one woman?" From what I have figured, Carl is not a one-woman man. His eyes are everywhere. "That will be impossible, that boy has been watching you grow up like a hawk. Do you know he has pictures of you from childhood till your current age?" he narrows his eyes in question, and I shake my head no. "He does?" No way carl will do that. " Yes, one day, when you visit Italy. You'll see what I'm talking about, he'll come around, honey," he softly assures, caressing my head. I sigh, playing with the rings on his fingers." How old is carl?" "The twins are 28 now," so it's true he has a twin brother, and he's eight years older. " Tell me about the other twin," I say, and he looks at me like I just said something prohibited. "Don't even go there, sweetheart," he says, taking another long drag from his cigar and releasing the smoke slowly, buying time. " Just tell me, okay?" I push in frustration. Why is it always Carlos and not Rico? Suspicious if you ask me. "The Moreno grandkids were born twins. The elder twin was named Ricardo, and the younger one Carlos," he sighs, looking away from me. He doesn't wanna talk about it, I can tell. "The boys grew up together until their teenage years, when Rico started getting out of line. He was supposed to be heir to Moreno's, but his behaviour made their family change their minds, and they chose a more responsible one, Carlos." "They were 20 years old when Carlos was named heir, and his brother did not agree with it. He later started his own gang." he takes another drag and continues. "The cobras did terrorise the streets of Venice. When he killed my friend's wife, his dad and Moreno locked him up. He is in prison as we speak," he finishes with a sigh. So Rico killed his grandma, and his family thinks he's still in prison. "Does he know about me?" I can't help but ask. "He knew about the arrangements but didn't know who you were. We tried as much to hide you from him and other rivals." They did a shitty job at that, then. "Anything else you want to know?" he softly massages my scalp, and I feel sleep creeping into my head. I like how soothing this is. "I met him today, at the ball," I whisper, closing my eyes. "Say what?" he yells, standing up and pushing me away in the process. Fuck, way to ruin our moment. "He was at the party, he confronted his brother, and I happened to be there," I explain, staring at him in confusion. Why is he so mad about me meeting Rico? "Why am I hearing about this now?" he shouts in exasperation, throwing the cigar on the floor before crashing it with his feet. That is so untidy. " Why didn't anyone inform me he was out?" he keeps cussing out in Italian while I just watch him silently. My sleep is now out of the window. "Listen, honey," he crouches in front of me and holds my hands in his. " You have to stay away from him. He's up to no good, and I'm sure he figured out you are the heiress," he pleads with his eyes, and I nod. "Okay," I wasn't planning on meeting him again. "He'll do anything to get to you because he's after power, and if he gets you, the empires will be in the wrong hands, you have to promise me, honey." Is Rico that bad that my grandpa is begging me to stay away from him? " I will stay away, grandpa, you have nothing to worry about," I reassure him, but deep inside, I'm curious about this unwanted man. "Fuck" he curses and gets back on his feet."I need to call Moreno." The good weed is now forgotten. I guess Rico is that bad. " He comes near you, use the sword I gave you, and don't hesitate," he warns in a serious tone. It's no longer my loving grandpa talking; this is the ex-don talking. "What's the commotion about?" Dad asks, tiredly entering the room, followed by two of his men. He went for an exchange in the morning, that's why he didn't attend the ball. "Rico is out, did you know that?" Grandpa snaps at him angrily. "I found out yesterday," Dad sighs, sitting on the couch next to mine. My poor dad must be so tired. "And you didn't think I was supposed to know about it, no?" Grandpa growls out, glaring at my father. Here we go again. I hate it every time he does this. It's like watching two people you love fighting, and you can't intervene. "It's complicated, Father, you of all the people should know that," Dad snaps back in the same tone as his father. "Do me a favour and make sure he doesn't come near her, or this alliance is not happening. I'm starting to regret my decisions," He says and angrily vacates the room, leaving me with Dad. "Go to bed, dear, we'll talk tomorrow," my dad mumbles, and I kiss his cheek before going to my room. I don't want to stress him with questions right now. Wait, what if Rico is the master? because it's clear everyone doesn't like him. That should mean something, right?