Chapter 120

Aldo

The look in her eyes was cold. Distant. It was that same look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Like looking into the eyes of a complete stranger.

I hadn’t meant to throw that spiteful comment at her, regarding her friendship with Vanessa. Honestly, there was no way of her knowing about the other woman’s true nature. It was a low hit on my part.

But I was still met with a bitter look from her and painful silence.

“Layla, you taking out the Rossetti family isn't going to stop the ongoing threats that will inevitably come up in the future,” I told her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. “Well, it’s certainly a decent start,” she hissed.

I gave her a hard glare. Before I could say another word, there was a swift knock on the door. Carlo stepped through, half-sparing me a glance. A wise decision on his end.

As far as he knew, I was greatly pissed off at him for his hand in Layla’s current frame of mind.

“I’ve just been given confirmation by each team leader,” he informed. “Everyone is locked in.”

Layla merely nodded and reached for her phone. My stomach churned as she pulled up Vanessa’s number. She placed the call on speaker.

Part of me was hoping that Vanessa wouldn’t pick up. In the back of my mind was searching for something—anything that would stop Layla from making such a horrible and rash decision.

There’s still time for me to get her to see the problem.

Unfortunately, on the last ring, Vanessa’s sweet-toned voice came through the phone.

“I’m not going to lie, you’ve shocked me,” she said. “Here I thought you would have already tried to come and get your son.”

Vanessa’s condescending tone had me clenching my jaw in hatred. Meanwhile, Layla remained calm and assertive.

“You thought wrong. Perhaps, you don’t know me as well as you think Ms. Rossetti.”

“Have you decided that you no longer care for the safety and life of your son?” she questioned dubiously.

“On the contrary, my son is the only person in my life whom I would walk through literal fire for. I wonder...Do you happen to feel the same for your own family?”

A long pause of silence passed.

“If I didn’t, do you really think I would have taken your son?” she countered.

I watched with bated breath as a menacing smile curved Layal’s perfect lips.

“I know you have your sights set on Aldo turning himself in,” she began. “But I can assure you, I have something much more valuable than petty revenge.”

Vanessa’s voice filled with skepticism. “Oh, really?”

“Yes.” She wore her cool, reposed demeanor like impenetrable armor. “Why not put an end to all of this insanity and meet face to face? That way I can explain to you what I’m truly willing to trade over.”

“Alright, why not? I can’t imagine what you think could be better in replacement of your husband rotting away in prison. But, needless to say, you’ve snagged my interest. I’ll send you the address. Be here by nine a.m..”

The call was dropped and not a minute later, Layla got the address.

“5523 West Pearl Avenue. Lot number 13.”

My brows furrowed. “Pearl Avenue? That’s where all those old warehouses are.”

“She’s certainly picked the right location to remain hidden.”

I tried not to think about the unsightly conditions of those decrepit buildings. It wasn’t safe for a full-grown man to go tromping around, much less a child. I needed to keep my emotions under control because the clock was beginning to make its final countdown.

We had a location and Layla’s plan was falling into motion.

“Inform the teams that we have a location and time to meet,” Layla said.

Without another word, Layla turned on her heels and left the room. I knew what I had to do. As I started to make my way to the door, I heard Carlo’s voice speak out.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

I hadn’t bothered to hold back my sneer. “As if that’s any of your fucking business,” I said tightly.

The message I sent to Ethan was swift. It wasn’t as though I wanted our situation with Vanessa to drag on any longer than necessary—especially for the sake of my son—but it meant that we were out of time.

A decision had to be made. As soon as we were able to get a location, a plan was formulated in my mind.

I’d called him back to the same spot he was willing to meet up at last time. Before I left the house, I quickly stopped back at the study where I pulled out one of the old family photo albums.

Having slipped the needed picture into the inner pocket of my jacket, I headed out.

A half-hour passed when I finally saw Ethan pulling up in his car. He looked as distressed as I felt. I figured, for both of our sakes, I would just cut straight to the point.

“The time has come, Ethan. I need to know your decision.”

I was seriously praying that he was going to make the right choice and agree to work with me on this. If not? I was more than ready to shed a little light on the true nature of who he truly was. I didn’t want to burst the guy’s bubble of living the humble, honest life of a cop.

But there was too much on the line now. I was just facing the risk of losing Eli. I was on the very edge of losing my wife to the darkness that came with the family name.

Ethan responded with indifference. The man was obviously fighting a war within himself.

“Look, I know you have your doubts,” I said. “You have every right to be worried for your career and your reputation. But I have to tell you that what Layla has planned is far more troubling than even I could imagine.”

Ethan turned a shade paler. “What do you mean? What the hell does she plan to do?”

For the next several minutes, I explained in great detail the same exact plan Layla had told everyone earlier. Ethan’s look of worry grew worse and worse. The poor bastard was one moment away from either fainting or throwing up.

“You can’t be serious...Oh my God,” he gasped. “Has she lost her fucking mind?!”

“Yes!” I shouted back. “And she’s about to lose a lot more than that if we let this plan of hers take place.”

“Jesus Christ.” Ethan buried his face into his hands and groaned. “Aldo...I...I don’t think I can. I’m sorry.”

Something snapped inside of me. I wasn’t entirely sure what exactly, all I knew was that my vision became fuzzy and my heart rate picked up.

“No...I’m the one who’s sorry,” I said. “I’ve let this whole police officer lifestyle thing you have going on exist for long enough.”

Ethan shot me a bewildered look. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I calmly reached into the inner pocket of my jacket and felt for the picture. Ethan looked instantly panicked. He reached for his hip where his gun was currently holstered.

“Calm down,” I muttered. “I’m not planning on killing my own brother.”

“What?”

With a deflated breath, I held up the only known picture of our family. The whites of Ethan's eyes grew enormous.

“Your name isn’t Ethan Smith. It’s Matteo Marcello. You’re the true heir to the Marcella Family.”