The Esztar Code | A Mafia Romance Thriller |18+|

C H A P T E R 24

24| Buried Wounds

"See? This is exactly what I was talking about." He gritted his teeth.

"No! No it's..its not like that." I stuttered.

"It's not?" He cocked his head? "Then why did your hand leave my arm, why did you move away from me, why are you silent?"

I'm terrible with reactions and new discoveries especially when they are like this. I feel bad that I made him feel that way.

"I'm sure you must have had your reasons." I clutched him arm again. He shrugged my grip away.

"You don't have to." He stated bitterly.

"But I want to." I clung to him like a panda this time. Good thing he didn't protest. "Do they know?"

"You think they'd be with me if they knew I killed their parents?"

He's right. But truth had a wicked way of unraveling itself. Mason tried so hard to hide the truth from me. But look where we are now.

"So their mother was a Member and their father was your father's Keeper, right?" God! This is some kind of a family structure. He nodded the answer and continued with the explanation.

"The Members wanted dad out because he wasn't the original Member. But no one could even so much as touch him with Jacques Authier protecting him and all of us for that matter. So the Sodovsky family targeted him first. They threatened to kill Toby and Liam if he didn't kill my father."

This is so twisted. Their lives are nothing but complicated.

"Jacques was a smart man. He tried to play both ways. He skillfully alerted my father about it and somehow saved both their kids and my father. But this came at the cost of his betrayal coming out in the open. Everyone knew what he did and that his wife was also involved." He said.

"And you had no choice to kill them or else there would be a revolt and the others would eventually kill Toby and Liam for revenge because the Code applies to everyone equally." I pieced it together.

"It's so difficult, Vittoria. I loved them as much as I loved my parents. What hurts the most is that they accepted their fate happily. 'They're your responsibility, son.' That's what uncle Jacques said before I shot him right in the head."

I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't see him hurt anymore. Without thinking about the consequences, I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. His arms quickly held me while he rested his chin over my head. It was like we were bonding through our shared miseries.

"Promise me you'll take this one to the grave. No one can know about this Vittoria. I can't lose them." He pleaded.

"I promise I'll keep this secret safe with me. Although I think they'll understand if at all they ever came to know about it. They're your brothers. Your family. They know you've done it all for them." I rubbed his back.

"I'm not so sure about it." He mumbled.

Two teenager girls passed by us, sending us an 'aww' and that's when I realized we're into full on PDA. I quickly pulled apart, my face a deep shade of red.

"Now your turn. Tell me about those scars." He demanded.

My shoulders tensed. I will have to tell him now. I'm not sure if he'll see me the same way as before.

"Can I cheat and not honor the deal?" I batted my eyelashes in the most innocent manner. He raised a brow, providing me the answer I dreaded.

"When I was a kid.." I began. "I.. I never listened to anyone-"