Bought by The Mafia Boss

Chapter 13

My mind was swimming. When he said I Draghi Bianchi it sounded like it held a deeper connotation than had been presented and what did it mean anyway? Then when he used the word disposed of, my stomach lurched just slightly. Disposed wouldn't have been my word of choice when discussing someone that I had kicked out of a house but then again, I wasn't supposed to have known what he said since it was in Italian.

And why was it that the more I knew, the more valuable I would become? Valuable to who? And why did Oliver make it sound like that would put me in danger? There were too many questions forming without enough answers so I shook my head and finally made my way out of the study.

Wandering back to the dining hall, the dull throbbing in my head was slowly subsiding even though the questions remained and my stomach grumbled from hunger. Once again, I would be enjoying a late breakfast most likely alone.

When I pushed in the door and entered the dining room, I found it to be expectantly empty except for a very hungover Lily who had finally made it out of the room. "Hi." I said quietly as I walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down. Ricardo brought out some fruit and oatmeal paired with a hot cup of coffee. Placing it down in front of me, he said good morning and then disappeared back into the kitchen.

Liliana looked up from her plate and gave me a painful smile. "Where were you?" She asked me as I stuck a beautifully ripe strawberry with my fork despite the winter season.

"What are you talking about?" I replied and pushed the red fruit into my mouth.

"I got down here after you had already left the room and it was just my father and a few of Oliver's scary companions." She paused her chewing and raised an accusing eyebrow to me. "Yet you and Oliver were missing and daddy wouldn't say anything about it even though I knew he knew something." She resumed eating but pointed her fork at me threateningly.

I took a couple more bites of breakfast to give myself a little bit of time to think before speaking. "Liliana, how much do you know about your father and his business?" She froze mid bite and oatmeal slowly slopped off of her spoon.

Furrowing her brows she watched me for a moment and I could tell she was wondering what I was getting at. "I assume just as much as you do. He's in sales and distributions and has been since before I was born."

"He hasn't unintentionally said anything more during one of the parties you've attended with him since your mom passed?" I questioned.

"Not that I can think of." She answered and softly smiled at me. "Although, I've never really tried to press for details. I really enjoy my lifestyle and I don't want to do anything to upset daddy, which sounds selfish, I know."

I shook my head. "No, I get it. One more thing; have you ever heard the phrase "I Draghi Bianchi" at any of these parties?" I pressed farther and watched her face flashed with confused recognition.

"Actually yes, but not at the parties. My father used to have guests over and they called themselves that phrase that I can't say that you just said. I think they were daddy's old boss before Oliver agreed to give him a chance." She paused and her face turned dark. "What is this about, Aedlin?" She put her utensils down to dab her mouth with a napkin.

"I'm just curious, I guess." I kept my answer cryptic despite the enormity of the questions that were bubbling underneath.

"Your curiosity is going to get you into trouble one day." She answered and I chuckled. She was right, it had already almost placed me in several situations that could have gotten me hurt. I was lucky enough to have always made it out unscathed but I wondered how long my luck would last.

"Probably." I said as lighthearted as I could and shrugged my shoulders. She giggled and we finished our breakfast in comfortable silence.

As we were walking out of the dining hall, Lily linked her arm in mine and pulled me just a little closer to her. "You know, you haven't said much about your family since you got here." Her voice was sweet and quiet. I glanced her way but didn't answer as we continued mindlessly walking down the corridor.