Chapter 348

• VALENTINA
• ~•~
• “I’m not hiding anything about her murder,” I said, my voice low but steady, forcing myself to meet his gaze head-on. The emergency lights flickered overhead, casting harsh shadows that made the bruises on his jaw look even darker. “After she died, I was lost, Gustavo. Grieving, desperate for any way to keep Luca alive. I overheard snippets—conversations between Bernardi and some of your men about ‘cleaning up loose ends’ from my father’s old cases. I suspected Vitale had a hand in it, maybe even someone inside your circle helping him. But I didn’t have proof. I stayed silent because speaking up could have gotten Luca killed faster. Or me. Or… us, before we even became an us.”