Page 109 of Accidental Alliance

Davide studies me for a long moment, then he nods slowly. “Understood.” He turns slightly toward one of the guards. “Elio Conti is to remain under watch twenty-four, seven. No communication devices. No personal effects until cleared. He is not to leave whatever room we assign him without four men present. If he asks for Isabella, the request comes to me first.”

I cut in. “To me.”

Davide looks back at me.

“If he asks for me, I’ll decide whether he gets an answer,” I say.

He nods after another brief moment. “To Isabella first.”

The guard dips his head. “Yes, sir.”

“Search his car again,” Davide adds. “Bring me the ledger. If there is anything else in that vehicle, I want it on my desk.”

After the guards leave, the hallway settles into a quiet so tense, I can hear my own pulse pounding in my ears again.

Davide turns back to me. “You trust the ledger?”

“I trust my father,” I say.

“And Elio?”

My throat tightens at the question.

Do I trust him?

No.

Do I believe he came here with a truth that might help us?

Yes.

Do I believe he wants Alessio stopped?

Perhaps.

Do I believe he is actually remorseful?

I do not have an answer for that. Not even deep inside my own head. Whatever Elio’s true motivations are for doing all of this is anyone’s guess, most of all, mine. Until I can figure out if he’s indeed being as truthful as he says he is, I have to treat him accordingly.

Eventually, I shrug. “I trust that he hates his brother right now. That kind of hatred can be useful.”

“I believe your father would have made the same assessment.”

I blow out a slow breath and start walking past him.

Davide falls into step beside me for a few paces, though he does not crowd me. “Where are you going?”

“To check on Matteo.”

He does not try to stop me.

The hallway stretches ahead, quiet and dimly lit. As I walk back upstairs, my mind is already spinning.

If Elio is telling the truth, then Alessio’s entire legitimacy may be able to be dismantled. If that ledger proves what my father suspected of him, then perhaps the Conti family will crumble, after all. But only time will truly tell.

I just pray I haven’t invited a wolf into the house only to watch it tear us apart from the inside out.

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