Chapter 5 - The Shadow of the Past
Mary did not catch the afternoon flight to Rome. Instead, she found herself walking through the sprawling, sunlit gardens of the Salvatore estate, trying to process a lifetime of deception in a single afternoon. Her mother had lied to her for twenty-eight years. Every story about an orphaned childhood, every warning to stay away from the south, every whispered prayer for safety—it had all been a desperate shield designed to keep Mary as far away from the mafia empire as possible. Yet fate, or some strange cosmic irony, had dragged her right back to the exact doorstep she was supposed to avoid.
Liam did not join her in the garden immediately, leaving her in the care of Enzo, who escorted her to a quiet patio overlooking the sea. Enzo had served the Salvatore family for four decades, his loyalty absolute, his demeanor unchanging.
"Your mother was a brave woman, Signorina," Enzo said softly as he poured her a cup of herbal tea. "Foolish, perhaps, but brave. Palermo does not easily forgive those who abandon the bloodline."
"Will they try to hurt her?" Mary asked, her heart dropping.
"As long as Don Liam protects you and your family, no one in Sicily will dare touch a hair on your mother's head," Enzo replied with absolute certainty. "But Liam holds many enemies, Signorina. The Lucchesi family in the west has been growing restless. They view the Salvatore empire as vulnerable. That was why your arrival at the wedding caused such a stir. They thought you were a spy sent to uncover our shipping routes."
Footsteps echoed on the stone pavers, and Liam appeared, having changed into a dark tailored polo shirt. Enzo excused himself, leaving the two cousins alone in the quiet afternoon breeze.
"You've been talking to Enzo," Liam noted, sitting down in the chair opposite her. "He tells you too much."
"He told me the truth," Mary shot back, her gaze locking onto his. "Something my mother refused to do my entire life. Why didn't you just tell me last night on the motorcycle?"
"Would you have believed a stranger who told you he was your cousin while whisking you away into a thunderstorm?" Liam asked, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "You barely believed I was a criminal. You called me dangerous."
"And you were right."
Liam leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, his expression turning serious. "The Lucchesi family knows you're here, Mary. They saw you at the wedding. They saw you leave with me. Which means you are no longer safe walking alone in Palermo."
"What does that mean?"
"It means until I can secure safe passage back to Rome—or until I crush the Lucchesi threat entirely—you stay here. In this house. Under my protection."
Mary bristled at the command. "I am not your prisoner, Liam."
"You are my family, which makes you my responsibility," he replied, his voice hardening with absolute authority. "And in my world, family is protected by any means necessary."
Before Mary could argue further, a sharp, urgent ring interrupted them. Enzo hurried onto the patio, whispering something in Liam's ear that made the mafia boss's face turn instantly to stone. Liam stood up, his eyes flashing with suppressed fury.
"Stay inside the house, Mary. Do not leave the grounds."
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"What happened?"
"A warehouse at the port just went up in flames," Liam said, his voice dropping an octave into a chilling register. "The Lucchesi family has declared war."
