Free Web NovelChapter 152: Watch from a distance
"You wanted to meet me by hiding your identity, didn’t you? And if I’d ignored your proposal, if I’d never agreed to this meeting, would you have found another way to trick me into seeing you?" She drew a sharp breath. "Why does it even matter to you whether I’m safe or not? We aren’t related. We’ve never been related."
Joseph’s face paled. He took half a step forward, then stopped himself, his hands open at his sides as if to show he meant no threat.
"Sara, you’re misunderstanding everything," he said but without anger. "I didn’t know you existed. Not until very recently. Mom never once mentioned you, not a single time in my entire life." He swallowed hard. "It was only when Luca sent his secretary to me... Asking me to take Mom back, to get her out of your life and away from you... Then only I learned the truth."
The room seemed to tilt under Sara’s feet. It shocked her how Luca hid the truth about Joseph from her and even earlier, he wanted Joseph to be gone. Why did he have to lie to her?
Her chest tightened painfully.
She pressed her lips together.
"I’m not related to you, so you should leave," she pronounced. Her throat felt dry and scratched, anxiety coiling tight in her stomach. "You’ve seen me now. You got what you came for. So please just leave. Go back to wherever you came from."
Joseph remained rooted to the spot. Looking at Sara, he realized she was a different person entirely from what he did imagine.
"Sara..." he began. "I don’t have the answers. I don’t know why she kept you a secret, or why she walked away. But if it helps... She wasn’t exactly a mother to me, either. To her, people were just assets; all she ever saw was the dollar sign."
He paused for a short moment. "I’m staying at a hotel tonight. I’m not asking for a miracle, just think about it. Call me when the you feel a little better."
He finally reached into his wallet and pulled out a business card.
"I told you," Sara again declared, "I have nothing to do with you."
"Maybe you don’t," Joseph conceded with a sad, thin smile. "But I have a sister now. And that sister is married to a man like Luca. I just need to know you’re safe, Sara, that he isn’t hurting you. I’m sorry for cornering you like this, but I knew if I went through official channels, Luca would never let me see you."
He placed the card gently on the desk and walked away before she could hand it back.
Sara pressed her fingers to her temples. She glanced down at the card on the desk, noting the name of the company Joseph owned. She moved to pick it up as familiar, heavy footsteps echoed behind her. She left the card where it lay.
"I saw Joseph leaving," Luca’s voice broke the silence, cautious but edged with a low growl. "Did you two—"
"Why did you keep it from me?" Sara turned to look at him. "Why didn’t you tell me he’s my half-brother?"
Luca’s expression shifted from concern to a flash of unbridled fury. "Did Joseph tell you this?" His jaw clenched so tightly a muscle twitched in his cheek. He moved toward her, reaching out to catch her arm, but she yanked it away as if his touch burned.
"Don’t touch me," she snapped, her eyes bright with betrayal. "You lied to my face. And no, Joseph didn’t have to tell me, I heard you talking to Fabio. Is this what love looks like to you? Keeping secrets? I’ve been an open book to you, Luca. Yet you’re operating behind my back, making decisions for my life as if I’m not even in the room. Joseph came here just to make sure I was surviving being a ’mafia wife.’"
"Sara, I did it for you," Luca insisted. "I thought it would break you, learning there was another piece of the family that abandoned you. You were already drowning in what your mother did, I didn’t want to hand you more grief. I didn’t want to see you sad."
Sara bit her lower lip, turning her gaze toward the window to hide the flicker of pain in her eyes.
"Okay," Luca muttered, the fire in him dying out into a grim realization. "I’m sorry. I misjudged it. I thought if I kept you in the dark, I was keeping you safe."
"I want to be alone," Sara said, a deep frown carving into her forehead as she refused to meet his eyes.
Luca let out a low hum. He didn’t push. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out her device. "You forgot your phone in the conference room," he said softly, setting it on the desk beside Joseph’s card. Without another word, he retreated.
"He’s unbelievable," Sara murmured to the empty room. Her frustration simmered again. "What was the point of hiding it? And Joseph..." She looked back at the business card. "Why does he even care? Why does it matter to him how I’m living my life?"
~~~~~
Luca kept his eyes fixed on the wall clock, watching the second hand sweep past the minutes. Fifteen minutes had stretched into twenty, and Sara hadn’t come to him. He finally dropped his arms from the desk and surged to his feet.
When he reached her office, his heart sank. It was empty.
He pulled out his phone and dialed her number, but the call was cut off instantly. She was avoiding him.
He stormed back into the hallway, cornering every employee on the floor. "Where is she? Did anyone see my wife leave?" Each shake of a head fueled his frustration. He called Fabio, but Fabio hadn’t seen her either.
Luca tried her number one more time, but the result was the same. Gritting his teeth, he opened his messages, his thumbs flying across the screen.
"Sara, don’t do this. I know you’re upset, but don’t hang up on me. Just tell me where you are."
He stared at the screen. Sixty seconds felt like an hour. When no reply came, he didn’t wait any longer. He headed straight for the CCTV control room with a predatory stride.
The security guards scrambled to make room as he leaned over the monitors. "Find her," he barked. They toggled through various angles, scanning the lobby and the side exits. Finally, on a grainier screen near the main entrance, he saw her stepping out of the glass doors and disappearing into the city’s afternoon rush.
"Check the cameras at the main gate," Luca ordered, his voice echoing off the monitors.
The guard complied, clicking through the feeds. "Sir, Madam crossed the street, but the cameras don’t reach any further. I can’t tell you exactly where she went from there." The guard glanced at him, clearly confused as to why the boss was scouring security footage instead of just calling his wife.
Luca ignored the look, stepped out of the room, and tried her number one more time. To his immense relief, the line clicked open.
"You seriously don’t know how to leave me alone, do you?" Sara’s voice came through in a hushed tone.
"Just tell me where you are," Luca pleaded. "I won’t even talk to you. I’ll just watch from a distance."
"No. You don’t need to watch me. I’ll come back when I’m ready," Sara stated firmly. She was about to end the call when Luca’s voice turned sharp with possessiveness.
"I’ll find you, Sara."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and hung up on him.
Luca sighed, staring at his darkened screen. His mind wasn’t on the argument anymore, it was on the fact that Martin was still out there, uncaught and dangerous. He couldn’t leave her unprotected. He quickly dialed a contact in traffic control, and after ten minutes of tense waiting, he had her exact location.
The cafe was just a block away from the office. Luca stepped inside, the bell above the door muffled by the low chatter of the patrons. He spotted her immediately, tucked away at a far table, looking small and lost in her own thoughts. He was relieved seeing her safe.
He chose a table in the opposite corner, keeping his back partially turned so she wouldn’t notice him. After ordering a plain black coffee, he settled in to watch her. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
’She was right,’ he thought, his gaze lingering on the way she rested her chin in her hand. ’If I love her, I can’t keep her in the dark. Not about her own life, and certainly not about her own blood.’ He decided to apologize to her properly tonight. He just hoped, for once, that his protection hadn’t cost him her trust. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
~~~~~
Today is the last day of the year. For me this year brought lots of ups and downs in life while making me realize for my own true peace sometimes it is important to keep a distance. I hope with this upcoming here, we all find peace, and joy, of course, good health. Happy New Year’s Eve 🎊 🎉
