CHAPTER 111: HANDLE THE TRUTH

We enjoyed each other’s company in silence, but it didn’t take long for my own mind to break the peace. I couldn’t stop thinking and replaying the events that happened earlier in the evening with Daniel and all the words that he had said to me.

"What’s the matter? You’re all tense," Raphael asked observingly.

"I’m sorry. I’m trying my best to forget, but it just keeps on coming back to me," I confessed in a shaky voice as I tried to keep the dark memories at bay. I closed my eyes, but Daniel’s words swirled around in my head along with his smug confidence. Something was bothering me, and I was entirely sure that it had less to do with how he physically handled me and more to do with his words-what he said and what he implied.

"Listen, when I was with Daniel earlier, he said something weird," I began saying before taking a pause. My words clearly captured Raphael’s attention and also his curiosity.

"What did he say?" Raphael asked.

I bit down on my lower lip as I hesitated. I wondered how I should put it so that it wouldn’t sound strange or offensive. My heart raced faster in my chest, and I realized that there was a part of me that was scared of hearing the truth. What would I do if the rumors about Raphael and his family turned out to be true?

"He said something about wanting me to help steal some kind of business deal with you and Bennett. He acted like I could convince you," I replied before pausing to see Raphael’s reaction.

"What kind of deal did he talk about?" Raphael asked, as he kept his eyes on my face.

"I’m actually not sure. He didn’t mention the details, just that it was some business deal. He... asked if I knew what was really going on in your family’s business," I replied while choosing my words carefully.

Raphael was silent for a short moment, and I could tell that he knew what I was trying to get at. Those rumors that had always been swirling around his family had been around for a very long time, and it was no secret to anyone. Of course, rumors are just rumors and no one has any proof that they are true.

"Is this about the rumors? Did Daniel tell you that the rumors are true?" Raphael asked before showing me an amused smile.

"I’m not sure what he was trying to say, but it felt like he was hinting at something," I replied.

"I see," Raphael said, as if he no longer wanted to talk about the topic.

I knew that the topic was difficult to discuss, but now that I had opened Pandora’s box, I wasn’t willing to back down without getting some answers. The fact that Raphael did not want to talk about it only sent all the wrong signals and made me feel like the rumors might, in fact, be true, although I have no proof whatsoever.

"Raphael, please," I said as I sat up fully in bed. I tightened my hands around his as I pleaded with him with my eyes.

"I really need to know. If there is something going on, something dangerous, then I guess I deserve to know what I’ve gotten myself into," I said pleadingly.

Suddenly, Raphael’s face became a blank and unreadable mask.

"What if I told you that you don’t want to know the truth?" he asked dispassionately.

"But what if I do want to know the truth?" I asked back.

"Perhaps the truth isn’t something that you’re ready to handle," Raphael replied smoothly.

I found an uncomfortable knot forming in the pit of my stomach, and that was probably a sense of foreboding. It felt like Raphael had already admitted to me that the rumors are true, but how could that possibly be?

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that the rumors are true?" I asked after deciding to get directly to the point.

Instead of replying to me right away, Raphael leaned forward. He rested his elbows on his knees and fixated his gaze on me. "What would you do if you found out that my family isn’t what it seems? What would you do if I told you that all the rumors that you have heard about us are in fact true?" he asked, sounding quite amused and curious.

"I..." I began saying but trailed off. I couldn’t bring myself to reply to his question because I didn’t have an answer for him or an answer for myself. I didn’t know what I would do if it turned out that all the rumors about him and his family were true. I wasn’t even sure if I was in a position to do something about it.

"Are you sure you want to think about this right now?" he asked with a teasing grin.

To Raphael, this matter might be very similar to a joke, but to me it felt like my mother’s life and mine rested on it. If the family that my mother married into was in fact a Mafia family and we were both in a twisted relationship with the men of this family, then that could mean that our very lives were at risk. One wrong move and we might end up dead.

"What if my father isn’t just a normal businessman? What if this house and this entire family is built on something much darker? What would you do? Would you tell your mother? Can you even bring yourself to believe it?" Raphael slowly asked me a serious question that prompted my thoughts when he saw that I had lapsed into silence.

My mind raced as a thousand various thoughts clashed with each other and waged war in my head. Could it really be true? Could Raphael and Bennett be involved in such a world?

"I don’t know. I don’t know what I would do," I finally admitted.

–To be continued...