CHAPTER 139: IN ROME

Dalton lingered on the balcony of the townhouse he had bought two years ago during a business trip to Rome, admiring the beautiful city that was holding his wife captive while devising a plan to get her back. He just wanted to burst into Vico’s home and take his wife back, but Aiden insisted they needed to be strategic about it. But, Dalton was losing his patience, even though he trusted Aiden’s judgment.

"Hey, big bro, where are you?" Someone sang, startling Dalton. It wasn’t Aiden’s voice, but a very familiar one he had known all his life. He left the balcony and went back inside, heading straight to the living room.

And there were the twins—he was seeing them for the first time in over a year. God, he had really missed them.

"River, Oliver?" His eyes gleam. "Why are you two in Rome?"

Oliver smiled, and River grinned boyishly, which sparked a little glimpse of joy in Dalton for the first time in a month. He had really missed them.

"We are on break from our humanitarian duties and decided to come to Rome to see our big brother," Oliver said.

Dalton looked at Aiden disapprovingly. "You told them about Maya, didn’t you?" He scowled at him.

Aiden gritted his teeth. "Sorry, bro, I couldn’t hide it from them."

Dalton felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Oliver looking at him sadly.

"You and Aiden are going to get her back," Oliver said, as if it were a confirmation.

Dalton could only nod, pulling Oliver into the most emotional hug they had ever shared as brothers. Then Aiden and River joined them in a sad yet hopeful group hug. Dalton felt a surge of determination and confidence, knowing he would get Maya back with the support and encouragement of his Brothers.

"You’ll get our sister-in-law back just in time before our vacation ends, so I can enjoy delicious meals prepared by her." River jokes, lightening the mood. Dalton grumbles at him, Aiden rolls his eyes, and Oliver gives his twin brother a scolding look.

It feels so nostalgic; Dalton is glad to have the twins back, completing their family.

The beautiful emotional hug ended, and Aiden went to get a bottle of whisky for them to drink. Oliver, however, was excluded because he hated whisky.

"Sorry about Nana Rose; I can’t believe she did that," Oliver lamented.

Dalton’s heart ached as Oliver reopened a wound.

"I never want to see her again," Dalton said indignantly.

"Same," Oliver said in agreement.

"Me too," River chimed in.

Aiden also agreed; what Nana Rose did was unforgivable. They were going to choose Maya over the woman who raised them.

Aiden returned with two bottles of whiskey, and River took one of the bottles before leaving with his twin brother to give Dalton and Aiden some privacy to talk.

"Here," Aiden handed his phone to Dalton. It was a picture of Maya reading while drinking coffee at a book café.

Dalton’s forest green eyes sparkled with happiness. He ran a finger across the screen. She is so close, yet so far from his reach.

"Thank you," he said.

"Maya was with Vico’s sister. Stalking his sister was the best strategy," Aiden beams.

"I will keep stalking that woman until I get a chance to speak to Maya without being detected."

Dalton’s phone buzzes, interrupting his reply to Aiden. It’s a text from Marcello: he’s on his way here.

The moment they touched down in Rome, Dalton called Marcello to inform him that they had arrived.

"It’s Marcello; he’s coming here," Dalton tells Aiden.

Aiden grimaced deeply.

Dalton raised his eyebrows in question.

Aiden shrugged. "He’s been acting suspiciously lately, and there’s no proof of where he took the girls he rescued from Venus City before we demolished it."

"We will ask him about that," Dalton said, choosing to trust the man who took a bullet for him rather than make assumptions about him.

****

An hour later, Marcello arrived.

"Hey, Fra!" Marcello exclaimed as he and Dalton shared a manly hug.

Aiden was still uneasily suspicious of Marcello; he watched him tediously.

Marcello let out a long sigh. "I will get straight to the point," he said, rubbing his palms together. "So I saw..." He paused for a moment and said. "I saw Maya."

Dalton jerked up from the couch, held his breath, released it, and asked, "Where? How?"

"I saw her at a fundraising gala at a museum, and we talked," Marcello said nonchalantly, then grinned. "She looked so beautiful."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Man, get straight to the point. Why didn’t you try to rescue her?" he asked, voicing the question that Dalton wanted to ask.

"Because I didn’t want to," Marcello said, deadpan, his voice cold and grizzly.

Dalton looked at Aiden, and they both shared the same befuddled expression.

"Why?" Aiden asked.

"Because Maya is mine," Marcello boldly declared.

Like a lightning bolt, Dalton’s fist flew toward Marcelo’s face. "How dare you! Say that again, and I will kill you."

Marcello laughed. "She has been mine since I laid my eyes on her at the hospital when I was seven, and she was just a baby."

"Whoa, you mean you and Maya have been betrothed to get married since you were kids?" Aiden asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, by my father and Vico, so she has been mine all her life, pal."

Dalton’s chest constricted. "Vico asked you to spy on me. Is that why you befriended me?"

"You were the one who installed the security system at Dalton’s mansion, so you were the one who disabled it, allowing Vico to plant that gun that nearly ended Dalton’s life!" Aiden deduced.

Admission was evident on Marcello’s face. "Yes, but I really like you, man. That’s why I allowed you to marry Maya and allow you to enjoy a one-year peaceful marriage with her. You should have gotten her pregnant, and I could have stepped back, but my instincts told me she was on birth control pills because she was focusing on her culinary career, so there would be no baby when the time is up for me to claim her. Oh boy, I was so right."

Dalton threw an uppercut, sending Marcello flying off the floor.

"Did you stage taking that bullet for me to make me trust you?"

Marcello laughed as he cradled his ribs where Dalton’s punch had landed. "It was fun staging that; I felt like we were characters in a movie."

Dalton lunged at Marcello. "You’re so foolish to come here alone and confront me like this. I’m going to beat you to a pulp!"

"Not so fast," Marcello said, lifting his shirt to reveal a gun, prompting Aiden to step in and pull Dalton away from him.

"Get out!" Aiden shouted at Marcello

Marcello slowly got to his feet, still holding his injured ribs. "Not before I show you this!" He threw a phone at Dalton.

Dalton turned on the screen, and the image he saw made his heart crumple like a piece of paper in his chest as jealousy and rage flooded his heart.

Maya was in Marcello’s arms, and he noticed the discomfort and tears on her face.

"I told Maya that you loathe her because she is Vico’s daughter and that you want a divorce. The beautiful girl just broke down, and I had to comfort her, as you can see on the phone screen." He grinned deviously and triumphantly.

"I’m going to mend her broken heart, and gradually, her heart will only beat for me while you are long forgotten."

Dalton, in a fit of rage, threw the phone at Marcello, but he ducked his head down, missing it

"Whoa, what a great shot! That was a close call," Marcello snickered.

"Sign those divorce papers and just give up; you can never get Maya back. Plus, Vico has eyes all over this city, so be careful, bestie." He strides out.

Dalton clasped his hands over his head, distressed. Maya was suffering, thinking he loathed her. God, she must have been crying herself to sleep. He would kill that bastard, Marcello!

"I will try speaking to Maya next week; we will get her back that same week," Aiden assured him.

"If not, we will attack Vico’s mansion, no matter the risk, and get my wife back," Dalton said as he stormed off.