Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

Isabella embraced Emanuele, her body soft and warm, making Emanuele feel his heart warming up as well.

“Emanuele, I am truly upset. Since I arrived here, Lilly has always been by my side. Whenever I faced difficulties, Lilly helped me. She’s been like a friend, patiently listening to my troubles. When I’ve felt down, she’d make delicious desserts to lift my spirits. I’ve always thought of Lilly as a very good person. Now that Lilly has done this, I’m truly saddened. But I understand Lilly’s choice, and there’s a reason for it,” Isabella said softly.

From Lilly’s perspective, any choice she made was difficult. Isabella thought Lilly’s actions were not wrong, but Emanuele was right; Lilly’s lack of faith in Emanuele and her actions against him were unforgivable.

Seeing Isabella take his side made Emanuele feel a bit more at ease. His greatest fear was that Isabella didn’t understand him. Now, it seemed that Isabella did understand him, and that was the most important thing.

Emanuele’s heart had indeed suffered a blow from Lilly’s betrayal, though he had tried to hide it and pretend as if nothing had happened. However, in Isabella’s embrace and comfort, Emanuele admitted to feeling a bit hurt.

Holding Isabella, resting his head on her neck, Emanuele whispered, “Isabella, my dear, are you the only one I can trust? Lilly, someone who watched me grow up, could betray me. This suggests that there may be many people around me who could betray me for various reasons. I don’t know when or why.”

Thinking about this, Emanuele felt a sudden weakness in his heart. He held Isabella for a long time before slowly sitting up beside her.

“Lilly has left, and our apartment still needs a chef. I’ll have Phillip select a chef again, ensuring they are absolutely reliable. For this selection, it would be best if the chef were an orphan who can be thoroughly vetted. If they have a family, I’ll ensure their safety to prevent anyone from using them to threaten the chef,” Emanuele said to Isabella.

Isabella nodded. She thought of Lilly’s kind and amiable face, always smiling, even her freckles seemed lively. Warm and perceptive, just like the sun, Lilly was always sensitive to the emotions of those around her and ready to help.

Now, the apartment would no longer have Lilly’s presence. The new chef’s temperament was unknown, but Isabella thought they likely wouldn’t be as lively as Lilly.

Isabella thought of the many dishes she had learned from Lilly, each one becoming etched into her heart like seawater, causing her great distress.

She would miss Lilly in the days to come. On the other side, Phillip arranged for people to search for Lilly’s husband and child. According to Emanuele’s judgment, those who kidnapped Lilly’s family couldn’t have gone far, probably hiding in a secluded area within Chicago or its outskirts. They would search as per Emanuele’s instructions.

Because they had allocated many resources, they quickly found the location of Lilly’s family and even captured the kidnappers. Initially, they thought they could extract some clues from these people, but upon being caught, they saw no way out and each took out a dagger to slit their own throats. Their speed was so swift that Phillip and the others couldn’t stop them. With the deaths of the captors, the trail went cold.

Now, finding clues about the weapons in New York would likely take some time. Phillip brought Lilly’s family before her. Lilly, upon seeing her family, instantly burst into tears and embraced them. She had prepared herself to lose her husband and child, never expecting Emanuele to actually bring them to her.

Why had she chosen not to believe Emanuele? Why had she trusted the wrong person and helped him against Emanuele? Thinking this, Lilly’s tears fell uncontrollably. Fate in this world was truly unfair. If only she had believed Emanuele. Unfortunately, there is no remedy for regret in this world.

Her family was safe now, but she could never return to the apartment. Emanuele no longer trusted her and had driven her out. In truth, he had spared her life, which was already quite merciful. She should be grateful for Emanuele’s last-minute leniency. However, Lilly knew that for the rest of her life, she would live with guilt. She had received so much kindness from Emanuele but had no chance to repay it. She could only live with regret.

After Phillip settled this matter, he reported to Emanuele. Knowing that Lilly’s family had reunited with her, Emanuele considered the matter concluded.

Isabella, after learning about this, couldn’t help but praise Emanuele. “Emanuele, you, you are truly amazing. You’ve undergone such a significant transformation. Not only did you forgive Lilly, but you also rescued her family.” She couldn’t help but give Emanuele a peck on the cheek.

Emanuele’s remarkable change made Isabella very happy. However, even now, she still didn’t like Emanuele’s casual and indiscriminate killing, treating people as if they were just objects. It was too cruel for her. She was a doctor, a life saver, and what she couldn’t tolerate the most was the wanton disregard for life.

The old Emanuele had frightened her, but now, seeing his change, Isabella was reassured. Upon hearing Isabella’s praise, Emanuele smiled and said, “Don’t be so quick to praise me. The main reason is that she is Lilly. If it were someone else, I might not have been as kind to them.”

However, no matter what Emanuele said, Isabella was still very pleased. After all, today, Emanuele saved lives instead of taking them, which indicated that Emanuele was slowly becoming a better person.

It was still regrettable to think that Lilly had left her world.