My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 600

Chapter 600

He straightened as much as Dante’s grip allowed, fixing his attention entirely on my brother.

“I know what the Capone name means. You don’t poke a sleeping tiger unless you’re looking to get eaten alive… Everything I did tonight was to prove my loyalty.”

It was convincing and logically structured.

Truth lives in patterns.

People rarely reveal themselves through a single decision. They reveal themselves through consistency.

Cole’s version explained why he contacted us. Denise’s version explained why he waited as long as he had. Both narratives accounted for the evidence.

“Don’t…” Gianna whispered behind me, “Please don’t listen to him… Please… don’t listen to him, Raph…”

Her plea wasn’t directed at my logic. It was directed at the part of me she’d always believed would choose her over reason.

The inconvenient reality was that, for her…

I already had and she wasn’t going to like it.

Cole met Gianna’s tear-filled eyes for a moment before looking directly at me, “We’d never even met before tonight. I don’t owe your family a damn thing. But the second that crazy bitch dragged an unconscious Capone into my building, I didn’t hide her. I didn’t ask for a ransom. I kept Denise away from her, wrapped the wound on her head, and called you immediately. I brought the entire Capone empire to my own doorstep. Does that sound like a man trying to steal your millions…. or a man trying to stay alive by doing right by your family?”

Every decision he described aligned with self-preservation. A man planning to extort us wouldn’t summon the people most capable of killing him before making a single demand.

The reasoning held.

My opinion of him didn’t change.

Whether he’d acted out of loyalty, fear, or calculated self-interest was almost irrelevant. He had still inserted himself into a situation involving Gianna.

That alone guaranteed consequences.

I understood what was happening. The woman she’d trusted had confessed without hesitation and she made no final attempt to protect the image Gianna had carried of her.

Just the truth or enough of it to destroy her.

My chest tightened with a sensation I had no interest in naming. I kept my eyes forward. If I looked at her now, I wouldn’t be able to hold myself away from her.

“Mama D…” Gianna sobbed, “I… wasn’t I one of your girls too?”

Denise flinched as if Gianna had struck her across the face. Her jaw stayed open, a thin string of bloody spit hanging from her lower lip, but no words came out.

My eyes stayed fixed on the side of Gianna’s face, “Gianna,” I said, “You heard her.”

“Mama D, answer me!” Gianna shrieked, “How do you just… how do you put a price tag on a person? How do you look at me and see dollars?”