Chapter 139: Uncle Lorenzo.

I wake up the next morning determined to finally get my influencer work started.

The office is finished. The shelves are in place, the lighting has been installed, and the desk is clean enough to make me feel like a competent adult. All that’s left is to order the products from the brands I want to work with and start planning my first videos.

It feels good to have something that belongs to me.

I settle at my desk and open the list I made yesterday. I’ve been comparing product lines, checking ingredients, and calculating how much I can spend without turning my first attempt at a business into a financial disaster. I want to start small, but I want to do it properly. If I’m going to put my face and name behind something, I need to know what I’m talking about.

I’m halfway through my work when my phone pings, announcing an incoming call.

My heart drops when I look at the caller ID.

It’s Uncle Lorenzo.

I stare at his name for a moment, wondering if I can pretend I didn’t see it. Maybe he’ll assume I’m busy, maybe he’ll call someone else and leave me out of whatever mess he’s trying to pull me into.

But he’ll only keep calling so I swipe to answer.

"Hello, Uncle."

"Nerissa. It’s been a while."

"Yeah," I mutter.

The awkwardness settles between us. I don’t know what to say to him, and I doubt he called because he suddenly missed hearing my voice.

"How have you been?" he asks.

Weird. Since when has he cared about my well-being?

"I’m doing okay, Uncle. Thank you." I glance at the list on my desk. "Has Auntie had the baby?"

"No. She still has a month left."

"Oh. Okay."

He clears his throat. I hear the faint rustle of paper on his end of the line. Maybe he’s looking over something, maybe he’s trying to find the right way to say whatever he called to say.

I don’t help him.

"How has your marriage with Lysander been?"

My shoulders tense.

"It’s been fine, Uncle. As fine as an arranged marriage can be."

"Okay. Perfect. Perfect." He pauses. "Which means he has started letting you into his workings?"

"I don’t know what you mean by that, Uncle."

He sighs.

"You’ve always been a dumb child. Wanting and waiting for everything to be spelt out for you."

My teeth clench so hard it hurts. I grip the edge of my desk, keeping my mouth shut before I say something I’ll regret.

I’m not a child, I’m not stupid. And I’m certainly not going to let him bait me into an argument before I even know what he wants.

He waits a little, as if expecting me to defend myself.

I don’t.

"I know you’re behind Olivia’s disappearance from the family."

The room seems to go still but I don’t say anything. If he’s fishing for a confession, I’m not going to hand him one. I keep my gaze fixed on the notes scattered across my desk and let the silence stretch.

"You know I have the power to drag you back and punish you," he says. "As your Don."

That’s enough.

"You aren’t my Don anymore, Uncle. Lysander is." My voice comes out sharper than I intend but I don’t regret it. "I married him, remember?"

"You’re still a member of this family!"

"True. But you’re my uncle, not my Don."

He takes a deep breath, almost like he’s trying to control himself. I can picture him sitting behind his desk, his expression hardening as he realizes I’m no longer under his direct authority.

Then his voice changes.

"You can have Olivia come back to the family."

My fingers loosen around the edge of the desk.

"What?"

"I haven’t made a ruckus over her disappearance with Sebastian. As far as people know, she went to study overseas and I sent Sebastian with her as her bodyguard."

He pauses.

"Olivia can come back."

Olivia will be thrilled to hear this. She doesn’t say it, but I know she misses home. She misses the people she grew up with, the familiar places, the life she had before everything went wrong. She deserves to come back without looking over her shoulder.

But the relief barely has time to settle before suspicion follows.

I know my uncle. He’s a cunning old man. He doesn’t offer anything without expecting something in return, even when he makes a generous gesture, there’s always a hook hidden beneath it.

"What’s the catch?" I ask.

"You see? Sometimes you can be smart."

I ignore the insult.

He continues, "You know, I hear your husband just became the Capo of Spain."

I keep my surprise off my face , even though he can’t see me. That’s news to me. I make a mental note to tactically ask Lysander about it later, hopefully when I can finally face him.

I’ve been trying to avoid him all morning. I still can’t believe I kissed him yesterday.

I press my palm against my forehead, mortified all over again. I’d been trying to thank him. Somehow, I’d ended up pulling him into a kiss on the stairs like I’d lost my damn mind.

"I don’t know what that has to do with me, Uncle."

He sighs as if I’m disappointing him.

"He has more access to things now, Nerissa. And I need you to help me secure some of that access."

I sit up straighter.

"That’s why I initiated the marriage between our families," he says. "I wanted it to be Olivia, but she just had to open her legs for some stupid dog. She would have been easier to control in this situation. Now I have to deal with you."

My stomach twists at the way he talks about my sister.

"You’ll make do, though," he adds.

I look down at the list on my desk, but the words have blurred.

"I still don’t get what you mean, Uncle."

"You want Olivia to be home with her family, don’t you?"

I hesitate. The answer is obvious, but suddenly it feels dangerous to give it.

"Yes."

"Good." His voice turns firm. "She can come home if you steal some valuable information from your husband for me."

I go completely still.

"For your family, Nerissa," he adds, as if that makes it better. "If you want to leave the marriage, I can arrange that too...I know you didn’t want to marry him."

My hand tightens around the phone.

"But you’ll have to give me what I want first."