Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

Evelyn thought to herself, living with Isabella and the others seemed rather comfortable. She could enjoy so much of Lilly’s delicious food and also get to see James.

The day she first met James, she felt as if she had fallen into hell, on the brink of death. Unexpectedly, James suddenly appeared and saved her. This man looked terrifying, holding a gun in his hand, another strapped to his back, armed from head to toe, looking utterly fearsome.

However, his actions were unexpectedly thoughtful. He deliberately escorted her to a hotel, arranged for her to have a change of clothes, and even found a female doctor to accompany her. Despite his fierce appearance and rough manner, Evelyn could discern a sense of thoughtfulness and tenderness within him.

For some reason, not seeing James these past few days, she found herself thinking of him. “Oh, people are truly strange,” Evelyn thought. She had struggled to break free from her previous relationship, so why did she now begin to feel the stirrings of a new romance?

“Dammit, Evelyn, can’t you learn a damn lesson from this? You can’t keep falling into this; it will only end up ruining you,” she scolded herself.

Evelyn desperately tried to restrain her feelings, but she couldn’t. She felt she needed a cold shower to calm herself down a bit.

Emanuele had to leave for work in the afternoon; there was a meeting waiting for him at the company. Due to his prolonged hospital stay and absence, there was a lot of work pending. Although he wished to stay with Isabella all day, he had to go to work.

Before leaving, Emanuele kissed Isabella on the forehead. “Darling, I’m off to work. If you want to buy anything, feel free to shop online. If you want to eat something, ask Lilly. Remember, eat whatever you want, don’t deliberately diet, okay?”

“I understand. Focus on your work, and, if possible, find William soon,” she said.

She believed William must still be in Chicago, and finding him was just a matter of time.

“I promise you, Isabella,” Emanuele solemnly assured her. He vowed to find that bastard as soon as possible and make him pay for everything he had done.

After Emanuele left, Isabella sighed, holding Evelyn. “Staying at home every day is really boring.”

Although she understood it was for her safety, being cooped up at home all the time made her feel stifled.

“Isabella, how about we play some games?” Evelyn suggested.

There was a game room, but Isabella never played games and had no interest in them, so she never set foot in it.

Today, however, Evelyn surprisingly suggested playing games.

“I don’t know how,” Isabella replied.

“I do, I’ll teach you,” Evelyn said, taking Isabella to the game room and calling Elisa over.

“Elisa, you must be good at playing games, right?”

“I am. I’m really good at games.”

“Wow, then you must be really good. When we play together later, please go easy on us.”

“Of course, neither of you is a match for me.”

Hearing Elisa’s confident words, Isabella and Evelyn exchanged a glance, both sensing fear in each other’s eyes. Isabella especially, as she had no idea how to play.

As Isabella was a novice at gaming, they decided to start with the simplest game, a two-player challenge. However, Isabella’s poor performance led to repeated failures, causing them to lose the game.

Gritting her teeth, Evelyn handed the controller to Elisa. Isabella watched in amazement as Elisa swiftly took control, ultimately leading them to victory.

Isabella blinked at the screen, finding it hard to believe the game had ended so quickly. Why was it so difficult for her to play, yet so simple for others?

Isabella felt a sense of defeat.

Elisa handed the controller to Isabella. “Isabella, let me guide you. Do as I say.”

They started playing from the first level again. This time, after watching Evelyn and Elisa play and with Elisa’s live guidance, Isabella found the challenge less daunting. Whenever she faced a tough spot, she simply handed the controller to Elisa, much to Elisa’s chagrin. “Isabella, I underestimated you. You’re quite the slacker,” she teased, but she helped Isabella through the tough spots.

“Elisa, you’re amazing! Fantastic! I love you!” Isabella exclaimed after passing the first level. Though Elisa had helped, Isabella felt a great sense of accomplishment, having completed most of it herself.

Isabella even kissed Elisa, thrilled with this level of success, considering herself a gaming novice.

Evelyn furrowed her brow. “I’m your teammate. If I wasn’m not skilled, could you have passed without me? Why praise Elisa and not me?”

Isabella immediately kissed Evelyn on the cheek. “Alright, alright, I’ll praise you too. Is that okay?”

Evelyn felt much better being treated equally. Isabella was also thrilled, feeling an especially warm glow inside. With two good friends by her side, she felt there was no one happier in the world.

The game lasted the whole afternoon, until Lilly called them upstairs for dinner. Isabella was surprised to find that it was already dark outside; she had completely lost track of time.

“Darling, how can you spend the whole day playing games? Remember to take care of the kids,” Lilly said, concerned. “Move around a bit, or your circulation will suffer, and your body will feel terrible.”

“Lilly, you’re just like my mom, worrying so much,” Isabella laughed. Despite finding Lilly a bit overbearing, she was secretly pleased.

Emanuele had said he would be back for dinner, so they went downstairs to wait for him.

When the three similarly-aged girls sat together, they couldn’t help but chat away.

However, at that moment, Evelyn’s phone rang. Glancing at her phone, she immediately felt an uncontrollable tremble in her body.

She had thought that William had disappeared from her life, and she had treated the past as a nightmare, choosing to ignore him.

But William was still seeking her out.

The number was anonymous, and she didn’t know if he had changed his number. Yet, the text was unmistakably from William. He had sent her a photo, showing her naked and bound to a bed, her limbs spread apart, looking utterly disheveled.

This was how she had appeared when William had imprisoned her! She had no idea when he had taken that photo.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Evelyn, you must have enjoyed it at the time, right? I have more photos of you. Would you like to see them?”