Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

Lilly felt she couldn’t accept this money. Because her husband was ill, and it was all because of his lies. She had to come up with an excuse, otherwise, she didn’t know how to conceal her unhappiness. Lilly knew she wasn’t good at pretending, but the man wanted her to stay here and provide him with some intelligence leads. She had to find an excuse to explain why she looked upset.

Isabella treated her like family, so she cared a lot about Lilly’s emotions. The more Lilly thought about it, the more she felt sorry for Isabella and Emanuele. She was keeping things from them and planning to hurt them, but now Isabella and Emanuele were unaware and even wanted to give her money, saying they would help her husband with his treatment. It was too much. Isabella and Emanuele had already helped her so much. This made Lilly even more upset.

The guilt felt like a tide, threatening to drown her completely. Lilly didn’t know what to say. “Isabella, Emanuele, I can’t accept this money. I have savings and can afford my husband’s medical expenses. Your compensation is already generous enough. I really can’t accept this money,” Lilly hurriedly said to Isabella and Emanuele.

Lilly wanted to cry. She really couldn’t take this money; it would only make her feel more guilty. Isabella and Emanuele still didn’t know what she was doing. She was in the process of judging them and might even hurt them. But she had no choice.

Isabella saw Lilly refuse to accept their money and, seeing Lilly’s and Emanuele’s expressions, she seemed like she was about to cry. “Lilly, what’s wrong? It’s okay, this money is for you. You’ve taken care of me for so long, taken care of Emanuele even longer. In our hearts, you’re like family to us. Since your husband is sick, use this money to help him through this difficult time.”

“Isabella, I really can’t, please,” Lilly implored.

“Lilly, please accept it, it’s okay,” Emanuele added.

Lilly heard Emanuele’s words but didn’t dare say anything. They both insisted so much, Lilly didn’t dare to say anything.

“Thank you, Isabella, thank you, Emanuele,” Lilly said.

After breakfast, Emanuele took Isabella to the hospital. This time, Isabella entered an area of the hospital not open to the public, a place specifically for treating members of the Mafia. Isabella thought Emanuele was very clever; he had acquired a hospital that, on the surface, was open to everyone for treatment, but behind the scenes, it helped Mafia members. Everything made sense.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

This was a closed space, with a structure not very different from the rest of the hospital. The main difference was that there were fewer people here, and many of them seemed to have serious injuries. As soon as Isabella arrived, she saw a person wrapped in bandages, missing an arm and a leg, with only their eyes and nostrils visible, sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed into the ward by a nurse.

Emanuele told her, “He’s Daniel. During a mission, he was injured by a bomb, with 60% of his skin burned, and he lost an arm and a leg. After recovering, he’ll have to retire. But just being alive is already considered lucky.”

Isabella was surprised to learn about the severity of their injuries. She felt like it was sheer luck that they had survived.

Isabella looked at Emanuele, her eyes filled with worry. She still remembered when Emanuele was injured. He had hidden it from her, not wanting her to know, and they had a big argument about it at the time. Seeing Isabella’s strange gaze, Emanuele knew what she was thinking. It was the same concern about him getting into trouble.

“Isabella, please trust me, I will take care of myself.”

“Okay,” Isabella slightly relaxed after Emanuele’s answer, but not completely.

“Even if you get hurt in the future, please don’t hide it from me. Can you do that? I want to be by your side when you’re hurt,” Isabella said.

“Okay,” Emanuele held Isabella in his arms. He had been worried that Isabella might not accept this new job; after all, the patients she would be dealing with were of this type. But it seemed that Isabella was more resilient than he had imagined. She had already started accepting it and seemed quite calm.

Emanuele introduced Isabella to the doctor responsible for this area. “Isabella, let me introduce you to David Palmer, my assistant, who is mainly responsible for medical matters here. David, this is my wife.”

“Hello, nice to meet you, Mrs. Lombardi,”David greeted Isabella with a smile. Isabella observed the man in front of her, who seemed gentle and friendly, wearing wire-rimmed glasses, giving off a scholarly vibe. He appeared to be around thirty-four or thirty-five, mature and composed. He matched the impression Isabella had of a highly intelligent doctor, but at the same time, Isabella felt that David’s demeanor was similar to William’s, which caused her a bit of discomfort.

However, since he was someone Emanuele knew, Isabella thought she should be able to trust him. Isabella shook hands with David. “David mentioned to me that you had excellent academic achievements in university and worked as a doctor at the hospital after graduation,” David said.

“Yes,” Isabella replied.

“In that case, I’m not worried. However, the people who come here for treatment often have serious injuries, so I hope you are mentally prepared.”

“I will be,” Isabella replied.