Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

Seeing Isabella in such a state, Evelyn couldn’t help but sigh, though she remained uncomplaining and unwavering.

She didn’t want to advise Isabella, for she was of the same nature. She loved James, despite her parents disliking him, and she had strived to make them approve. She had no right to persuade Isabella, no right to keep her away from Emanuele. Moreover, Emanuele was indeed good to Isabella.

Evelyn chatted with Isabella for a while and then left. Isabella’s mood improved with Evelyn’s visit, but her body remained frail, confining her to the bed, which frustrated her greatly. She felt as if she were on the brink of collapse, and having Emanuele attend to her needs, including helping her to the bathroom, though she had gradually accepted it, was still embarrassing.

Emanuele seemed exceedingly pleased to care for her, being incredibly gentle. “God,” Isabella thought, “I really don’t want to be hurt so severely again.” Emanuele’s attentiveness made Isabella uncomfortable; perhaps it was because she had always been accustomed to caring for others, and now others were caring for her.

Still, she knew her current condition was quite serious. Emanuele had been by her side taking care of her for the past few days, but Isabella realized that Emanuele was also very busy. Every night, when she slept, Emanuele would leave to tend to his work matters. Isabella actually wanted him to go handle his business earlier and not worry about her, but Emanuele insisted on staying with her during the day.

Emanuele’s thinking was simple: Isabella was so severely injured because of his negligence. During this critical time of her suffering, he couldn’t be by her side, and she must have felt upset. Regardless, his work still needed attention, but he couldn’t give up being with Isabella. Currently, his subordinates were fully engaged in work, conducting a thorough search in Chicago and seeking Isidoro’s assistance.

Those damned Sicilians, he swore, would pay the price! However, Emanuele also knew that even making these people pay wouldn’t erase the pain Isabella had suffered. But what could he do? Emanuele knew there was no solution. He believed he had done enough to protect Isabella, but the enemy always found ways to break through his defenses. The enemy lurked in the shadows, while he operated in the light, and Emanuele knew he was powerless.

Seeing Isabella lying motionless in bed made Emanuele feel more sorrowful than when he discovered he couldn’t walk, which might have left lasting effects. Now his legs were gradually recovering, and he thought Isabella would also slowly improve. It would just take time. Watching Isabella lying still in bed, Emanuele felt truly saddened.

That night, after watching Isabella fall asleep, Emanuele left the ward as usual. He had a heap of matters to attend to, but at that moment, his phone suddenly rang. Emanuele looked down and saw that it was Jessie calling him. Since the last time he had borrowed Jessie’s plane, they hadn’t been in contact.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Now, why was Jessie calling him? Emanuele recalled what Jessie had mentioned before, asking him to agree to something after he had finished dealing with the Chicago affairs. Was this call about that matter?

Emanuele answered the phone, and Jessie smiled, “Emanuele, have you dealt with those enemies of yours?”

“Not yet, but it’s almost taken care of. I’ve searched all of Chicago, found many Sicilians’ traces, and eliminated them. I’ve even lost patience; I won’t be interrogating them anymore. My methods have been cruel. I intentionally leaked information, letting those Sicilians know that if they dare to cause trouble on my turf, they won’t meet a good end. I really don’t believe they’re like insects, no matter how I try to eliminate them, it’s useless. Even though Sicilians are clever, knowing they are few in number and have limited combat capabilities, they still use various conspiracies to undermine me. They like engaging in battles where I’m caught off guard, but it’s okay; I have many capable subordinates, and I don’t believe I can’t handle these people.”

Emanuele knew he had to turn everything upside down. However, he didn’t expect Jessie to suddenly say, “Emanuele, if you can’t handle these people, I can help.”

“What do you mean?” Emanuele frowned, not quite understanding why Jessie would say such a thing.

“It’s nothing, I was just thinking that once you finish dealing with this matter, you could come to New York and help me with a task. You need to cooperate with me. What do you think?”

“What task? Tell me first.” Emanuele gripped thephone tightly. For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Jessie’s sudden kindness meant that the task would be quite challenging.

Jessie immediately smiled, “Well, it’s nothing particularly difficult. You pretend to be my husband and accompany me to Europe to conduct a arms deal. You know how it is; they always have biases against women and are unwilling to trust me. Emanuele, you should be able to handle this, right?”

Emanuele hadn’t expected this at all. “You know, I’m already married.”

“I know you’re married. Can’t you just announce a temporary divorce? After this is done, you can get back together with your wife. You can tell her the truth, and I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“I’m sorry, can you make another request? I really can’t do this kind of thing.” Emanuele firmly refused. He couldn’t joke about his marriage.

“Emanuele, don’t you understand? Isabella is currently with you and has encountered a lot of danger. You can’t protect her, and the Sicilians are still active in your city. No matter how well you protect her, there will always be moments of negligence. At this time, if you temporarily announce a divorce, they won’t focus their attention on her,” Jessie explained, causing Emanuele to fall into contemplation. He suddenly realized that Jessie’s words made some sense. If he wanted to protect Isabella, he couldn’t consider her the most important person, just as he had once been afraid to tell Isabella that he liked her. Despite her inner strength, she appeared vulnerable and easily bullied.

Sensing Emanuele’s hesitation, Jessie thought for a moment and said, “Anyway, Emanuele, think about it. If you need it, I can help you deal with your enemies, as long as you help me with that one thing.”

After ending the call, Emanuele stared at the dense night outside, lost in thought. He could indeed accomplish what Jessie proposed, but could Isabella accept it? Would she think he truly wanted to divorce her?