My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 576

Chapter 576

Raphael

The silence in my office had become irritating.

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the six monitors covering one wall while another encrypted file loaded.

Nothing… again.

I opened another report, another satellite image, cloud cover, another financial record, and scrubbed clean. I dragged a hand down my face before typing another search string into the secure database.

That fucking Island.

There was nothing about it, coordinates, shipping manifests, property records, fucking nothing. It was as if the damn island didn’t exist.

I leaned forward again, my jaw tightening. That was impossible, everything left a trail, money, fuel, electricity, food deliveries, satellite heat signatures, communications. People always made mistakes.

Yet every lead I chased simply… ended.

I hit Enter harder than necessary, another empty screen, “For fuck’s sake.”

I pushed away from the desk so abruptly my chair rolled backward across the floor.

I folded my arms across my chest, staring through the office windows without actually seeing the Chicago skyline.

I hated not knowing, I hated blind spots. If something existed, I needed to understand it. If I couldn’t understand it… I couldn’t predict it. And if I couldn’t predict it… I couldn’t protect her from it.

That thought alone tightened every muscle in my body.

A quiet knock sounded against the already open office door. I didn’t look up, “Come in.”

I knew who it was before he spoke, “You gave her Mom’s necklace.”

Luca.

I finally lifted my eyes.

He stood in the doorway exactly the way he always did. Hands in his pockets, dark clothes, expression cold.

“What gave it away?” I asked dryly.

“The necklace.”

I huffed a quiet laugh. He walked farther into the office, stopping beside my desk. His eyes drifted over the scattered files before returning to me.

“You didn’t tell me,” he said.

“I didn’t,” I answered.

“You tell me everything else.”

I sighed, “Almost everything.”

One of his eyebrows rose, “Almost?”

Silence settled between us. That was how conversations with Luca usually worked.

Luca gave a small nod, “I thought you’d say that.”

“I owe her that much.”

He looked toward the office window, “For Gianna?”

“For both of them.”

I turned back to the computer, reopening another encrypted report. I clicked through another useless file.

“I like her,” he said suddenly.

That made me look at him again, “You do?”

“I do.”

Coming from Luca… that carried weight. He disliked almost everyone, he tolerated most and he genuinely liked almost nobody.

“Why?” I asked.

He shrugged one shoulder, “She’s kind, she’s beautiful and she has self-respect.”

His eyes met mine.

“She turned down Vincenzo without caring who he was or what saying no might cost her. Most people would’ve folded the second they heard his last name. She didn’t,” he gave a small nod, “That’s the kind of pride I respect. And…”

I raised an eyebrow, “And?”

He looked at me for a long moment, “…she looks good with you.”