Bound To My Mafia Stepuncles novel Chapter 199

Chapter 199

Aria’s POV

I had been reading for a while, I didn’t even know how long. The sun had moved lower in the sky, leaving my room in this soft orange glow. The journal felt heavier in my hands now. Not because of weight but because of what was inside it. My father’s thoughts were all over the pages. Some of them were gentle some scared, some almost frantic. He had tried to hide it with short lines and small letters, but I could feel it. The fear was always underneath.

Then I noticed something weird.

A number.

Then another one.

They were written in the corner of a page. I thought it was just a date at first but it kept showing up. Not always in the same place. Sometimes in the margin. Sometimes at the bottom. A ten–digit number, repeated again and again. Always the same. Sometimes circled. Sometimes underlined. No notes around it. Just there. Quiet. Sitting in the middle of everything like it was trying not to be noticed.

I stared at it for a long time. It didn’t look like a phone number. Not one I recognized anyway. It wasn’t a date. It didn’t match anything I remembered. I flipped through to check if it showed up earlier, and yeah, there it was. Three more times. Then again near the back. My heart started beating faster. I didn’t know why but something about it made me feel cold inside. Like this was a clue. Or a warning. I didn’t know which.

I was still holding the journal open when I heard the door open.

I looked up as Matteo stepped in and closed it quietly behind him. He looked calm. Focused. His shirt was dark again, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, black pants fitting just right. His eyes found mine fast like he had been looking for something and found it.

He walked over to me without saying anything at first.

Then, in that quiet voice of his, he asked, “How are you holding up?”

I didn’t answer.

I stood up instead. Moved to him without thinking. My arms went around his neck and I straddled him, sitting across his lap like I just needed to be close to someone who felt steady. I tucked my face into his chest. His body was warm and solid. His arms came around me fast, holding me tight like he already

knew what I needed.

“It’s too much,” I said softly. “Reading this. His thoughts. His guilt. All of it. I missed him before. But now it feels worse. It feels like I’m just starting to lose him all over again.”

Matteo held me tighter. One hand rubbed my back slowly. The other stayed firm around my waist. He didn’t talk right away. He let me sit there for a second, breathing him in.

“Let me see what you found,” he said after a while.

I pulled the journal from the bed and pointed to the number. “It’s everywhere. This exact number. But he never explains what it means.”

Matteo looked at the page, studying it. Then he nodded. “I’ll get someone to look into it. We’ve got people who know how to crack stuff like this.”

I let out a small breath. “Okay.”

We stayed like that for a moment.

Then I pulled back a little so I could see his face

“Can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

“Why weren’t there this many guards before? I feel

like I barely noticed them before, Now there are people everywhere.”

Chapter 199

He gave me a soft smile, one hand brushing my hair back behind my ear.

“Because before, it was just us. We know how to protect ourselves. But now that you’re here… everything’s different. You’re not just come eid we’re hidr You matter to us. We’re not taking any chances with you.”

I didn’t say anything. I just leaned forward again, pressing my forehead into his neck.

His hand slid down to my hip.

Then to my thigh.

The other stayed low on my back, fingers tracing slow patterns.

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