Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

Michael felt guilty towards Emanuele. Earlier, Karen had slandered Isabella, causing her much distress. This time, he had failed to keep an eye on Mathias, allowing Mathias to come to Chicago and nearly kill Emanuele. Upon learning this news, Michael immediately rushed to Chicago to visit Emanuele. To his surprise, his sister also wanted to come and assured him that she wouldn’t cause trouble, expressing great concern for Emanuele. She had heard about Emanuele’s serious injury and near-death experience, sobbing uncontrollably. Michael worried that her asthma might flare up again. It was then that he brought Karen along.

Upon arrival, Karen said a few words and then fell silent, quietly watching over Emanuele. This brought Michael some relief.

“Well, that’s how I ended up so seriously injured,” sighed Emanuele. “Now that Mathias is dead, you don’t have to worry about him threatening your position.”

“I’m sorry, Emanuele, for what has happened. I only just found out. Nevertheless, since you dealt with my uncle, I am grateful to you. I owe you a favor. In the future, if there’s anything you need Bratva to do, as long as I can manage it, I will help you,” Michael said, still feeling somewhat guilt-ridden.

He and Emanuele had a good relationship, and they had business collaborations. It was a surprise that their personal affairs had not been thoroughly resolved, leading to Emanuele having to help him sort things out. However, Mathias was indeed a cunning man. Despite Michael’s persistent attempts to hunt him down, he had always eluded capture. Now that Emanuele had killed Mathias, Michael owed him a favor.

“Alright, remember this: if I have any demands in the future, I won’t hold back on you,” Emanuele stated.

“I’m sorry.”

“Since that’s the case, Emanuele, would it be alright for me to stay here and take care of you? Consider it my way of repaying you,” Karen quickly added.

Michael’s expression darkened instantly. Was Karen causing trouble again? He had thought she had assured him that she wouldn’t do anything strange. She had been quiet until now, aside from the initial greeting. He had been planning to leave after finishing his conversation with Emanuele. Unexpectedly, Karen had spoken up with that statement.

At that moment, Michael felt a headache coming on. “Karen, Emanuele and I have finished talking. Let’s go back.”

He had intended to stay and take care of Emanuele a bit longer, to see if there was anything he needed help with. But with Karen’s statement, he felt the urge to leave immediately.

Karen was still stubborn, fearing that her brother would take her away. She continued to speak to Emanuele, saying, “Emanuele, look at me. Am I not well? I can cook for you, help tend to your wounds. I’ve helped Dad and my brother with their injuries before, I have experience. Besides, I can keep you company.”

She hadn’t seen Isabella and didn’t know where that wretched woman had gone. How could Isabella hide away when Emanuele was so severely injured? Perhaps she was afraid of dying in this dangerous situation in Chicago. Unlike her, Karen loved Emanuele. She was willing to stay by his side even if it meant risking her life.

Emanuele gave a cold laugh. “You’ll take care of me?”

“Yes, Emanuele, I can definitely take care of you. Once I’ve taken care of you, I’ll leave. You can trust me; I won’t pester you,” Karen said, feeling the need to add that last part.

She felt a pang in her heart. She liked Emanuele so much, why didn’t he like her? Why did he prefer a woman who was incomparable to her in every way? If Emanuele married her, when faced with danger, her brother would surely come to their aid. It would be easy for Emanuele to deal with those troubles. Yet he married a woman with no background and had to divert his attention to protect her. Now, he was covered in injuries, and that woman had disappeared.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Michael had intended to take Karen and leave immediately, but then Emanuele suddenly said, “Fine, you can stay and take care of me.”

When he said this, there was a smile on his face. Compared to his previous icy demeanor, he now seemed like a gentleman. However, Karen didn’t notice the cruel glint in his eyes.

Michael was surprised. He hadn’t expected Emanuele to actually allow Karen to take care of him. Karen, too, was in shock, but then she immediately started smiling happily. “Okay, Emanuele, don’t worry, I will definitely take goodcare of you.”

Thinking about the fact that she would be able to take care of Emanuele, she became very excited. Michael felt that something was not right about all of this. He grabbed Karen’s hand and pulled her outside the ward.

“Karen, have you lost your mind? Don’t you remember that before you left, you promised me not to cause any trouble?”

“Brother, how have I caused trouble? Look, Emanuele needs me. He agreed and is willing to let me stay and take care of him,” Karen said, full of excitement, her eyes sparkling. “You can relax; I will take care of Emanuele.”

“I can’t relax. If you don’t leave with me, how can I possibly relax? Karen, I will tell Emanuele that you were just joking, and you must leave with me.”

“No, brother, you can’t do this to me!” Karen immediately stepped back two paces, looking at Michael with excitement. “I won’t go, no matter what you say. I want to stay here.”

Emanuele had finally agreed to her request to care for him, and she would not leave no matter what.

“Will you take care of him? Can you cook? Since you were a child, everything has been taken care of by the housemaids. Karen, if you really take care of Emanuele, you will collapse. You may have helped with minor things when our father and brother were injured, but the injuries Emanuele has are serious. What can you do? If you anger Emanuele, he might even kill you.”

Karen seemed to have lost her rationality. She said to Michael, “Brother, no, I am a Bratva princess. I have to grow up. Didn’t you owe him a favor? I’ll consider it as me owing him a favor as well. Father told me before that I am the princess of Bratva. If I enjoy the privileges of a princess, I also have to pay the corresponding price. Look, I will pay it properly.”

Michael sighed, “Alright, wait here, I will have a few words with Emanuele.”

This time, Karen was obedient and stood waiting.

In Michael’s eyes, Karen seemed like a fool. For the first time, he realized that overly protecting his sister was not a good thing. Karen was naive, innocent, kind, and charged forward without considering the consequences. She was bound to get hurt eventually. As her brother, Michael knew he couldn’t stand idly by.

He returned to the room to talk to Emanuele. “Emanuele, why did you agree to Karen’s request?”

He felt that Emanuele disliked Karen.