Signed To The Mafia King - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

ALINA
I lay on my bed, flipping through the diary again. My brows pulled together as I read another page.
None of this made sense. How had my father even gotten all this?
It wasn’t just names. It was secrets. The kind of things no one should know.
My stomach twisted as I ran my fingers over a page listing every Mafia family in Chicago, ranked from the biggest to the smallest. There were notes beside each name—allegiances, betrayals, weaknesses.
How the hell did he know?
I turned another page, but before I could read more, a knock sounded at the door.
I shut the diary so fast the pages folded, then shoved it under my pillow and sat up, smoothing my shirt.
"Come in."
Sofia poked her head inside. "You want to come out for a stroll? I’m heading out."
I hadn’t left the house all day. My only interaction had been my call to Mikhail earlier, checking in on the warehouse.
He’d told me nothing had been moved out or in. No changes. But he was watching.
"Any information," I had told him, "no matter how small, you pass it to me immediately."
I had been so sure something would happen today. But the waiting was starting to wear on me.
Maybe a walk wasn’t the worst idea.
I shrugged. "Yeah, okay."
Outside, the evening air was chill against my skin. The neighborhood was quiet, the kind of place with neat hedges and unbroken sidewalks.
A place where kids could probably play outside without looking over their shoulders. The things the Mafia did didn’t reach the children here.
We walked in silence for a while, my mind still turning over everything I’d read.
Up ahead, a couple walked a tiny dog. The thing was barking crazy, yanking at the leash like it wanted to fight the world.
Sofia giggled. "Luca used to have a dog like that."
I turned to her, then looked at the dog again. "You’re lying."
She grinned. "I swear. It was tiny and barked like crazy. But he loved that thing like it was his child."
A laugh burst out of me. The image of Luca The Monster, the terrifying Marino king—walking down the street with a tiny, furious dog was too much.
"No one believed it either," she said, laughing with me. "With his height, his size… and then this tiny dog trotting beside him, barely big enough to keep up."
I shook my head, still grinning. "What happened to it?"
The laughter faded from Sofia’s face. She looked away. "It died."
Something in her voice made my smile drop.
I thought about asking for details, but something told me it wasn’t a story she wanted to tell.
Instead, I changed the subject. "So, how do you like Chicago now that you’re back?"
She shrugged, glancing around. "It’s fine, I guess."
"Just fine?"
She sighed. "I liked the UK. No one knew me as a Marino there. I was just Sofia. Sofia Marino. But not the Marino I am here."
Her voice was quiet.
I didn’t know what to say to that. I understood, in a way.
Here, people saw our last names first. Our families, our connections. But in another country, in a place where no one knew our history, maybe we could just be ourselves.
"Do you think you’ll go back?" I asked.
She gave me a small, sad smile. "Not without Father. And he’s too busy here to want to go back."
By the time we returned to the house, I felt restless. The walk had cleared my head a little, but the diary was still at the back of my mind.
As soon as I was in my room, I shut the door, climbed into bed, and pulled it out again.
I shouldn’t be reading it.
I knew I shouldn’t be reading it.
But I couldn’t stop.
My father had written down things I never even imagined he knew.
My heart pounded as I turned another page.
How the hell did he get all this information?
Names, dates, deals that had been made, betrayals that had happened years ago. Some of it was vague, but the things he wrote about Luca’s family weren’t.
My fingers tightened around the pages.
Does Luca know about this?
I bit my lip.
If he didn’t, should I tell him?
I exhaled, staring down at my father’s handwriting.
No. This was personal. This was his. I didn’t want anyone else reading it, not even Luca.
A wave of guilt settled in my chest, but I ignored it. I pressed the diary shut, rubbing my fingers over the cover.
When I checked the time, it was almost eight. Luca would be back soon. I needed to hide it.
Sliding out of bed, I shoved the diary into my closet, tucking it behind my clothes. It wasn’t the best hiding place, but I’d find a better one later.
Maybe I’d even take it back to my father’s office. It would be safer there.
I had just turned back toward the bed when the door opened without a knock.
My stomach clenched.
Only Luca walked in like that.
And the moment I saw his face, I knew something was wrong.
He looked furious.
His jaw was clenched so tightly it looked painful, and his eyes were narrowed as he stared at me.
I straightened. "What happened?"
For a second, he didn’t answer, like he was debating whether to even tell me.
Then he sat heavily on the bed. "My shipment was stolen."
My brows pulled together. "What shipment?"
"My guns."
Luca never had problems with shipments. Never. "Do you know who took them?"
His hand curled into a fist at his side. "Not yet. But I will."
I could feel his rage, barely contained. If I had to guess, the only reason he hadn’t torn something apart was because he was trying to figure out who to aim it at.
Then he looked at me, his lips pressed tight like he really didn’t want to ask. "I need your help."
I blinked. Luca never asked for help. Not from anyone. "For what?"
"Your territories." His voice was tight. "We’re tracing the men, and they passed through them. But I can’t send my men in without your permission."
I stared at him, trying to process what he was asking.
He wanted to use my businesses, my people, to track down the men who stole from him.
If someone had the balls to steal from The Monster, they were either stupid or powerful.
Either way, this wasn’t going to end well.