Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
He watched me rock gently and said, “I heard what he said to you. I probably shouldn’t interfere, but you should know better than to believe anything Daniele says.”
I didn’t respond for a long moment. My voice was hoarse when I queried, “So, he’s lying?”
“I don’t know if he’s lying, but I do know he hates you and will say anything to make you hurt.”
Thank you, Marco.
I struggled with the panic that insisted it be felt as I uttered quietly, “I don’t know how to make this right.”
“You can’t,” was his firm response.
My voice quavered. “There has to be a way.” I rocked harder, back and forth, whispering, “There has to be.”
And, right then, Marco was done being nice. “Jesus Christ, Vittoria. I think I have observed long enough to know you aren’t a murderer but, fuck. Be reasonable. Do you know how lucky you are to be here, in this place, after what you did?”
Part of me did know. It didn’t change the fact that the solitude was killing me. I must have sounded pathetic when I confessed, “I’m so lonely.”
Marco was not sympathetic. He rested his elbows onto his knees, leaning closer to me. “You’re sitting in luxury, living in a gold-plated prison. You’re not in chains. You’re not being starved or abused. You get to live a semi-normal life. Can you see how this attitude might come across as ungrateful?”
My lashes were wet as I scrambled to sit up. “If he doesn’t want me, that’s fine. I’ll go away. I’ll leave and never come back.”
But Marco shook his head. “That’s not gonna happen.” He paused a second, and from where I sat, it looked as though he was thinking very hard about what he was about to say next. “Everyone answers to somebody. You know that, right? Everybody, even Ettore Scala. And when they demanded blood, when they called for your head, he refused to give it to them.”
My shoulders drooped.
He did?
A somber look settled over his features. “Ask yourself why.” I was, but the answer wasn’t clear. “Look, he needs time. What kind of father would he be if he let you into his home, close to his kids after-”
“Oh God, I would never hurt our kids.” The words rushed out of me so quickly that I didn’t really hear what I’d said, but Marco did. And whatever it was he heard made his face soften some.
When Marco stood and picked up the receiver, I rushed to get one more question in before he switched it back on. I knew the answer before I even asked. “He’s watching me, isn’t he?”
Marco shot me a knowing look. “What do you think?”
Of course, he was. I think I’d known for some time now. After all, mirrors rarely hummed and whirred.
As Marco moved to leave, he stilled just inside the doorframe. “I’ve known Ettore a long time. When I asked him what you were like, he told me you were a foolish little girl.” Not entirely untrue, but ouch. “He also said you were the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.” Okay. Less ouch. “Part of me wonders whether he’s keeping you here just so he doesn’t have to share you.” I thought about that as he added, “Look, he’s an asshole. Putting yourself in a position to be humiliated will please him immensely. Make a gesture so grand he can’t ignore it. But be prepared, it might take a few attempts before he responds.”
He patted the wooden doorway twice, reached behind him and fitted his receiver, replaced his earpiece then lifted his brows deliberately, leaving me alone to consider what he’d said.
After some time, I made a quiet realization. I wasn’t getting anywhere with anger and tears.
I needed to change tactics.
Marco
Interfering was not something I was paid to do, but somehow, I couldn’t stop myself. There was a reason I was here. Ettore Scala was my best friend and he trusted me implicitly. So, when I stepped outside, gently closing the front door behind me, I put my finger to the earpiece and held the button down. “I know you’re listening, Tor. You’re always listening. You happen to get all that?”
He was there. It was just taking him a moment to answer, and when he did, I heard exactly what I planned to. I heard a man who was questioning himself. “I did.”
Good.
I would never hurt our kids.
Hell, I couldn’t have set it up better. I hadn’t planned on her saying what she said, but I hoped it would ease some of the disquiet between them. People might have asked me whose side I was on here, the Scala’s or the Vero’s. But the answer would always remain the same.
I was on Ettore’s side.
He was my best friend and after everything he’d been through, he deserved happiness.
And maybe – just maybe – soft-hearted Vittoria would be the one to give it to him.