Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
It still feels the same, still smells the same even, only now that I’m grown, it feels a bit… smaller.
When we arrive in the war room, I freeze in the doorway. There’s only one person who’s arrived ahead of us: Sergio.
“Go on,” Dario says, his eyes fixed on Sergio. In my ear he whispers, “I won’t let him hurt you.” Still holding a paper towel to his bloodied lip, Sergio glares at me and Dario.
“Come in. Let’s talk,” he says. “I promise I won’t hurt you. But you have some explaining to do, sister.”
I nod and swallow hard. “I know I do. And I’ll explain everything, I promise.”
Oh, how I long to be forgiven by my family. And a part of me wishes I didn’t care, that I could tell them to fuck off and not be bothered about it ever again. But when you’re raised in a family as close-knit as mine, that’s a lot easier said than done.
“I’ll hold you to that promise,” Sergio says. He looks at Dario again, then looks away. Footsteps approach outside, but he doesn’t care. “So she’s yours? You’ve made her yours? You’ve claimed her, brother?”
“I have.”
“Without asking me.”
“You wouldn’t have given me your permission.”
Sergio nods, then grins. “I absolutely would not have. But now you’ve forced my hand, haven’t you?”
Dario blows out a breath, and shakes his head. “You left me no choice, brother.”
Sergio’s face is an unreadable mask as Romeo enters the war room followed by Mario, Santo, Orlando, Tavi, and Mario’s wife Gloria.
“Timeo and Ricco can’t be here, but they want to be conferenced in,” Sergio says. I feel my body tighten. Timeo and Ricco are my other brothers, though Timeo has always been close with me, and Ricco is so preoccupied with his own family he’s never given me shit about things like Sergio.
“Fair,” Romeo says with a nod. “Since what Vivia will tell us impacts all of us.” Romeo turns to me. “Is that right?”
I nod.
Romeo pulls out an enormous tablet and flicks a few buttons. “Here,” he says to Sergio. “But before you call them, I want you to promise us that there will be no violence. No violence against one another again, Sergio. You’re in my territory now. Are we clear?”
Sergio nods. “If what Dario tells us about Vivia is true, I have no need.” He speaks with the conviction of a cold-blooded killer. I hate that he’s assumed the worst of me. I want to be right again with him. Even though we’ve never been close, the chasm between us makes me ache inside.
He calls Timeo and Ricco, who are sitting together somewhere in Italy. I can tell by the vivid landscape behind them, the vineyard and walkway my family frequented when I was a child.
Timeo’s brows rise when he sees me. Ricco waves. “Vivia. You’re there, and you’re in one piece. I can only assume what we thought about you isn’t true, then?”
I give him a forced smile. “Right. I’m glad at least one of you has the good sense to make that assumption, but I thank you just the same.”
Timeo chokes on his sip of wine and Sergio goes rigid in front of the tablet. Dario chuckles softly beside me.
Timeo leans in, his eyes earnest. “Are you alright, Vivia?” His voice hardens. “Did anyone hurt you?”
“I’m alright,” I tell him. “And yes, many people have hurt me.” I look involuntarily at Sergio who doesn’t flinch or even blink.
Timeo’s jaw tightens. “Give us their names, little sister.”
I clear my throat. “Unless I’m mistaken, Timeo, that’s why we’re all here tonight. But I will say for the record that after my initial… questioning, Dario believed me. He kept me safe and protected me and made sure that no one hurt us.”
Orlando smiles. Romeo nods. My brothers listen intently.
“We’ll remember that, Dario,” Timeo says to him. Dario responds by draping a casual arm over my shoulders, and my heart squeezes at the silent declaration.
I’m shaking. I have so much to tell them I hardly know where to begin, but I know that the truth starts here, with me, that I owe it to them. That none of this gets any better until the truth is out.
I clear my throat. “I’m going to start at the beginning.”
Dario squeezes my shoulder. Mario opens up a tablet and turns to a fresh page, as if taking notes. His monitors blink and buzz behind him as he prepares to do his job. Orlando sits up straighter. Tavi’s eyes are straight on me, as are Santo’s.
“Several months ago, I had an affair with Gray Mullet. I did it behind your backs. I blackmailed and bribed my bodyguards so they wouldn’t rat me out.”
“Names,” Sergio grinds out. “Timeo, find their names.”
“Already on it,” Mario says. “Both were recently killed.”
My heart tightens. I didn’t know that. I have to continue.