Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
God, it happened so fast.
The traumatic incident replays in my mind, and a sob bursts from me as the shock of what just happened rolls over me in shuddering waves.
How do I even begin to explain the nightmare? Who will believe me?
Seeing a café on the corner of an intersection, I quickly pull over and ask for directions to the airport.
The waitress looks at me like I’m a crazy person, but luckily, she gives me the directions.
I pull away from the curb with screeching tires, and my paranoia and fear grow with every mile I put between the villa and myself.
My heart shrinks into a tiny ball when I realize the three weeks I shared with Angelo is all I’ll ever have. He’s an unforgiving man, and I’ve seen him kill someone with my own eyes. He killed that bartender for stealing two thousand dollars.
He will kill me.
But I can try to explain. I’ll tell him it was an accident.
He won’t believe you, especially if Gloria tells him some lie.
God.
God.
Oh God.
More sobs shudder through me as my mind keeps racing.
What do I do?
Chapter 30
Angelo
We’re five minutes away from the office building where I’m meeting with Sangrioti when my phone starts to vibrate.
Pulling the device out of the breast pocket of my jacket, I frown when I see Aunt Gloria’s name flashing on the screen.
“Zia Gloria?” I answer.
She weeps uncontrollably, and it sends icy shivers down my spine. “He’s dead,” she gasps. “She killed him!”
“What?” I pat Big Ricky’s shoulder, then order, “Turn around. We’re going back to the villa!” Focusing on my hysterical aunt, I snap, “Who’s dead?”
“Your uncle. That snake you brought into our home killed him.”
What the fuck?
A dark frown forms on my forehead as all my emotions spiral into chaos. “Uncle Maurizio is dead?”
“Y-yes,” she sobs. “Vittoria pushed him off the balcony.”
No, she didn’t. She wouldn’t.
“What. The. Fuck?” I growl before I shout, “Drive fucking faster!”
I’m torn between the shock of Uncle Maurizio’s death and my aunt blaming Vittoria for it.
Aunt Gloria weeps uncontrollably, and it has me biting out, “No one does a single fucking thing until I’m there.”
I end the call and almost crush the device as the shock of my uncle’s death hits me square in the chest.
“What happened?” Big Ricky asks, his worried eyes flicking between the road and the rearview mirror.
“Aunt Gloria says Vittoria killed Uncle Maurizio,” I say, unable to believe that Vittoria could do such a thing.
Not my wife.
Not my innocent little deer.
My mind races, and I can only come to one conclusion – Uncle Maurizio must’ve tried to get rid of her because he wasn’t happy with the marriage. Vittoria defended herself.
That’s the only acceptable explanation because if there’s one thing I’m fucking sure of, Vittoria is a God-fearing woman who wouldn’t hurt a fucking fly.
The woman I love isn’t capable of committing murder.
Never.
I refuse to believe it.
The moment Big Ricky stops the SUV in front of the Villa, I climb out and run into the house that used to hold so many happy memories for me.
Aunt Gloria is in the middle of the living room, weeping as she clings to Uncle Maurizio’s body.
I take in his ghostly pale face and the trickle of blood that’s dried on the side of his slightly parted lips.
Fuck.
No.
When the loss of my uncle registers, I shake my head as my heart breaks.
No.
I take a step closer, and losing control of my emotions, I shout, “What the fuck happened?”
Aunt Gloria glares at me, and with rage, she cries, “She killed him!” A sob rattles through her. “She killed my Maurizio.”
No. Impossible.
“What did you do to Vittoria?” I demand, my voice cold and lifeless.
My tone gets Aunt Gloria’s attention, and she begins to ramble, “She wanted to run away and leave you, but when Maurizio locked her in the room so she couldn’t get away, she shoved him over the balcony.”
Vittoria, leave me? Never.
I shake my head. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”
As I stare at the woman who was like a mother to me, I see the truth she’s trying to hide, and my entire world is ripped to fucking shreds.
The sense of betrayal is instant, ripping the humanity from my soul.
“It’s the truth,” she shouts, but as she looks at me, the emotion drains from her face as she realizes I don’t believe her lies.
Her voice shakes with anger as she says, “You were supposed to marry Valentina and not some pathetic little girl. Everything was planned, and you ruined it all.”
She moves fast, grabbing the gun from behind Uncle Maurizio’s back, but Big Ricky fires a shot before she can point the weapon at me.
That did not just fucking happen!
I take a step back as another blow of betrayal slams into me.
No.
Uncontrollable anger floods my chest as I watch my aunt slump over my uncle’s body.