His Two Hidden Masks: Steamy International Billionaire Romance

Chapter 20

Iwalked down the marble staircase of the Mia Sorella, wiping my tears away. Paolo was busy with a happy couple at the front desk. The espresso bar was up and running in the sitting room.

It felt surreal leaving Dylan’s bed and stepping back into my life. The familiarity of the hotel made it easier to gather myself together. The sex, the secrets, the fight. Was it real? Or all a beautiful and painful dream?

I paused in front of Sara’s portrait in the lobby. There she was, frozen in time, beautiful, forever young. Her brown hair loose around her face, her dark eyes shone wide and luminous.

The blue heart on her necklace almost glimmered. I realized how little I knew about Sara’s life. If I believed Dylan, Roberto and Sara had been more than friends. Roberto had been the one who suggested we put her portrait in the lobby.

There was so much I didn’t know about my sister. My memories of her were precious to me, but didn’t extend beyond the boundaries of our palazzo.

“Bella!” Auntie Aurora’s voice called for my attention. She sat in the sitting room in a wingback chair before the fire.

Dancing orange and blue flames filled the room with a soft warm light. Auntie Aurora had a cappuccino and her deck of cards set out on the table before her. She motioned me over.

I wanted to go home. I didn’t have time for my Auntie or her cards, but it occurred to me she might be one of the only people I could trust right then.

“You are up early,” I said, leaning down to kiss her on both cheeks.

“Buongiorno, amore. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to come here. To wait with my cards. Come sit beside me.” She patted the seat next to her. I sat down.

“What do you want to ask the cards, Bella?” she said, shuffling.

“I don’t want to ask the cards. I want to ask you,” I said, facing her. “This acquisition is a mistake, Auntie. James Street is going to destroy the company. I think Roberto wants him to -- he made a deal with him.”

She didn’t react, just nodded and continued to shuffle.

“Do you think it’s true? Does Roberto hate my father enough to do something like this?”

“He might,” Auntie said, holding her deck in her hands.

“Why? Does it have something to do with Sara? Did Roberto know her?”

“Roberto’s family has always been a part of our lives. Of course, he knew her. He was home the week she died.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said.

“If you have a question, Bella,” Auntie said, “go to the source. Talk to Roberto.”

“He’s been a fucking asshole to me, Auntie,” I said. “Sorry, I’m just so frustrated. Papa won’t talk to me. Mama ignores me, like she always does.”

My gaze drifted to Sara’s portrait across the lobby. “Things would be so different if Sara hadn’t died.”

“That I believe is true.” Auntie Aurora’s voice softened. “Your sister’s death is the biggest mistake this family has ever endured.”

“Is that why Mama hates Papa?” I asked. “She wanted to take Sara to the doctor earlier, but he told her she was over-reacting.”

“Your mother has her reasons,” Auntie Aurora said. “Now, let’s see what the cards have to share with you today.”

“Auntie, I don’t have time.”

She put the deck in front of me. “Cut the cards.”

I sighed, knowing it was pointless to protest. Besides, this was how my Auntie looked for answers. This was one of her ways of helping me. She laid three cards on the table. They were. right side up. The Thief. The Wizard. The Sword.

“Please tell me these cards look good,” I said, managing a weak laugh.

“The cards are never good or bad, even the ones you saw before your wedding,” she said. She tapped on the colorful portrait of the thief holding bags of gold. “Your past. The Thief is here to show you that something has been stolen from you that is rightfully yours.”

“Can I get it back?”

“Yes, always,” Auntie Aurora said. “The cards are possibility. They give you information, and you always have the power to act.”

“And my present?” I said, scooting forward to study the Wizard, unable to dampen my curiosity. A tall man wearing a hood held a staff in his hands.

“The Wizard will guide you. A voice will guide you, open doors, and find your power.”

My power, right. Dylan made me feel powerful, but I hated the idea that one more man in my life was going to open doors for me. “And what about my future?” I said, looking at the last card, a silver sword surrounded by thorny vines. “This looks dangerous.”

Auntie Aurora looked up at me. “To move forward, the sword appears to help you destroy all that is no longer useful to you. In that destruction, you will discover a new world.”

“Well,” I said, taking a slow deep breath. “I definitely feel like I’m up for destroying a thing or two.”

Auntie smiled and swept the cards off the table. “All right, I’m done here. I’m going to go on a morning walk.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” I said, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

“I love you, too, Bella.” Her face brightened for a moment, and she smiled. “Please wait here. Someone wants to talk to you. It’s important.”

“Wait, what?”

Auntie Aurora walked away without answering. Of course, another cryptic message. The image of the sword came back to me, and I imagined holding the weapon overhead. I wasn’t sure if I believed in the cards, but I liked the idea of destruction. I had a target in my sights.

It was clear the Street family was used to getting what they wanted. They made messes and paid people to clean them up. They lied and manipulated people without apology. They made deals with the devil and then cheated the devil himself.

I had been fighting a one-woman war to launch my Bella Baci business, while wolves approached and threatened to take everything away from my family and me. I was going to do whatever it took, at whatever the cost, to keep the Street family from destroying mine.

I heard someone clear their throat, and I looked up. Roberto stood over me.

“We need to talk,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”

Andiamo was closedand the kitchen staff wouldn’t arrive for another couple of hours. Roberto locked the doors behind us and I took a seat on one of the stools that faced the bar.

Roberto went behind the bar and turned on the espresso machine. “Espresso?” he asked, prepping two small cups.

“I know about your deal with James.”

He nodded while drawing the shot. “I knew you would find out.” He placed an espresso on the bar before me and drew the second. “Dylan told you?”

“I also heard you arguing with James,” I said, not wanting to bring Dylan into this conversation. “Why did you pursue a deal with Street Entertainment before we were to be married, Roberto?”

He finished the second espresso and leaned against the back bar as he took a sip. He looked tired. Bags drooped under his normally bright green eyes.

“I have known James and Dylan Street since I was a boy. All three of us were in boarding school in Germany together. I was always closer to James, and we stayed in touch even after we graduated.”

“How touching,” I said, relieved his story aligned with Dylan’s. “Get to the part where you decided to fuck over my family.”

“You have every right to be angry,” Roberto said. His admission stunned me. I’d gotten so used to being gaslit by him that I wasn’t used to him agreeing with me.

“Talk,” I said, taking a sip of my espresso.

“I reached out to James Street, because I knew that unless I found a way to bring in another investor, I was never going to be able to force your father out.”

“But we were getting married,” I said. “You didn’t need to force him out.”

“I wanted to,” he said. “I decided years ago that your father needed to pay for his mistakes. I’m just sorry you got hurt in the process.”

Roberto wasn’t throwing verbal punches. He sounded sincere and resolute. Defenses down, I wondered if we were about to have the first real conversation of our lives.

“What did my father to do to you, Roberto?” I reached across the bar and squeezed his hand. “Just tell me. I deserve to know everything.”

“You do,” he said, nodding at me. “You always did.”

“We are here now.”

He squeezed my hand back, then let it go. “You know I grew up away from Venice. My parents believed that boarding schools across Europe would provide me with a better education. I saw you and your family only on the holidays.

At least, the ones my parents decided to bring me home for. I didn’t come every year, but the weeks I spent in Venice were the best of my life. It felt like home, even if it wasn’t. I was a part of a family.” He looked up at me. “I was with Sara.”

Her name took up space between us. I imagined her pulling up a chair, elbows resting on the bar, as she leaned forward to listen to Roberto’s every word.

“Sara and I were lovers. Nobody knew. It was our secret.”

My mouth dropped open and I felt all the color in my face drain away.

“I’m sorry,” Roberto said, glancing at me. “I know it’s not easy to hear this. I used to think that the only person who might suspect us was you. You were just a kid, and Sara was often in charge of you, so we’d go places together.

I remember one time you caught us holding hands. I was worried you’d tell your parents what you saw. Sara was definitely worried. We had taken a day trip to Lido for a picnic. Do you remember that day?”

I shook my head, trying to recall any memory of Roberto and Sara together. Roberto claimed he loved my sister. I didn’t know how to react. As the initial shock dimmed, I realized I wasn’t surprised. Robert was confirming my suspicion that something was wrong with our relationship from the very start.

“Why did you want to marry me?” I asked. “Were you trying to replace her?”

“No, of course not,” he said, his eyes wide. “You have to believe me. Sara died and it broke me. I no longer came home to Venice. It held nothing for me but pain. After I graduated, when my family informed me of my new role supporting the Uzano Portfolio, I almost quit.”

“I thought you wanted that position.”

“I’m very good at doing what is expected of me, Bella,” Roberto said, sighing. “I did what I was told, and then I met you again. And you were fiery, beautiful, and so different than Sara, and I loved you. I really did.”

“I’m sorry I left you at the altar, Roberto,” I said.

“I’m not.” He looked up at me. “You knew it wasn’t right. I should have told you about my relationship with Sara. I should have told you about your father.”

“Why do you hate him?”

“Before she died, Sara told me that he was cheating on your mother.” Roberto paused. “Surely you have suspected. Do you remember the nannies that used to work in your house?”

“Yes, the American nannies,” I said. “They taught us English.”

“The beautiful American nannies.” Roberto spoke slowly. “Your mother finally stopped him from hiring his mistresses, but she has never been able to make him stay faithful.”

I exhaled, realizing I’d always known the truth about those beautiful young women. “I know my parent’s marriage is not perfect. Mama fired all of the women on the staff enough times for me to know she had her reasons.”

“She did,” Roberto said. “In the past your father was even less discreet. Sara confronted him about one of his affairs. She called me, sobbing. I will never forget how her voice sounded on the phone. She sounded broken.”

His voice caught. “Something your father told her destroyed her. She told me she was ruined. She said she was unholy.”

“Unholy,” I said under my breath.

“I left Bremen that night and returned to Venice as soon as I could, but by the time I arrived, Sara was in a coma.”

“She was sick, and she didn’t tell you?” I said.

“She wasn’t sick,” Roberto said. He looked pained. “I never wanted to share any of this with you. You have to understand.”

My pulse quickened and my mouth went dry. “You are scaring me, Roberto.”

“I don’t mean to. I just can’t lie to you anymore.” His voice faltered, and when he looked at me again, tears glistened in his green eyes. I had never seen Roberto cry.

I had seen him red-faced and yelling. I had seen him quiet with worry. But tears? Never. Even when I left him at the altar, Lissa had shared with me that he looked crestfallen, but she never spoke of Roberto’s tears.

“What have you been hiding from me?” I said, my body frozen in anticipation.

“I believe that Sara didn’t die of blood cancer. I believe she killed herself.”

“No,” I said, standing. My pulse hammered and I felt off-balance. I steadied myself on the bar. “That’s not true. It’s not.”

“I believe it is true,” he said. “And I suspect, the only people who know the truth are your parents and the doctor who treated her at the end. I saw her in the hospital, Bella.

I read her chart. I wasn’t supposed to be there that day. When your parents discovered I’d visited, they interrogated me, but I lied to them. I never told them what I read in her file.”

“What did you read?” I said, sinking back onto the stool.

“The notes said your sister overdosed on prescription pain meds. She never woke up.”

Tears flooded my eyes. “And you think something my father did is what pushed her to kill herself.”

“I don’t think. I know,” Roberto said “Sara called me after talking to him. I am certain of it. And I have worked side-by-side with your father for years. I have seen how cruel he can be.”

I couldn’t breathe. I put my head in my hands, too stunned to cry. There were lies everywhere I looked. I came to Roberto looking for answers about the Street acquisition and discovered truths about my family that made me wonder if I could ever go home again.

“You see, I was already all fucked up, even before our wedding,” Roberto said. “You leaving me at the altar, didn’t make me pursue the Street Acquisition, because it was already in the works. You broke my heart that day, but I deserved it.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I said.

“I fell in love with you, because I already knew everything about you, but how could you really love me when I’d kept secrets like this from you? I have blamed your father for Sara’s death for so long, I wanted to take everything from him, including you.”

He looked at me, his eyes sorrowful. “I know you have doubted yourself, and I’m sorry for the way I treated you. You did the right thing when you left me that day.”

My feelings for Roberto shifted from anger to empathy for his pain. He was broken and hurt, like us all. Hearing his story was validation that my fears were not just coming from Auntie’s cards. I knew in my bones that something was wrong with our engagement. I realized that something was fundamentally wrong with my family, too.

I shivered, remembering the chills I felt at Sara’s grave. Perhaps my sister had sent me a message on my wedding day. I grieved Sara for years, and now the wound of losing her felt fresh. I wished I knew more about her pain in the days before she died.

“I need to talk to you about something else,” Roberto said. “I want you to listen with an open mind.”

I laughed to keep my tears at bay. “Considering you have just rewritten the narrative of my life, I think it’s safe to say my mind is open.”

“I want to stop this acquisition,” he said, eyes narrowing. He leaned on the bar, his green eyes lit from within.

“I’m listening.”

“You and I need to get married.”

“Fuck, no, Roberto,” I said, both hands on the bar. “You are out of your mind. After everything you just told me?”

“I know, it’s a lot,” he said. “And I’m not out of my mind. I may finally be thinking clearly.”

“No.”

“I have run through every scenario. You don’t have enough voting power to stop the acquisition. You’ve delayed it. In forty-eight hours, it’s done.”

“I could get Auntie Aurora and Uncle Lorenzo on my side,” I said, a wave of panic moving through me. “That might be enough.”

“It is not, and we no longer have time. I’m an advisor to the board, so I don’t have voting rights. I would have them if we married. Together, you and I would have a majority stake.

Your father anticipated our marriage and made certain we would be given full control of the company. We marry. You and I call an emergency vote. We block the acquisition.”

“This is insane.”

“Yes, it is,” Roberto said. “Bella, if you want to stop Street Entertainment from selling every hotel and restaurant in your family’s portfolio, marry me. We stop them, you launch Bella Baci, run the whole business, and after this, I’m out.”

I shook my head trying to sort through everything Roberto had shared. I knew he had secrets, but this was beyond anything I’d expected. It was insanity, but hearing the truth about Sara didn’t sound wrong to me.

Her death had broken us. I was right about that much. “You are certain that Papa didn’t change the succession plan after our wedding?”

“It is still in place,” Roberto said. “Your father would have eventually changed it, but you made it clear that our marriage was never happening. He would never expect us to do this and block the deal.”

“And neither would James Street.”

Roberto leaned across the marble countertop. His green eyes no longer glistening with tears, they were lit with an intensity and focus that I recognized. Roberto always had a plan.

“Marry me, and we fix this. You won’t live as my wife. You can have an entire floor in my palazzo for yourself. Fuck it. You can have the whole thing. We marry. We block the vote long enough to make sure the company is no longer vulnerable.”

“We marry and then we divorce.”

“Yes,” he said. “I truly believe this is the one scenario James hasn’t considered, the only one. Your relationship with Dylan has helped there.”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“I understand.”

“And my parents?”

“They will probably applaud. Until we block the vote.”

“But you were planning to destroy my father. Is that over?”

Roberto ran his finger over his cropped hair. “I think I’ve had enough of revenge. Look at what it’s done to me, to you. Once we marry, what happens next with Uzano Properties will be up to you. Sara would want me to move on.”

“I think she would,” I said.

“I can give you back what I didn’t mean to take from you,” Roberto said. “You should have known the truth about your family long ago.”

The Thief is here to show you that something has been stolen from you that is rightfully yours.

“How can I trust you?” I said, looking into his fiery green eyes.

“I don’t know, but I will ask you to try,” Roberto said. “I loved Sara. I loved you. I want to fix this and move on with my life. I’m sorry for everything.”

I touched the marble countertop, hoping the cold stone would ground me. I looked at the bar behind Roberto and glanced around the familiar dining room of Andiamo.

I grew up in this restaurant and in the hallways of this hotel. The tablecloths, candlesticks, dusty bottles of chianti in Andiamo were so familiar, but everything looked changed to me now. My sense of home was slipping away, but that didn’t mean I wanted my family to lose everything to James Street.

“How would it work?” I said, eyes focused on the grey and white lines of the Carrara marble countertop.

“We need to move fast. Tomorrow, before the ball, there is the group wedding on the steps of the Doge”s Palace.”

“You’ve thought this through.”

“It is the one time of year that you can get a license without waiting,” he said. “We go to the palace. We stand on the steps, say ‘I do,’ file the paperwork to block the acquisition, and it’s done.”

“It’s done,” I repeated.

“Yes,” he said. “We stop Street Entertainment, and you will end up with majority control. You can choose what you want to do next with the company. Nobody can stop Bella Baci or any other idea you have. It’s the way it should have always been.”

“I need some time to think.”

“I understand. I’ll leave you alone,” he said, setting something down on the bar in front of me. It was a key.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s the key to Sara’s room,” he said. “I’ve had it since I was eighteen years old. I should have given it to you a long time ago. It doesn’t belong to me. Let me know what you decide. And Bella, we don’t have much time.”

“I understand,” I said. “Thank you, Roberto.”

I didn’t know if I had the courage to marry the wrong man twice, but I knew I had the courage to open my sister’s door.

No more secrets, I thought as I walked from the Mia Sorella back home.