Chapter 44 Enzo
ENZO
If I wasn't sleeping before because I'd been taking care of Luca, now I couldn't because these crazy ideas wouldn't stop forming in my mind.
Her behavior. Her new friendship with Rocco. Her fucking whoever indiscriminately.
And no scar.
Even before noticing that glaring difference, I could tell this wasn't the Allegra I'd fallen in love with. And so my suspicious mind compelled me to figure out what the fuck had happened.
The next morning, I take advantage of the early hour to plant bugs in the entire house. If something is afoot—as I'm already suspecting—fake Allegra is bound to tell someone about our little encounter.
And so I wait.
It's not long before Rocco and Allegra shut themselves in Rocco's office. The first thing I hear is a resounding slap.
"Fucking bitch! You're jeopardizing everything," he hisses at her.
"Me? You told me he doesn't care about his wife and that he wouldn't notice a difference."
"Are you fucking stupid? Any man would care about his wife fucking another man in his own house," he yells at her.
"At least now we know he doesn't really care," she retorts, clearly annoyed. "You assured me they barely interact at home, but he still expected me to take care of that brat," she curses, and Rocco tsks.
"Knowing Enzo, I'm really surprised you're alive," he says, his words filled with disgust. "First you ruin our plans at the hospital, and now you're making mistake after mistake. I should have known not to trust a Marchesi."
"Oh, really? Need I remind you what the alternative was? My sister would have handed you over to the feds, and you would have spent the rest of your life behind bars. Let's not kid ourselves here. You needed me," she says, pacing around, "not the other way around."
"Goddamn it! And I thought your sister was difficult to deal with."
Sister?
I remember Allegra mentioning a sister, Chiara—the one who'd gotten married to Franzè—but she had forgotten to mention one small detail: that they're fucking twins.
But if this is Allegra's twin, then where is my Allegra?
"Oh, fuck off," my father continues. "As if your parents didn't approach me to gain a footing in New York. What, after Franzè left you all broke, are you going to sit there and lie to my face that you never had an ulterior motive?"
"It's called a by-product," Allegra's sister quips sarcastically.
"I'm amazed at your shamelessness. As if you didn't just kill your sister for wealth and connections," my father throws at her, and I freeze.
Killed? What does he mean by that? No... It can't be.
"I've wanted to kill that bitch for years. This time I had my parents' blessing. You should have seen her begging me for her life," she laughs, and Rocco joins in.
I'm still frozen, speechless, but I force myself to listen… to understand.
My little tigress can't be dead. She can't.
"I would have loved to see that. I never liked the chit. Too mouthy."
"Well, aren't you glad you have me now? I'm even better with my mouth."
I hear clothes ruffling, the chafing noise of lips smacking together.
"Are you sure you got rid of the body properly? We don't need any surprises at this point," Father mutters in between what I suspect are kisses.
"Of course. I dropped it at the morgue," Chiara answers in a breathy tone, before the dynamic changes completely.
"You're a dirty little whore, aren't you?" Father groans, and my stomach drops.
"Whores take money for it. My currency is orgasms. How many are you going to give me today, daddy?" Chiara's voice takes on a saccharine tone.
"However many you want. Fuck," he moans, and the sloppy sounds of a blowjob permeate the room.
I stop the audio, unable to take it anymore.
Allegra is dead.
I stand up on shaky legs, going to Luca's room and dismissing Mrs. Marshall for a couple of hours.
Taking him in my arms, I hug him to my chest, finally letting the tears fall.
How can she be dead? How? And how did I not know?
No, it can't be. I refuse to believe Allegra is dead. My Allegra is alive and well, and I'll find her. But even as I try to convince myself of that, the way Chiara talked about her sister… about killing her.
My heart breaks into a million pieces as I start rationalizing that I may never see my tigress again. I'll never be able to hug her or tell her how much I love her.
Did I ever tell her?
"God," I groan out loud, the thought nauseating.
I never even told her how I felt. How she'd carved herself into my heart almost from our first interaction, and how I'd only fallen deeper and deeper for her. How she's the only woman I'd ever let close to me, the only one I've ever loved.
And now she'll never know. She died thinking I'm a fucking monster.
I look down at Luca and I see the little boy who's never going to know his mother. He's never going to remember her warmth or the way she loved him with her entire heart.
I spend some time just holding him, rocking back and forth, lost in my emotions.
I'm holding the last piece of Allegra in this world.
The thought breaks me anew, and I can't stop myself from sobbing. It's only much later when grief morphs into unquenchable fury that I react again, knowing what I have to do.
Kissing Luca's forehead, I lay him back in his cradle, telling Mrs. Marshall to watch him well.
I grab two guns, both fully loaded, and I strap myself with knives.
Because I have a mission.
And no one will make it out alive.
They took my heart; now I'm going to take theirs—literally.