Chapter 52 Allegra
ALLEGRA
Scrolling on my tablet, I scoff when I realize that all these torture methods require a lot of instruments I have no way of procuring. Because Chiara deserves the best, and I aim to give her just that.
She'll finally pay for what she's done to me, and I will relish watching her pain as the life drains from her body.
"Miss, what is that?" Lia's face blanches in horror as she catches a glimpse of the image on my tablet. Her hands move to make the sign of the cross, and I refrain from rolling my eyes.
Lia is too innocent for her own good.
"This," I start, angling the screen so she can have a better view, "is a Sicilian bull." I explain that it was used in ancient times to slowly toast people to death.
Since burning alive might just be one of the most painful ways to go, I'll have to think of how to use it to my advantage, given that I'm not exactly swimming in resources.
There's just one tiny problem—no one knows where Chiara is.
Lia had given me a rundown of what had happened with Enzo's sister, after which Chiara had promptly disappeared. It's been close to two months since anyone has seen her, and that affects me in more ways than one—I can't fulfill my revenge, but I also can't impersonate her to visit Luca.
My poor baby boy. It's been too long since I last saw him, and it's been killing me slowly. I know that at the end of it all we'll be together, and that's the only thing keeping me going. But until then…
I pull up some photos I'd taken of him and smile as I look upon his sweet face.
Soon.
But not soon enough.
"Do you think you could get me a strong radiator in here?" I turn to her, suddenly thinking of something.
"Maybe, why…" Her eyes widen as she realizes my purpose. "Don't tell me you…"
"Please. If you can," I add, batting my lashes softly at her.
"I'll see what I can do," she reluctantly agrees. I nod, giving her my thanks.
Now I just have to figure out how to lure Chiara.
Narrowing my eyes as I sift through ideas, I get out of bed to look through the stuff I'd taken from my father's house.
Maybe it was my curiosity, but I wanted to see just what they had traded my life for.
I'd taken a few electronics—including a phone—and notebooks.
So far, nothing has stuck out, but that's also because the devices are all locked and I've been unsuccessful in figuring out the passwords.
Taking out the phone, I power it on and start thinking of different combinations again. I only have a few tries before it gets locked, and then I have to wait again.
I'd already tried everything birthday-related, and that had been a complete bust. I add in a few more combinations, all of them wrong.
One more try.
It's not as if I have anything to lose at this point. I'll just try again tomorrow.
I think back to all my interactions with my father as I rack my brain for any clues. Then there's also the night I finally killed him, and God… I think I'm sick because I don't think I've ever enjoyed anything as much as smashing my own father to pieces.
There's a certain freedom in bringing down the ax to cut my connections to my past life—literally.
The blood, the way his face had been frozen in terror, his pupils the only part of his body still able to move.
And he'd just watched.
He watched, helpless, as I cut through his skin, as I reached bone only to get a bigger knife and smash it all to pieces. He'd been alive long enough to see his destroyed rib cage, his heart visible through the mess.
And like the sick bitch that I am—because I don't think anyone related to them is normal in any way—I'd watched, transfixed, as his degenerate heart pumped once, twice, until it didn't have the strength to anymore—the wreckage of his body leading to his downfall.
It had been such an intoxicating experience, almost addictive in a way.
Is it like this for Enzo, too? When he takes a life?
Maybe I'd been too quick to judge him in the past, since from my self-righteous, holier-than-thou seat, he'd looked like the bad guy. But is there really such a thing as a bad guy? Isn't it all just perspective?
Maybe now that my hands are a little bloodstained, I can understand his perspective better.
Sometimes you have to take the plunge and risk being the bad guy.
Although I can sympathize with his role better, that doesn't make him any less of a cheating wastrel.
Getting annoyed at the mere thought of Enzo, I return my attention to the phone, entering one date but not expecting it to work.
"What…" my eyes widen in shock as I see the screen light up, the apps loading.
It worked.
The day my father took my sister's virginity is the password. Not only is this disgusting, but now I have to wonder just what type of sick relationship they had all these years.
Pushing that from my mind, I start navigating the phone's menu, noticing a lot of missed calls from a certain number. There are also hundreds of messages from the same number.
Maybe…
I start going through all of them, and soon, it's clear who the sender is. And Chiara doesn't seem to know that our father is dead.
"Jackpot," I whisper to myself.
I guess I finally have a way to lure her in.
I quickly get to work, studying their text patterns so I can imitate them before I start sending out small texts, pretending Father is under duress. Soon, a whole thread of conversation begins, and my plan is officially in motion.
After days of fake conversations with Chiara, everything is set up for the trap. I'd thought about all the details, including the aftermath and how I'd catch Enzo unawares.
"Don't worry, Lia. I'll be able to handle her," I tell her as I try to convince her to leave. "Please, just remember what you promised me. Not a word to Enzo about whether I'm alive or not," I add as I watch her head to the door.
"Yes, but still. I don't feel good about this, Miss."
"Everything will be fine. Chiara will finally get what she deserves, and soon I will be free," I take a deep breath, closing my eyes and imagining the future that awaits me.
"But Signor Enzo…" she trails off, unsure.
"He won't even know what hit him. And I'd like to keep it like that."
It takes a little more cajoling, but I finally get her to leave.
I'd planned everything, from Chiara's death to how I'd make it seem like it was me who died here—everything to catch Enzo when he least expects it, drive a knife through his treacherous heart, and get my baby with me.
If it weren't for Luca, I would simply disappear after I'm done with Chiara, never to be spotted again. But seeing as my baby is my only purpose, there's just one more hurdle—my husband.
It's almost midnight, and everyone's gone home for the night. I'd asked Lia to get rid of the people tasked with my care, and somehow she managed that.
Now I just wait.
I'd simply planted the idea in Chiara's mind that her sister isn't actually dead but is in a coma. I'd also given her the exact location, knowing she'd come here to kill me once and for all.
But this time I won't be weakened by childbirth, nor will I be na?ve enough to not see her scheming from a mile away.
No, this time she's walking into my trap, and she'll be playing by my rules.
I quickly get in bed, hooking myself up to the machines and waiting for Chiara to arrive. Her tongue had been very loose with Daddy Dearest, and she'd spilled absolutely everything she wanted to do to me—as well as the time she'd do it.
So I just wait.