Chapter 42
My mind remains a roadblock, preventing thoughts to slip through because surely I’ve lost my fucking ever living mind to have gone into the shower and helped Vanessa through whatever mental prison she locked herself inside.
Vanessa realizing the precise actions her father took against my family is everything I wanted. To feel the impact and how her father abandoned her in more ways than their own shitty history.
When I entered my bedroom, I half-expected her to be sharpening more weapons, or tying bedsheets together to propel herself from my window—only after she breaks it open—but instead she was gone. I followed the water sounds to my ensuite, expecting another one of her games.
Instead, she was curled in a ball against the shower wall, shaking and mumbling nonsense to herself, and completely missed me yelling her name. There was a vulnerability to her I suspect few—if any—have seen.
Why I stepped inside is beyond me. Why I held her, cared for her, I can’t understand. She might soon be my unwilling bride, but it’s a political scheme and nothing further. Nothing involving pesky feelings that’ll allow her to creep inside me. Being shackled to me will be a punishment, so she can have all the breakdowns she wants.
Because I don’t, and can’t, care.
My wet shoes slosh down the hallway, and they’re another reminder of my idiocy because now I’m soaked head-to-toe. I walk down the stairs and toward the back entrance, not slowing down on my way to the pool where Nero and Serafina were hanging out earlier.
Venus glances over from where she’s stretched beside Serafina, who’s sitting poolside, her legs dangling in the water. If Serafina, her rightful owner, wasn’t around, the dog would happily greet me, but I’m the second choice when she’s here. It’s been like that since the day she adopted Venus from a local shelter. Madre didn’t want a large dog in a place with such a small backyard when the Mancini property is a better option, so she’s been raised here and visited by Serafina.
Nero sits up from the lounge chair he’s occupying, watching as I stride by. His brows spike when he takes in my soaked clothing, an amused smirk pulling up on one side of his mouth.
I ignore him and tell Serafina, “I’m borrowing clothes for Vanessa from your closet.”
She hikes her sunglasses to her forehead, peering up at me with a flattened expression. She’s really good at pretending to be calm, but the storm swirling in her blue eyes claims otherwise. It reminds me of the woman inside my bathroom, and I hate comparing them. She jerks her legs from the water, startling Venus as she scrambles to stand.
“You’re a fucking asshole, Zeno.” The use of my full name implies her fury.
“It’s clothes, Sera. Deal with it. I’ll get you more.” But I know that’s not why she’s angry.
She shoves her hands into my chest, unable to knock me back a step with her much weaker strength. “That’s not what I meant, and you fucking know it. You left out some pretty convenient information when you texted asking me to go to your room. Didn’t even have the decency to prepare me for that .”
I level my stare at her, heart pounding faster, but needing her to say the words. “What is that exactly?”
She blanches, hands tossing into the air with her typical dramatic flair. “You’re fucking serious, right? Look, I get you’re trying to protect me. Hell, it’s all you ever do, but she’s?—”
“She’s nothing,” I cut her off. “Less than nothing. Conversation over, Sera. Your job here is nearly finished so Nero will be taking you home soon.” Given her reaction, even though it’s valid, soon might be later this afternoon.
Without blinking and voice dripping with venom, she grits, “My job? Careful now. You’re becoming more and more like your father. Madre says he was a heartless asshole.”
I’m not like Padre because I don’t abandon family. “He had a specific role to play. As do I.”
She crosses her arms, her jaw ticking rigid. “Is it your role to keep the truth from me? She’s his daughter. Which makes her my?—”
“Don’t say it,” I cut her off again, tone lowering. “You share DNA with her and nothing more. You’re not them, no matter what the past indicates.”
One second passes. A beat of my heart.
Her arms lower back to her side, her expression softening. If she were another woman, her behaviours might indicate I’m winning, but Serafina’s like our mother, which means she’s only gearing up for another round of arguing.
“I might not be them. I might not even be like them. And I’ve never wanted to know the man who destroyed Madre’s will. But you know what my goddamn rights are?” She jabs her finger in the direction of the villa’s upper floor. “I was fine to not chase my past when it only involved Ursin, but learning about a sister that you kept from me…my rights include seeing her. Like it or not, fratello , you brought her and I together, so now you have to deal with it.”
Maybe some of what she’s saying is logical, but I won’t be entertaining it because for now, despite my plans for Vanessa, I can’t guarantee she wouldn’t try to taint Serafina against us. Serafina’s entire job was to break Vanessa, so when I strap the final chains around her ankle—her finger technically—and officially make us all one giant, fucked-up family, Serafina can return to her life.
My sister leans closer, lowering her voice. “The Bratva is not my family, so don’t think I’ll find something in her that I’m missing. But I do want to meet her again.”
My blood cools. “No.” Simple answer. Not happening. Nothing beyond the quick interaction this morning that served a specific purpose.
Instead of arguing, she glances toward the villa’s upper floor, a sadness igniting in her eyes. “She had no idea about me either, did she?”
“Sì. Before recently, I didn’t plan for you two to meet.”
Serafina’s eyes bulge with disbelief but instead of shouting, she steps to the side with a hard shake of her head. “You’re un-fucking-believable. I don’t know…I can’t…” She pauses, betrayal darkening her eyes. “I’m done.” She stalks toward the house.
Nero watches her pass. “Do you remember when I suggested?—”
“Yep,” I cut him off. He suggested I tell Serafina about Vanessa, and I didn’t listen. “You know as well as anyone, had I done that, she would have tried to take off for Moscow. It’s difficult enough keeping her in Ostia, let alone limiting her to the country. It was for the best.”
“Was,” he repeats in a contemplative tone, coming to stand beside me.
Was, because now I’m not so sure. I sigh, turning to scan the lounge chair he was previously occupying, hoping there’s a bottle of his beloved liquor somewhere because I can certainly use a drink. And the day’s only beginning.
“Are you really going to keep them apart?”
“I have no damn clue,” I reply, and it’s the truth. And also an issue for later. I nod in the direction my sister’s gone, Venus loyally trailing after her. “Keep her in the house for now but out of sight of the front entrance.”
Nero turns with me, a question in his eyes. “What are you planning?”
“Easier to be a friend than an enemy. I’m going to give her something she’s dying for.”
“Freedom?”
My gaze passes over the vast land, in the distance where the grass greets the sky decorated with white clouds. “Something like that. Just keep my sister inside for now. Did you get the documents I’ll need?”
He shakes his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets as we walk. “Been busy babysitting. Haven’t had the chance yet.”
“Right.”
He flicks a finger toward my wet collar. “Am I allowed to ask or should I guess that it involved Volkov?”
I shove him away, grumbling, “Oh, fuck off,” but he only chuckles.
We make it to the back door before parting ways, his final statement following me long after I gather clothing for Vanessa from Serafina’s room.
“Don’t let your guard down, Zeno. That’s when Vanessa will strike.”