Chapter 40 Chiara
Chiara
My phone buzzes with an update to say Matteo is in hospital. Seriously injured, but still alive. I heave a sigh of relief. Thank god nobody has to break the news to Fina that he’s dead.
She’s the strongest woman I know, but that kind of emotional loss is hard to recover from.
“Angelo will find her,” Luka tells me while massaging my shoulders.
We’re sitting in the family room with the TV on in the background.
Neither of us is watching it, but the sound of conversation and music is soothing.
A reminder that out there, people are going about their business without a care in the world.
Luka’s fingers dig into the tension across my shoulders. He’s as quiet as I am, worried like I am.
“What if he doesn’t?” Saying the words out loud is hard, but I need someone to reassure me everything will be okay, because right now, it doesn’t feel that way.
Luka stills. “I’m not my brother’s biggest fan, but he gets shit done. And he’s always stood up for me against our father, so I trust he will figure this out.” I let his comforting words settle in my bones as he continues massaging my shoulders and neck.
The bruises Lorenzo left on my skin look worse this morning, and there’s a lump on my head from where I smacked the desk, but the ointment Angelo used has helped. I suppose I should thank him later.
For being so caring.
And…for other things.
But I’m not thinking about those things. Fina is in danger, and until she’s safe and well, I refuse to obsess over my complicated love life.
An hour passes with no further updates. At some point, Luka changes the channel to a popular daytime soap. It reminds that he still hasn’t heard back from his agent about the role he auditioned for.
I want to ask, but since it was the precursor to the attack on him, I say nothing. The last thing he needs is my inadvertently triggering him. He’s been doing so well lately, so a setback would not be helpful. I trust that he’ll tell me the outcome when he’s ready.
“The plots in this show are ridiculous.” I snort when a stolen car crashes into the front of the ER and there’s a massive fireball.
“Yeah.” Luka hums. “But people eat this shit up.”
“Hmm, I suspect they watch it for the hot doctor dude and his sexy nurse sidekick.”
“He’s leaving at the end of the season. He got offered a big role in the next Marvel Universe movie, so the show’s writing him out. Reddit claims he’s going to contract Ebola and die horribly while on a Médecins Sans Frontières assignment in some remote African village, but who knows.”
My face screws up. That’s nasty. “Jesus, couldn’t they just have him meet the love of his life and resign from his role so he can adopt stray dogs or something?”
“Nah, that wouldn’t be fun. Besides, his one true love died in the last season, remember? She donated a kidney to her long-lost sister, only to expire on the operating table from a seizure. That’s why he’s been fucking all the hot nurses this season. Unresolved emotional trauma.”
“Hmm, not sure that makes sense, but okay.” I scrub my eyes as the ER burns on screen while the final credits roll. “I need more coffee. Want one?”
Luka kisses my neck before releasing me. “Nah. Coco wants to go out, so I’ll take her while you caffeinate.”
He hops off the sofa and stretches, treating me to a delicious glimpse of hard abs. I try not to drool, but damn, the man’s a snack. Coco trots after him, eager for a sniff around the garden.
She barely gives a shit about me these days, having decided Luka is her new favorite person. Honestly, it’s galling how quickly those two have bonded. But I don’t mind. Pets are good for people with trauma and PTSD.
Hell, I should know. Coco helped me stay afloat after Dad’s death. She gave me a reason to get up in the morning.
I wander into the kitchen to find a basket of muffins waiting for me. Blueberry, my favorite. Only the second I reach for one, an image of Fina, broken and bloody, pops into my mind.
How can I possibly enjoy baked goods while she’s stuck somewhere, in danger, frightened, and enduring fuck knows what? My hand drops away as my appetite vanishes.
Instead, I head to the coffee machine and spend five minutes trying to remember how the stupid thing works. After pressing the buttons I think will give me a latte, I wait for the machine to spit out my coffee.
My gaze drifts over to the seating area, where a sparkly clutch catches my eye.
It’s the one I had with me last night. Angelo or Kane must have found it in here and placed it on the coffee table for safekeeping. It’s only then I recall stealing an envelope from Lorenzo’s home office while he attempted to assault me.
Why did I take it?
Oh yes, the crest on the envelope looked the same as the one I saw in Vivian’s purse. My coffee forgotten, I rush over and grab my clutch.
The cream envelope, although crumpled, remains intact. The paper feels heavy. Expensive.
I stare at the crest, my brow scrunched. There’s a Latin phrase and a dragon within a circular design. I have no clue what it means, but I’m positive I’ve seen it before.
But where?
The coffee machine finishes brewing my drink, so I pick up the mug and sit at the table.
Inside the envelope, there’s a small black card invitation with gold cursive text inviting Lorenzo Di Rossi to the White Rose Auction on Saturday, ten p.m. Does it mean tomorrow night? Or another Saturday? It’s not clear.
There is no location provided, so presumably the recipient, a.k.a. Lorenzo, knows where to go.
What the actual fuck is this event? And why would Lorenzo receive an invitation but not Angelo?
“What’s that?” Luka’s curious question breaks into my thoughts, causing me to jump.
His skin gleams with a light sheen of perspiration, telling me he’s been throwing a ball for Coco.
Knowing her, he had to run to retrieve it himself when she refused to stop rummaging around in the bushes. Cat shit is her new favorite snack.
“It was on your father’s desk last night.”
“And you stole it,” he guesses with a smirk. His gaze flicks to my bruised neck, and the smile fades. He picks up the invitation and envelope, examining them while I sip my coffee.
“Any clue what the White Rose Auction is? Or what the logo thing means?”
“It’s an English coat of arms, I think. No clue about the auction. I’ve never heard of an event called that.”
English. Cogs in my brain grind into place, and a memory of a flag flapping in the wind in the courtyard of a Scottish castle floats into my mind. The flag had the same emblem as the envelope on the table.
The man who kidnapped me, the English bastard with the plummy accent, is connected to Lorenzo. And also Vivian and her husband.
I’m not sure how and why, but I intend to find out.
Luka’s watching me when I lift my head. My coffee has cooled, and I’m no longer in the mood for watching TV. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that the Englishman is involved in Fina’s kidnapping.
“Give me your phone.” His brow furrows with concern, but he unlocks it and hands it over. I call my husband’s number. He doesn’t pick up, so I try Kane. No answer.
Bloody typical. The one time I actually need to talk to them, they’re unavailable. Of course, they could be in the middle of something dire, but time is running out. I’m not waiting around for them to call me back.
“Luka?” He stares at me, arms folded across his chest.
“Yes?”
“I need you to take me somewhere.” There’s no point me driving myself. The guards won’t let me leave the estate, and besides, I don’t have a driver’s license. Thank you, dear stepmother, for refusing to let me learn.
“Somewhere like the mall? Or a coffee shop?”
“No, Luka. Not the mall.” I bite back a scoff. Does he seriously think I’m in the mood for a spot of retail therapy?
“Look, cupcake, I know we’re all spiraling, but if I take you anywhere, it could lead to all sorts of problems. Like me losing my head.”
“I need to talk to Vivian.”
“Why?” His confusion is understandable given the horror stories I’ve told him about my lovely stepmother.
“Because I think she might know where Fina is.”