24. Santo
I awoke with the weight of Tia’s body pressing atop mine, fully relaxed in the throes of sleep.
Her skin was warm and still a bit damp, which wasn’t surprising given the hours of lovemaking throughout the night and morning.
Her warm breath tickled and I could feel the imprint of her braids on my upper arm.
I gazed down at her, committing every line of her face, every curve of her eyelashes, to memory. She looked so peaceful, so content. Tia belonged here … with me. I couldn’t remember ever being this happy or in love .
Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I noticed it was already midafternoon. Tia had mentioned wanting to spend time with her mother today, since Deanna was leaving Greece tomorrow.
As much as I wanted to keep her in bed with me forever, I knew she’d be upset if she missed these precious hours with her mother. With gentle fingers, I traced the curve of her cheek, then leaned down to press a soft kiss to her temple.
“Angel,” I whispered, brushing my lips against her ear. “Time to wake up.”
She stirred, burrowing deeper against my chest with a small sound of protest. I smiled, running my hand down her spine.
“Tia,” I tried again, a bit louder. “It’s almost one. You wanted to spend today with your mother, remember?”
Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks before she slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze met mine, still hazy with sleep.
“What time is it?” she murmured, voice husky.
“Almost one,” I repeated, playing with a thin braid. “You wanted to spend the day with your mother before her flight tomorrow.”
Tia sat up quickly, suddenly alert. “We were due for brunch with your family three hours ago.” She ran a hand through her tousled curls. “We were supposed to eat and then go shopping.”
I caught her hand as she moved to leave the bed, gesturing to the overnight bag I’d packed. “Your clothes are there, along with your favorite hair butter and that coconut oil moisturizer you can’t live without.”
She smiled, leaning over to kiss me. “You thought of everything.”
“We need to keep your skin moisturized,” I said simply.
With a grateful smile, Tia slipped from the bed. “Shower first, then we’ll go.”
Forty minutes later, we pulled up to the entrance of the estate. We stepped into the grand foyer of the mansion. It was unusual to not be greeted by the butler.
“I can’t wait for our picnic on Thalassía tomorrow,” Tia said. “Zeus will love running free on the beach.”
“He’s been whining at your door every night,” I replied, shrugging off my jacket. “I think he misses you more than I do.”
The words had barely left my mouth when a heart-wrenching cry echoed from the sitting room. We exchanged alarmed glances before hurrying toward the sound.
The sitting room was in disarray. Theia Irida sat crumpled in an armchair, her face buried in her hands as violent sobs shook her slender frame. My Yiayia paced nearby, tears streaming down her face as she shouted in rapid Greek about justice and betrayal .
Kayla and Tia’s mother kneeled beside Irida, offering comfort seemingly with no effect. In the corner, my father, Konstantin, and Dimitrios huddled in intense conversation.
“Father?” I called out, drawing everyone’s attention. “What’s happened?”
My father crossed the room toward us, holding out a tablet with a grim expression. “Read this.”
I scanned the headline, my stomach dropping as the words registered: “Billionaire Stavros Christakis’ Death Ruled a Homicide, 30 Years Later.”
“What is it?” Tia asked, leaning closer to see.
I tilted the tablet so she could read the article, watching her expression shift to surprise.
“Stavros was my father’s uncle,” I explained to Tia. “He died before I was born.”
“It was that witch!” Theia Irida cried out, her face contorted in anguish. “Angela killed my brother!”
Yiayia nodded vigorously. “We always knew it. The American police wouldn’t listen.”
“Mother, please,” Konstantin interjected. “These are serious accusations with no evidence. ”
“We lived the evidence!” Yiayia shouted, her small frame vibrating with rage. “Stavros was healthy as a bull, then he gets the flu and dies less than three months later!”
Irida collapsed into fresh sobs, her hands trembling. “She took him from us, then sold Thalassía to Michail... This confirms what we’ve always known.”
Tia’s mother rose from Irida’s side. “Irida, you should lie down.” She helped my theia to her feet. “This can’t be good for your heart.”
“Deanna’s right,” my yiayia agreed, suddenly looking every one of her seventy years. “Come, Irida. We need to rest.”
“I’ll help,” Kayla offered, supporting Irida’s other side.
“I’ll come too,” Tia said, squeezing my hand before releasing it.
As the women left the room, I turned back to my father and uncles, who had already closed ranks. I crossed the room to join them, my thoughts racing.
The family had whispered about Uncle Stavros’ suspicious death for as long as I could remember, but it had always been treated as a conspiracy theory. Until now.
“What does this mean?” I asked. “After thirty years, what evidence could they possibly have found?”
“According to the article, they exhumed his body. New forensic technology detected traces of a toxin that would have presented like influenza in the 1990s. ”
“But why now?” I pressed. “After all this time?”
Dimitrios shook his head. “The article doesn’t say. Only that an anonymous tip led to the investigation.”
“I need to contact our attorneys in New York immediately,” my father said, checking his watch. “I’ll set up a conference call in my study.”
Konstantin nodded. “I’ll call Mattheios. I also need to talk to Kayla.”
“Have the jet prepared,” my father instructed Dimitrios. “We may need to fly to New York tonight. I want us there when the police start asking questions.”
“What about his sons?” I asked. “Your cousins?”
Dimitrios’ face hardened at my question. “Leon and Nolan? They’ve wanted nothing to do with this family for decades.”
“They were just boys when it happened,” my father said, his voice softer than I expected. “Their mother cut ties completely.”
“Angela raised them to believe we were monsters,” Dimitrios added bitterly. “That we were trying to steal what was rightfully theirs.”
My father checked his watch again. “I need to make those calls now. The New York office will be opening soon.” He turned to Konstantin. “Have the pilot ready the jet. I want to leave tonight if possible. ”
Konstantin nodded. “I’ll take care of it after I talk to Kayla.”
They both departed quickly, leaving me alone with Dimitrios. My uncle moved to the bar cart again, this time pouring himself something stronger.
“Do you want one?” he asked.
I nodded and watched as he poured a generous measure of aged whiskey into two glasses.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” I asked, accepting the drink from him.
“Were you the orchestrator of that video last night?”
“I did what had to be done.” The whiskey burned pleasantly down my throat.
“I was wrong about you Santo.” Dimitrios exhaled, shaking his head. “I thought this thing with Tia was to get back at Katalina, but you’re crazy about her.”
I traced the rim of my glass with my thumb, gathering my thoughts before speaking. “It was about revenge and hurting Kat at first. I’ve wanted to get even since Vasquez sent me that video of Kat sucking him off. But after I spent more time with Tia, real feelings developed. She’s my everything.”
My uncle’s eyes bored into mine. “I hope for your sake she never finds out.”
“Too late for that. ”
We both whipped around to see Tia standing in the doorway, one hand braced against the doorframe to steady herself.
Dimitrios set his glass down slowly. “Tia—”
“Don’t.” Her eyes never left mine, the betrayal in them apparent. “The invitation to your room to change. The job. Your interest in me. It was all planned, wasn’t it?”
I took a step toward her, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Tia, listen to me—”
“All of it was to get back at Kat.” Her voice cracked. “I was just part of your plan to destroy her.” She shook her head, stunned. “I fell for it.”
“It’s not like that anymore,” I said urgently, feeling the situation slipping through my fingers. “What I feel for you is real.”
“Real?” The word was a whisper, loaded with disbelief. She backed away as I tried to approach. “You used me. You planned to use me from the beginning.”
“Let me explain—”
“Explain what?” Her voice rose. “That I fell in love with someone who targeted me? That I gave myself to a man who was using me to hurt someone else?”
Dimitrios quietly moved toward the door. “I should go.”
“No,” Tia said, her eyes never leaving mine. “I’m the one who’s leaving. ”
“Please.” I reached for her hand. “What I feel for you is real. That wasn’t a lie.”
“So did it work?” she asked, voice anguished. “Did you get what you wanted?”
“No, Tia please. I love you.” My words tumbled out awkwardly. I couldn’t even begin to think of how I’d fix this. What to say?
She recoiled from my touch, her body curving away from me. “Everything was a lie, Santo. Every moment, every touch, every word.” Her voice cracked with pain. “You didn’t just lie to me. You orchestrated an entire relationship based on deceit.”
What a mess. What a fucking mess.
“I’m sorry, aggelé mou. I—”
“Don’t call me that!” She took a step back. “You and Kat deserve each other. You’re cut from the same cloth.”
I lunged for Tia just as my father emerged from around the corner, his presence barely registering in my peripheral vision.
Nothing mattered except reaching her, holding her against me, making her understand.
But before my fingers could brush her skin, she raised her hand like a shield, her eyes flashing with a coldness I’d never seen before.
“Do. Not. Touch. Me.”
She lifted her left hand and wrenched off the ring I’d placed there, holding it out to me as if it offended her. “Take it. ”
“No. Please aggelé mou. We’re going to have a big wedding and a big family, remember? We don’t want our child to grow up as only children like we did.” My voice was desperate.
“Take the ring, Santo!”
When I still didn’t budge, she simply let it fall. The rest of the room was so quiet we all heard its metallic clatter on the tiled floor, followed by the softer sound as it rolled to a stop.
“Now,” she said slowly, straightening her shoulders, “here’s what’s going to happen. I’m leaving Greece with my mother tonight. Don’t follow me.” The command was steel-edged, despite her tears. “Don’t call me. Don’t come near me or my family again.”
My breath was ragged in my ears, blood pounding in my temples. I shook my head. “You can’t leave, Tia.”
“You and Katalina can become a family and raise your ugly, vengeful, mean-ass baby together.”
My father spoke up from the doorway where he’d silently stood. “There is no baby. I received a call this morning, saying that Katalina miscarried.”
I’d had enough of Katalina and her convoluted tales to know there was never any baby to begin with. Had her ploy worked, she’d probably have had a convenient miscarriage after we were wed.
“What about Thalassía? The contract? ”
Tia turned to my father. “Mr. Christakis, I’d like your permission to complete the project from the United States. I’ve put my heart into those designs and I want to see them through, despite...” her voice faltered momentarily, “... personal complications.”
“Baba, you can’t allow this,” I interjected desperately. “If she returns to America, I’ll never see her again. Please.”
My father studied Tia’s face for a long moment, then glanced at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Finally, he turned back to her with a small nod.
“You may complete the project remotely, Ms. Massey. Your work has been exceptional, and I respect your professionalism.” His eyes softened. “The Christakis family honors its contracts.”
“Thank you,” Tia whispered.
“Aggelé mou, I love you. With my entire heart. I want no-one but you, now and forever.” I swallowed hard, prepared to beg if I must. “Please don’t leave. Let’s work it out. We can get through this, I promise.”
She turned to leave, then paused, looking back with devastation etched across her face. “You know what the worst part is? If you’d have told me your plan from the beginning, I may have helped you. But this... knowing I was used...” She shook her head. “There’s no coming back from that. ”
“Tia,” I said again as she walked away. I was ready to pursue her, but my father and uncle both hurried forward, their large, muscled bodies blocking my way out.
“Move!” I growled, giving my uncle a shove, but I might as well have tried to punch a wall. I’d have to knock them flat to get past them, and I was pretty sure neither of them would let that happen.
I watched her disappear down the hallway, wishing like hell I’d kept her in bed. On the floor, the ring glinted, mocking me with its abandoned promise.