Chapter 5
KARINA
I’m on my way back to the main house, feeling just a tiny bit better (thanks to Candi), when Marco comes stalking out the front door toward me.
It makes me wonder if he’s been pacing the foyer this whole time, just waiting for me to finish my lunch date so he can lock me up somewhere and keep an eye on me. My stomach drops.
And then, remembering what Candi said about setting boundaries, I lift my chin and prepare to stand my ground.
But, as usual, Marco completely throws me off before I can even open my mouth.
“Come with me,” he says, his voice urgent as he takes my hand in his.
“Where are we going? Is everything okay?”
“No. Something’s up. Armani wants all of us to meet in the dining room now.”
Shit. Did he find out that my family has Livvie? I need to tell Marco what I know. Come clean before it’s too late. He can be the one to decide what to tell his brothers. And if it makes me look bad, so be it.
“Wait,” I say, tugging my hand out of his. “I have to tell you something. It’s important.”
Marco stops in his tracks and turns to me. “Make it quick.”
“I talked to my dad last night. I called to tell him to leave me alone, and…I guess to see if I could feel him out about Livvie. See if he knew anything.”
Frowning, obviously not liking where this is going, Marco says, “And?”
“And he admitted that they have her.” I look away, guilt and shame burning my cheeks.
Marco lets out a long breath. “Okay.”
“I’m so sorry.” My voice cracks and my eyes start to sting. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but I was too scared, and then this morning you were gone, and I’m scared of Armani, and—”
Marco surprises me by pulling me hard against his chest and giving me a squeeze. “It’s okay, Karina. It’s going to be okay.”
I nod, sniffling into his shirt. “I should have said something right away.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. It doesn’t change anything, not really. We’ll tell my family together after this meeting, okay? Besides, it’s not exactly a surprise. Of course the Brunos went after Livvie. They’re hitting us where it hurts most. At least now we can focus our efforts.”
“Okay,” I whisper, pulling back to wipe my eyes and pull myself together.
Marco allows me a few more moments to collect myself and then leads me into the house.
When I realize there’s an eerie, taut stillness in the air, I immediately feel apprehensive.
I know this kind of tension, am intimately familiar with it thanks to my uncle.
It’s the kind of tension that sours the air when shit has officially hit the fan.
Has another threat been made against the Bellantis? Has there been another murder? Or did one of my relatives finally reach out to Armani about Livvie?
We don’t get far down the hallway before I hear quiet sobs coming from one of the rooms ahead. My pulse quickens. I recognize the absolute anguish in the sound. This isn’t going to be good.
Marco gives my hand a squeeze and then opens the dining room door.
We step into the room to find his entire family gathered there.
Dante, the oldest Bellanti brother, has his arms around Frankie, whose face is buried against his chest. Marco’s other brother, Armani, shoots a venomous gaze at me.
I know that look well. He’s a dangerous man, holding himself back by a thread.
One that began to unravel a little more when I walked in.
Marco told me that Armani thought I was a mole.
Maybe he still thinks that. And how will he react when Marco and I tell the rest of the family that I know who has Livvie?
Armani will immediately suspect me of foul play.
Cold prickles assault my scalp. Every instinct in me is screaming for me to run. But I can’t. I have to face this.
“Everyone is accounted for?” Armani asks tersely, eyes darting around at all of us.
“Everyone but-but Livvie.” Frankie speaks through tears, her words muffled against Dante’s chest.
Her words make my gut twist, but I say nothing. Not yet. Marco squeezes my hand again. It doesn’t help with my nerves.
I notice there’s another woman and man standing close together in the corner.
I don’t recognize either of them, although…
the woman looks enough like Frankie that I’m pretty confident the two of them must be related.
Yet her face is so etched in grief that it’s hard to tell for sure.
The man next to her has an arm around her shoulder, his face stone cold as he attempts to comfort the woman with quiet reassurances.
Armani moves toward the couple, eyes narrowed, his jaw set.
His back is to me now, and something about that makes him seem even more dangerous.
He’s a tall, broad man whose coiled strength is apparent.
Marco moves slightly away from me, and at first, I think he’s trying to see around Armani, but then I realize he’s situating himself between his brother and me.
Just then, Frankie pulls away from Dante. Her voice is tight and shrill as she waves an angry hand at Armani. “Let me guess. You’re about to question Clayton’s loyalty.”
I can’t see Armani’s reaction, but his stance doesn’t change.
“Why are you pushing this? Charlie is my sister,” Frankie goes on. My suspicions are confirmed, then. The other blonde is Frankie’s sister. “Clayton is my brother-in-law. They love Livvie as much as any of us. They had nothing to do with this.”
I get a clear view of Frankie now. Her sweet face is streaked with tears, her cheeks flushed. Her dress pulls tight over her pregnant belly. As she turns to look around the room, her reddened eyes briefly meet mine. Such sadness. Such worry.
My knees weaken and my palms begin to sweat. My heart is pounding in my chest. I should have told them about Livvie already. I hate that I was such a coward about it. And I pray that Marco can smooth things over for me when the truth does come out.
“Someone sold Livvie out. Sold all of us out. Everyone’s loyalty is to be questioned right now,” Armani says, shifting slightly. “If there’s one thing I learned early on, it’s that people are very good at hiding who they really are.”
Frankie lifts her chin. “Clayton has done nothing but try to help us.”
Armani scoffs. “People can be very deceptive in order to reach their end goal. He’s not an Abbott, and he sure as hell isn’t a Bellanti.”
Dante steps in between his wife and his brother.
I can’t see his expression, but the stiff way he holds himself mimics Armani’s stature.
The tension in this room is so incredibly taut.
I feel like if I move at all, I’m going to be wrapped up in it and strangled.
Marco lets go of my hand and moves next to Dante.
“Clayton?” Frankie asks, her voice shaking, as if she’s afraid to say whatever she’s about to say. Or maybe it’s just Clayton’s answer she fears. “Have you at any time harbored any ill will towards this family? Would you take any kind of a payout for the abduction of my sister?”
“Frankie, are you fucking serious right now?” her sister—Charlie—says as she moves forward, arms crossed.
The sisters face off, both practically vibrating with tension. My senses become more alert. I don’t think my urge for fight or flight has ever been this strong.
“Just covering all our bases,” Frankie says. “Apparently, everyone is a suspect now.”
“You think my husband would abduct our sister or be involved in this in any way?”
They are nearly nose-to-nose. This is wrong, all wrong. I should speak up now, tell them that my family has Livvie…maybe it will put a stop to this in-fighting. But before I get a chance to open my mouth, Dante steps in.
“Stop it,” he says sharply. “We’re not going to be at each other’s throats like this.”
Frankie ignores him. “We need to know if Clayton’s loyal or if he’s a traitor! Somebody betrayed us. Livvie was in a safehouse. Nobody should have known where she was except us.”
“Francesca!” Charlie scolds. “What the hell are you talking about? You really think—”
“Enough,” Clayton interjects. His demeanor is calm, amicable, without a hint of indignation or offense at being accused. “I swear to you, Frankie, and to all of you—I had nothing to do with Livvie’s abduction. But I will lay my life down to help find her.”
Armani reaches into his jacket and my heart just about stops, but instead of a weapon, he pulls out what appears to be a small, folded paper.
“Do I need to remind you what’s at stake here?” Armani asks, waving the paper at Clayton. “She’s your wife’s blood. Do you swear you’ve had no part in this?”
“I’ve had no part in this. Your intimidation tactics aren’t going to change my answer. Because it’s the truth,” Clayton says.
Marco swipes the paper from Armani, who doesn’t lose focus on the man in front of him.
“Then swear your life to this family, Clayton,” Armani demands. “You’re the only man here with outside ties.”
No one moves. I swear I feel the erratic thrum of heartbeats as we wait for his answer.
Clayton stands taller. His Irish accent is thick and strong as he says, “I swear my loyalty to the Bellanti family. To my wife. For as long as I live. So help me God.”
There’s another beat of silence, less tense now, though I still feel as wary as before. Marco unfolds the paper. His forehead wrinkles as he studies it. Moving closer, I look down at it and my stomach lurches.
He’s holding a photograph of a beautiful, hollow-eyed young woman in a bare, featureless room with white walls.
It could literally be any room anywhere.
There’s an ugly leather collar around her neck, attached to a thick chain that’s bolted into the wall.
Despite my horror, it hits me that she is a perfect mixture of the other two women in the room.
Which, of course she is. A yellow sticky note with a message on it is stuck to the bottom of the photo.
“It’s a photo of Livvie,” Marco says.
Frankie nods, tears spilling down her cheeks. Clearly, she’s seen it already.
I read along as Marco mutters the words written on the sticky note out loud.
“Say hello to our newest pet. –Sergio Bruno.”
Oh my God. Uncle Sergio sent this to taunt the Bellantis.
But, more than that—the secret is finally out about who took Livvie. Now we all know. Marco and I won’t have to break the ugly news to everyone after all.
My eyes close. The floor seems to rock under my feet, and I have to lean on Marco for support. He’s the only thing keeping me from sinking to my knees in despair. He takes a deep breath and hands the photo back to Armani.
“See? Someone sold us out—” Armani’s voice breaks off sharply as he spins to look at me.
Marco pulls me closer. “Are you serious? You’re going to work your way through every person in this room?”
“No, just the outsiders.”
I draw back behind Marco in fear as Armani approaches.
“That’s enough, Armani.”
But he doesn’t stand down. Armani takes a step closer, and my blood runs cold. The chill in the man’s stare is visceral. And it’s terrifying. It crosses my mind that Marco might not be able to protect me from his brother.
Does Armani suspect that I knew about Livvie already? Sure, it wasn’t going to be a secret from everyone that much longer, but I still feel guilty. What if Armani can read it all over my face?
“Back off,” Marco says, completely blocking me with his body, surprising me.
I glance around the room, feeling trapped.
Nausea wells into my throat. My own flesh and blood has done something horrible to the family I married into.
Until right now, I didn’t realize just how nasty the war between these families could get.
But Livvie’s life is on the line. And so is the life of every other Bellanti.
“Enough,” Dante says, spreading his arms wide. He’s got a look of complete no-nonsense on his face. There’s something about him that makes me stand up straighter. He commands the room with his presence without being terrifying about it. No wonder he’s the family patriarch.
“We are done with this bullshit,” he goes on.
“We are a family, and we’re not going to stand around accusing each other.
What we need to focus on is getting Livvie back from the Brunos.
They haven’t made any demands for ransom, so that means them taking Livvie was an act of aggression, purely to taunt us. ”
“But who says they won’t just kill her now that they’ve made their point?” Frankie sobs, sagging in his arms. Dante rubs her back while giving his brothers a warning look over the top of her head.
“That won’t happen. This is just an intimidation tactic. We’ll get her back, I swear it,” he tells her softly. “Your family is our family, remember? Livvie is going to come back home to us, and soon.”
A tear spills down my cheek. I can’t escape the guilt and horror of knowing that it’s my family who has done this.
And no matter what Dante says to Frankie, I know the truth: Livvie is the furthest thing from safe.
As long as my uncle is running the Bruno empire, none of the Bellantis will be safe. Neither will I.
I think about the padded room inside my uncle’s office.
The men who were sometimes brought to our house—escorted by my uncle’s barrel-chested, stone-faced associates dressed all in black—who never left.
The way, sometimes, I would lie awake in my bed at night and think that I heard screams. Faint, ghostly screams, far away or rising up from deep within my mind.
My uncle is a far worse human being than I will ever know.
But if he is capable of locking up his own nine-year-old niece for the slightest misstep, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is capable of brutalizing Livvie in unimaginable ways, all in the name of revenge.
What is happening to her in that room? What could Sergio possibly want in exchange for her return?
Or what if my father was right, and they force her to marry Pietro?
God, Dante should not have promised his wife that her sister will be safe. He can’t promise that. None of us can.
Glancing up, I see the look on Armani’s face says it all. He doesn’t believe Dante’s words, either.
I know this family cannot protect me. But I’d give anything if my husband would whisper sweet, empty promises in my ear, too.
Maybe then I could pretend that, for once, everything really is going to be okay.