Chapter 36 – Sienna
SIENNA
Alfonso's clammy hand closes around mine, and he leads me onto the floor as a new song begins.
His grip on my waist is possessive, his rotund body and protruding belly too close. We begin to move, and I force myself to stay calm, to remember that Luca is watching, and that I'm surrounded by people who would never let anything happen to me.
But none of them know the extent of what this man has done to me, the years of my life he’s stolen and the white-hot hatred that flows through me when I think of what he did to his own son.
"You know," Alfonso says softly, his mouth so near my ear that I have to suppress a shudder of disgust. "I have to admire your persistence. And your discretion."
I keep my bright smile fixed in place for the watching crowd. "I'm not sure what you mean."
Trying not to fidget, I stare forward, my mind circling through all the reasons why I shouldn’t make a scene, why I should just grin and bear it for the next two to three minutes.
"After our little disagreement, all those years ago." He spins me, pulling me back against him with a jolt that makes my stomach lurch. "It was very clever of you, never mentioning it to Luca, keeping an ace up your sleeve. And look. You’ve done it. You’ve snared my son, and convinced him to follow his dick, not his head.”
He spits out the words with venom, and I recoil, physically reacting to being so close to someone who clearly hates me so violently.
“But, as long as you continue to keep your mouth shut like a good girl, I think we can let bygones be bygones."
I scoff.
He knows if I tell Luca the full story, his son will rebel against him completely.
"What do you want?" I ask quietly, my patience running out. My body still carries a lingering fear of the man who’s haunted my nightmares for a long time, which is keeping me glued to this spot.
"What I've always wanted. What's best for this family.
" The sentiment is noble but that’s not what he wants.
He wants power and control. "You'll breed Luca's heirs and keep your secrets buried. And maybe, if you behave, I’ll give you some money to divorce my son, and I'll let you live long enough to see your children grow up. "
The threat catapults me back into my darkest day, and suddenly, I'm not in the ballroom anymore. I'm back at the lake house…
Night is falling fast, and my car is parked on the gravel drive as my heart pounds with excitement because this is it. We’re really doing this. Running away together, starting fresh, leaving his family and his obligations behind.
I slide the pregnancy test into my purse. Two pink lines confirmed ten days earlier, then the ultrasound this morning to be extra sure. I kept it to myself, wanting to surprise Luca, to see his face when he realizes we aren't just running away as two people anymore.
We’re going to be a family.
But as I slam the door shut, ducking my head and battling the wind and drizzling rain to rush toward the porch, it isn't Luca who comes out of the house.
Alfonso descends the steps slowly, two men flanking him, anger personified. Fausto is on his right shoulder, as always, his face twisting with disgust when he sees me.
"Do you really think I'll let my son throw away his future for a piece of trash like you?"
I back toward my car, but he’s faster, grabbing my bag as I turn, sending the contents spilling across the ground; lip balm, car keys, and a packet of tissues.
And a small white stick with two bold lines.
His hand freezes as he stoops to pick it up slowly, staring at the result window, then at me, then back at the test. Understanding dawns across his features, followed by something far more dangerous.
"No. Absolutely not." His glare is icy, his angry words shouted louder with each word. "No fucking way. Over my dead body."
He grabs my arm and starts dragging me toward the lake house.
"No." I stumble, my heels sliding on stone as he pulls me along. "No, no, no, please. LUCA!"
The memory fractures into jagged segments. Fausto's fists. Rope biting into my wrists. Tablets forced down my throat, followed by water, while I screamed and gagged as someone held my nose and forced me to swallow.
Being dumped on the path outside my home. Somehow ending up inside. Waking hours later, cramps tearing through my abdomen as I bled. Calling Luca’s number, over and over, until it didn’t even connect anymore.
And tears. Lots and lots of tears…
I blink, startling, and the ballroom materializes around me once more.
Alfonso is still holding me, a little too closely, still giving me that evil grin as he waits for my answer.
A cold, numb darkness washes over me as I think of the horrific scars on Luca's back, what his own father did to him for the crime of loving me.
I think of my parents. The fire. The shame. The way my father's hands shook when he poured his drinks, the light dying in his eyes a little more each day until there was nothing left. My mother's heart gave out because she couldn't bear to watch him destroy himself.
And the child that I never got to hold, whether from his actions directly, or from the stress, I know it was this man’s fault.
Luca’s watching us from across the room, his expression pinched with anger. He knows I’m uncomfortable, wishing this song would end. Nico has a hand on his arm, holding him back, but I can see he's moments away from crossing the floor to tear me from his father's grip.
I love him. I've always loved him. And he deserves to know the truth, even if he never forgives me for keeping it this long. Turning to look at Alfonso, I glare at him, knowing exactly what he deserves.
Alfonso leans closer. "Do we have an understanding? Or are you too stupid to realize you don’t actually have a choice? I could get rid of you tomorrow if I wished.” He pauses, chuckling to himself at his cruelty. “And maybe I will. If you don’t do as I wish.”
He’s never going to leave me alone. Even after taking everything from my family and me, he pissed on their ashes by returning to our home. For ten years, he’s held this grudge, and he’ll continue to torture me for years to come if I let him.
I slide my hand into the hidden pocket of my dress. My fingers close around the handle of the blade I tucked there this morning, at Rebecca’s insistence, just in case.
He said to me once, over my dead body.
I quite like the idea of that.
"Actually," I say softly, "I don’t think you will."
I pull the blade free and press it to his throat with trembling fingers.
Alfonso freezes, his eyes going wide, his repulsive grip on my waist loosening.
Around us, the music continues to play for a few more bars before dying abruptly as Luca’s booming voice cuts through the chaos, ordering everyone to stay back.
As he pushes through the crowd, other guests finally notice that something is very wrong in the center of the dance floor as they turn to stare.
Gasps ripple through the crowd, and I'm dimly aware of guards reaching for weapons.
"Kill her," Alfonso snarls. "What are you waiting for? Shoot the bitch."
"Stand down. Nobody fires." Luca is moving toward us, his hands raised. "Everyone, stand down."
My hand shakes, the knife wavering, but I press it harder, drawing a fresh line of red against his throat. I've imagined this moment, dreamed about it, woken up sweating and furious with the memory of what this man took from me.
And now I'm here, finally in a position to stick up for myself and for Luca, and yet I can barely hold the blade steady.
"Sienna." Luca appeals to me, speaking quietly and carefully. "Talk to me. Whatever this is, just tell me."
I turn to look at him, lost, wondering how I got here, about to ruin the second chance I was lucky enough to be given.
"I came that night." The words rip out of me before I can stop them. "The night we were supposed to run away together, just like we’d planned."
Luca goes still, knowing this is about to take a dark turn.
I jerk my chin toward his father. "He was there waiting for me. With his men." I glare at Fausto.
"She's lying." Alfonso spits out, words dripping with contempt. "She's insane. Luca, stop her. Right now. I’m your father."
But Luca doesn’t budge an inch, just patiently waits for me to continue.
Fausto takes a step toward me, but Corso immediately moves to block his path to me. Ignacio moves to his father’s side, engrossed in what’s going on, not noticing the tall Russian shadowing his every more.
"He didn't just send me away, Luca." I squeak out, frustrated by how weak I sound, but I push through.
"He had his men tie me up. He beat me. It’s all a blur but I know they drugged me, made me take some pills, then dumped me outside my house a couple of days later.
" Even to me, I sound distant, detached.
In the silence, absolute silence, I blurt the words out, no choice now but to explain myself.
"I can't prove that's why I lost the baby.
" The words tear through my heart like a blade, just as painful now after years of repressing the memories and burying them deep down inside.
"Just like I can't prove he burned down my parent’s business and framed my father.
But I know. I KNOW." I press the knife harder, my vision blurring with tears, but I still see the bead of blood forming and running down his meaty neck.
"I know it was him. He said it was my fault for trying to find you… "
Luca takes another step closer, one hand on top of his head, digging into his hair, the other, now holding his gun, ready to take out anyone who tries to intervene. "Sienna, what are you talking about?"
My free hand reaches into my bodice, finds the creased photograph I've carried against my heart all day. I pull it out and hold it up, letting Luca see.
The sonogram, a tiny blob that was supposed to be our baby.
Alfonso shakes his head frantically as Luca staggers forward and takes it from me with shaking fingers.
I watch Luca as he stares at the image, the color draining from his face as he reads the date, his hard exterior finally cracking as devastation and rage twist his features.
Slowly, Luca's dark eyes lift to his father.
"I know you started the fire. It’s got your MO all over it. But did you know about this?" The question is quiet, deadly, as he holds out the strip of pictures for his father to see. "Did you kill my child?"
Alfonso scoffs, but his high color gives him away. "This is ridiculous. Of course, I didn’t know. That might not have even been yours, anyway.” He acts indignant, staring at the small crowd watching, attempting to gather their support, but this is something they cannot turn a blind eye to.
I press the blade deeper. "Tell him the truth," I hiss.
“Are you really going to believe this lying whore over your own father?" Alfonso is defiant. "She's making it up to turn you against me."
"Tell him." The blade digs deeper, slicing through his crepey skin.
As more blood runs down his throat, pooling in the collar of his shirt, Alfonso's lip curls with contempt.
"Any child born to a woman like this had no right to the Calvano dynasty," he sneers dismissively.
My hand is shaking badly now. The knife slips against his bloody throat, my grip too slick with sweat and tears to hold steady. I want to push it deeper, to watch the life drain out of him and serve the punishment he deserves, but try as I might, I can't. My hand won't obey.
I pull the blade away from his skin, sobbing in frustration.
"I'm sorry." I'm looking at Luca, and only Luca. "I should have told you sooner." The sobs are coming harder now, my whole body shaking. "I wanted to be strong enough to do this for you. For us. But I can't."
Alfonso straightens, stepping back, and wipes the blood from his neck with a pristine white handkerchief. He looks at me with triumph, like I've just proven everything he ever thought about me.
"See?" He sneers at Luca, adjusting his cufflinks and collar. "She's no Calvano. Hasn’t got the stomach for it."
Luca says nothing, his eyes dropping to where I subconsciously cradle my lower stomach, remembering the heartbreaking pains that told me what I knew before any doctor confirmed it.
Alfonso pauses, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "You should be thanking me. It’s not too late to get an annul–"
Never looking away from me, not even for a millisecond, Luca’s hand moves, just an inch.
And fires.