Chapter Four
Olivia
“No!” I folded my arms across my chest, and tried not to show how much I was shaking inside.
“Your little adventure is over,” Papa replied. “Dale is dead, so your engagement is over, and we have given you a respectable time to grieve. Now you will do what aids the family.”
The official story was that Dale had died in an accident. What no one knew was that my brother had been that accident. He had held him over the edge of the balcony after beating him half to death, then pushed him to his death. The damage caused by the fall masked the injuries caused pre-mortem.
“Dale is dead because you killed him,” I accused.
“He died of natural causes,” Roberto interrupted me, giving me a pointed stare. I didn’t doubt that my brother would throw me off the tallest building he could find, only I had value as a brood mare to be married off.
“You pushed him off that roof,” I replied.
Roberto shrugged casually. “Gravity is a natural cause.”
Papa laughed, sharing in the sick joke with my brother. “I did tell you that I didn’t approve. He did not align with our family’s values.”
“He was a useless wanker,” Roberto added. “I doubt he even fulfilled his obligation of a selected kill.”
I turned to stare out the window even though I couldn’t see through my suppressed tears. Dale had refused to kill an innocent man just to join their special murderers club. Our engagement had protected me from the meddling of the two men who were currently deciding who to sell my soul to.
“Dale was a good man,” I said in a low tone, needing to defend him.
“Good is overrated,” Roberto replied with a chuckle. “Good doesn’t keep you alive.”
I had witnessed death twice in my lifetime.
The first when Maximus had defended us in that garden five years ago.
The second when Roberto tortured and murdered Dale.
He made me watch the death of my fiancé.
Maximus had taken no pleasure in killing those two men, and in contrast Roberto had jeered and laughed as he pulverised his opponent.
“I have a headache, I’m going to lie down.” I tried to walk past them, but my brother grabbed my arm, spinning me toward him.
“Don’t be plotting anymore of your games,” he snapped, his top lip lifting in a sneer. “Dale was a mistake that I won’t allow to happen again. His family wasn’t strong enough to save him. We are at the top of this food chain, and no one in my family will weaken us.”
His blue eyes were like ice as he stared at me, and I felt the coldness in them seep into my soul.
My brother was a monster, one without a soul who murdered without remorse.
I believed monsters had horns, and you would recognise them if you saw them on the street.
I was wrong. They looked like everyone else, hiding in plain sight, and tormenting those weaker than them.
“I wasn’t playing games, Roberto. Dale was my fiancé, the man I was planning to marry.” I lifted my chin in defiance. “My grief is real.”
My fear was currently greater than my grief, but I refused to beg or show weakness in front of the predator that was my brother.
His head tilted slightly to the side as he studied me. “I’ll make enquires with the men in my club to see who would be a suitable partner.” He grabbed my chin and forced my head back. “I’m placing one of my men as your personal bodyguard. There will be no more liaisons without my consent.”
He had married each of my sisters off in his sick power game.
I had hoped to avoid his administrations, and then he murdered Dale in front of me so I saw the result of his wrath.
In this corrupt world of pain, men held all the power, and the women were nothing more than pawns to be manipulated and controlled.
“Can I go?” I asked, refusing to look away from his icy stare. “I need to lie down as I have a headache.”
He released my chin, the flesh pulsing from the tight grasp he had had on it.
Without waiting for his permission, I walked past him with my head held high, and out of Papa’s study.
It felt as if the walls were moving around me, the tears I had suppressed trickling down my cheeks.
The events of the past few weeks crashed into me, and I held my stomach as the first wave of nausea crested over me.
“Come.” Madelyn, our childhood nanny who still lived here as a companion for Mama took me by the arm, and guided me toward the staircase. “What did I tell you when you were little? Never show your true emotions.”
Her strength infused into me. She helped me up the stairs, directing me to my room. Madelyn had sat on the side of my bed, and held my hand when Roberto brought me home after he killed Dale.
“I can’t do this,” I muttered, gripping her hand tighter.
“You can, little one. Yes, you can.” She closed my room door behind us.
I didn’t trust this room, or any other room in this house. Roberto was a control freak, and needed to corner his victims until there was no escape.
“I was thinking of having my hair cut,” I said, wiping my tears away and smoothing my hair back.
Mama taught me to talk in code so the men watching us didn’t know our true intentions.
Any mention of our hair meant I needed to get away for a few hours.
Cutting my hair signified that I needed to send a message, colouring my hair would have meant I needed to access monetary funds.
Madelyn fussed over my hair, pulling it over my shoulders, and then pushing it to cascade down my back. “I love your hair, but maybe a quick trim of the ends to tidy them up?”
I nodded slowly. She was urging caution. Danger surrounded us as Roberto was out of control, and seeking more power.
“I was considering a fringe?” I moved to the dressing table and sat down before my shaky legs gave way. “Maybe longer bangs framed around my face?”
“I’ll make an appointment with our hairdresser,” Madelyn replied. “Maybe make a day of it and have a spa for your mama as well. She’s been tired lately, and it might help raise her mood.”
Mama hated being back here. She was originally from England, and spent as much time as she could there with family.
The love she originally had for Papa evaporated when she realised he was incapable of love, and merely wanted to possess her for her beauty.
She had tried to protect me and my sisters, but Papa was a force of nature, and even the strongest building couldn’t fight against a hurricane.
“Mama was talking about returning to England last night,” I said. “I would love to return with her for a few weeks to visit Aunt Sylvia.”
My aunt had the life I aspired to. She had been independent, carving a career for herself before she met and married her husband.
Their union was a love match, and he worshipped the ground she walked on, his adoration apparent in his every action.
They had a normal life, with a dog, a garden pond with frogs, and a duck that visited often.
“You have suffered a great loss,” Madelyn replied. “Dale was a lovely man, who I was genuinely fond of.” Her hands landed on my shoulders and her eyes met mine in the mirror.
I pursed my lips, and tried to stop a fresh wave of tears. He had been my best friend, someone who cared and gave me somewhere to feel safe. I felt more alone in this world than I ever had before.
“He had picked out a house for us,” My right hand grasping her hand on my left shoulder. “It was outside the city, and there would have been room for me to have an art studio, and stables for his horses.”
Dale hated the world his family resided in, and preferred to spend his time with his beloved horses.
“He would have made you happy.” Madelyn squeezed my fingers as she spoke. “But you need to create a new world, and find a new path.”
“I could take my vows and enter the convent,” I replied, a half-smile on my lips. Surely even Roberto would draw the line at killing a nun or those in the church giving her sanctuary?
“Nuns cannot have babies, and you used to carry your dolls around and nurse them, telling me that one day you would have ten babies of your own.”
I laughed despite feeling lost and desperate to escape. “I think maybe ten is a bit excessive.”
She shrugged, and tucked my hair back. “If you say so. You come from Italian blood, and fertility is strong in that part of the world.”
My eldest sister had already started to produce numerous offspring, with a one per year average in her four years of marriage. “Annabella is having babies for everyone,” I replied. “Mama thinks she is pregnant again.”
Madelyn’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t comment. Annabella’s household was filled with constant screaming and baby poop. Every time I lifted one of them, they either vomited on me or there was the distinct scent of needing their nappy changed. They did not inspire me to fill a nursery of my own.
Every cell in my body wanted to run, to find somewhere far from this house so that my brother couldn’t find me.
“Roberto could always get married himself, and find a new unfortunate soul to torment,” I said, my thoughts invading my tongue and making me speak when I should remain silent.
Madelyn met my gaze in the mirror, reprimanding me for being so foolish. “Roberto has time to select a suitable bride. A man of his standing must choose wisely.”
“Whatever happened to marrying for love?” I asked, resting my head on my arms on the dressing table.
“Love is a fragile flower that sometimes blooms for only a short time, other flowers take a long time to form and open slowly. Some of the happiest marriages start with roots in shared experiences and common backgrounds.”
“Sounds romantic,” I replied with a sigh.
“Dale would not want you to spend the rest of your life alone,” Madelyn said, touching my shoulder. “He was a quiet, thoughtful man who loved the simple things in life. He only wanted you to be happy.”
Dale had been my harbour in the middle of the storm of my family. He came from a similar background, and understood how this world of corruption and pain worked. We had planned to quietly remove ourselves from it, since his stables had started to produce excellent horses which had won races.
I sat back and sucked in a shaky breath. “We had planned to travel Europe and see the world, then we were going to return and move out of the city.” I stared at the engagement ring which still rested on my finger. “I don’t know where I belong anymore.”
“You will find your place, little one. Out of all your siblings, you have an inner strength and light that brings out the best in others.” She pulled my hair back over my shoulders. “You always made me and your mama proud.”
I didn’t seem to make anyone proud, just annoyed Roberto and Papa. They would never forgive me for announcing my engagement without asking their permission. Roberto had waited a respectable time before he eliminated Dale.
My room door flew open without a knock or a petition to enter. Roberto threw a dress on my bed.
“There is an event tonight. Papa has decided you should attend to allow everyone to know that your grieving period is at an end.” Roberto glared at me for several seconds.
“Do not try anything tonight that would bring our family into disrepute. I have no intention of dealing with your bad behaviour any further. Perhaps you should take inspiration from Annabella and how she puts the family first.”
He pause halfway to the door. “Take the ring off, your engagement is terminated.”
He gave me another of his famous evil stares before stalking from my room, leaving the door wide open.
Panic reared up inside me in a storm that threatened to choke me. Pressure formed behind my eyes as tears added to the storm inside me. My life was a prison without the possibility of parole, my gaoler a psychopath who had no issue killing anyone who stood in his way.
Madelyn silently walked over and closed my door, slowly turning to face me. “We need to get you ready for tonight.” Her face was a neutral mask, demonstrating how angry she actually was. “Perhaps I should fetch your mama.”
It was serious when Mama was needed. The two of them were closer than sisters, between both of them they knew everything that was happening in this house.
Roberto appearing with a dress could only mean one thing: he had selected who he was going to sell me to, and I would have no say in the decision. A business deal that would result in the death of my soul and the end of my freedom.
Mama appeared a few minutes later with Madelyn, fury in her eyes, and her jaw tight.
“Madelyn has brought me up to speed,” Mama said, moving forward to grab both my hands.
I knew they had discovered places in this house where they could speak in private.
“We are short of time, and a woman always needs to look her best.”
I straightened my shoulders because the strongest person in this family was Mama. She stood firm against the bully tactics of Papa and Roberto, no matter what punishment they rained down on her.
She pulled me to my feet. “I will be with you, my baby. You will not walk this path alone.”
An image of me walking to the guillotine flashed through my head.
If I agreed to their plans, I would lose the essence of who I was, and if I resisted I could face death.