Chapter Forty-One Leo
As I stormed out of the gallery into the sunshine, I fought to breathe. Pain like I had never experienced before ricocheted through my body. I understood now why the word “pain” wasn’t sufficient and words that anguish and agony were used.
Luca wasn’t mine.
Drea had lied to me.
I didn’t have a son.
I didn’t have a wife.
My chest constricted so tightly I thought I might be having a heart attack. Sure, I was young and healthy, but stress could cause one, right? When I stumbled on the sidewalk, Guilio came rushing forward to help me.
“I’m fine!” I snapped, as I slung him away.
“But Mr. Neretti–”
“Just get in the fucking SUV and get us out of here!”
Guilio dutifully nodded. He didn’t ask me where we were going. Instead, he just started driving.
I couldn’t have told him where to go even if he’d asked. I didn’t even know who I was anymore. In the span of an hour, I’d lost my identity as a husband and a future father.
Time didn’t mean anything either. For the last year, my life had been an elaborate lie.
Desperate for someone to take my anger out on, I called Edoardo. “Leo, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I know the truth.”
Silence echoed on the line. “Let me guess. Drea finally cracked under the pressure.”
“No, she was still deceiving me to the bitter end. It was a blackmailer named Vincent Moreno. But you already know that, right? The photo was sent to you yesterday.”
“It wasn’t signed, so I didn’t have any idea who sent it. After I received it, I had my men start working on trying to trace who could’ve hacked my photos. Thanks for saving me the trouble.”
“You fucking bastard!” I snarled.
He had the audacity to chuckle. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“I’m done being a puppet on a string for you. I’m out–out of the marriage and out of all of our deals.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I wasn’t asking for your permission. I’m telling you. I’m filing annulment papers first thing in the morning. If you even dare to come at me or my family, we’ll go to war.”
And with that, I hung up on him.
When my phone immediately rang, I almost threw it across the seat. But the screen read it was my real estate broker, Jack.
“Hello?”
“Hey Leo, I’m so sorry I missed your calls. The wife has me in the fucking Hamptons.”
I laughed. “It’s fine.”
“But don’t worry. I assumed you were calling about escalating the bid, so I put it through.
With a groan, I said, “Actually, that’s the last fucking thing I wanted you to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m pulling out of the deal.”
Jack chuckled. “You’re joking, right?”
“No. It’s a fucked deal. It always has been. In fact, you can go ahead and start working on the listing for the casino property. And I want nothing more to do with Philly.”
“It’s your call, boss man.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go, so I can rescind the offer.”
“Thanks, Jack.”
“No problem.”
Once I hung up, I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. Immediately, Drea’s face flashed before my mind. And then it was the grainy ultrasound picture of Luca.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I slid my hands over my face.
I’d seen horrible shit in my life. Mangled limbs. Burnt flesh. Flayed skin that exposed organs.
Sometimes I’d had a part in inflicting some of that shit.
I wondered if this was karma coming around. All the physical trauma I'd caused to others was coming back emotionally to me.
I don’t know how long I sat there in a stupor. Guilio just kept driving around. I think he’d made a loop to one of the suburbs just to get us out of the city.
Since I wanted nothing more than to be out of Philly, I finally gave Guilio a destination. He frowned but didn’t say anything.
Hours after I’d stormed out of the gallery, I was returning. I knew Drea wasn’t there. I’d made sure of that by checking her tracker. It wasn't surprising to see she was in New York at Bianca’s.
Bianca’s fucking brownstone.
The site of one of the happiest nights of my life.
When I exited the SUV, I said to Guilio, “I won’t be long.”
“Yes, sir.”
I had a single focus for coming back. Shoot some photos of the interior to send to Jack. He could put the gallery on the market when he did the casino property.
After turning on the lights, I took out my phone and started taking some pictures. When I got to the back wall, I froze.
It was Submission.
Drea had blown up the sketches of me. The entire wall was of my pleasure.
It was a fucking knife to the heart.
At the sound of the tinkling bell, I turned around expecting to see Guilio. But it was Gianni instead.
“What are you doing here?”
“I tracked you.”
The grim expression on Gianni’s face felt like a punch to the gut. There could only be one answer. One of our siblings was hurt. “Rafe or Kitty Cat?”
He shook his head. “Drea.”
My blood ran cold. “What?”
Grabbing my arm, he said, “You need to come with me.”
I slung him away. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”
“I don’t want to waste time.”
Fear like I’d never known crashed over me, causing my knees to buckle. “G, what’s happened to Drea?” I demanded in a hoarse whisper.
Sighing, he let go of my arm. “She was shot during an abduction attempt.”
I swept my hand over my mouth. “Oh my God.”
“All we know is she’s in the ICU at New York Presbyterian.”
A thousand emotions and questions flickered through my mind, but all I could utter was, “No.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
My brain had shorted out because I asked, “Where are we going?”
“The hospital. Rafe is going to meet us there.”
“Right,” I mumbled.
In a stupor, I let Gianni start leading me out of the gallery. Through the fog, my mind kept repeating the same phrases.
Drea had been shot.
Drea was at the hospital.
Drea could die.
It’s all your fault.