Chapter 56
Bianca Ferrucci
My legs trembled as I forced my body to stand, bracing one shaky hand against the rough cellar wall.
My breathing was uneven, and the heat still coursing through my body made me furious.
I tried to straighten my wrinkled dress, tugging the fabric down with quick, impatient movements, but it was impossible to erase the marks of what had happened.
My reflection in an aged mirror hanging there showed a flushed face, disheveled hair, and lips still swollen.
I hated what I saw, hated how he had left me like this.
I lifted my chin, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of his cum running down my thighs, and turned to face him. Tiziano stood there, watching me with that damn smile on his lips, as if he owned the world—and me.
“This won’t happen again,” I snapped. “I’m going back to Lisbon.”
His eyes darkened instantly, the arrogance replaced by the expression of someone who possessed everything. He stepped forward, closing the distance between us in the blink of an eye. His hand gripped my arm tightly, but not hard enough to hurt me.
“Lisbon?” he repeated. “You think you can just leave, Bianca?”
“I don’t belong to you, Tiziano,” I shot back, trying to pull free, but his grip only tightened.
“You do belong to me,” he said with authority. “From the moment you came into my life, you’ve been mine.”
“You’re a lunatic,” I murmured.
He released my arm only to seize my face, his strong fingers gripping my chin while his blue eyes bored into mine.
“Listen carefully, Bianca,” he growled. “If you so much as think about leaving me, I’ll come after you. Lisbon, Paris, hell... it doesn’t matter where you go, I’ll come after you.”
“You told me to leave.” My voice was thick with resentment.
He took a step closer.
“But I changed my mind,” he replied. “And you know damn well I never change my mind about anything, Bianca.”
“Maybe you should have kept your word,” I shot back.
“I will keep my word,” he said coldly. “I’m going to kill your brother and that bastard who’s been hovering around you.”
I stepped forward and pointed a steady finger at his chest.
“Don’t touch my brother!” I screamed.
He grabbed my wrist, staring at me with his blue eyes.
“I’ll have enough trouble keeping a Bellini alive,” he growled, pulling me closer until our breaths mingled.
“I won’t have to answer for two. You, Bianca, I can accept as that bastard’s victim, but him?
” Tiziano narrowed his eyes, pronouncing the words with contempt.
“He crossed the line. He’s caused me too many problems. I can’t let this go. ”
Tiziano Constanzo
I received Enzo’s call as soon as I left Bianca’s house.
“We got Alessandro. We’re bringing him to Italy.”
“Perfect,” I replied, ending the call without another word.
I parked the car at one of my remote warehouses.
The smell of oil and rust mingled with the muffled sound of groans of pain echoing off the concrete walls.
There was Marco, tied to a metal chair in the center of the warehouse, his face a mosaic of bruises and cuts.
His right eye was nearly swollen shut, his lower lip puffy and split, and dried blood stained the corner of his mouth.
I walked over to him and leaned down, bracing my hands on the chair’s armrests, staring directly into his half-lidded eyes.
“So you’re the one who’s been seeing my wife?” I asked.
Marco spat blood onto the floor, and a provocative smile appeared on his cracked lips.
“And you think she’s really yours?” he replied with effort.
My jaw clenched, and for a moment, I considered ending it right there. But before I could do anything, my uncle’s voice echoed through the warehouse.
“Tiziano!”
I slowly straightened, my eyes still fixed on Marco, and walked over to my uncle, who watched me with a serious expression.
“We’ll have problems if you kill him,” he said, crossing his arms. “Do you know who his father is?”
“I don’t care,” I replied, but he continued, ignoring my interruption.
“The son of a fucking American senator. Do you want a war with the government?”
I let out a short, bitter laugh, running a hand through my hair.
“Lucky son of a bitch,” I murmured, turning back to Marco. “Then I’ll have a talk with him.”
I moved closer again.
“I just came from seeing Bianca,” I began. “And look at you, getting beaten for nothing. She doesn’t even like you.”
Marco lifted his face with difficulty.
“And you believe she likes you?” he shot back with contempt.
I leaned down again until our faces were close, a cold smile curving my lips.
“She didn’t say it in so many words,” I replied. “But she screamed some very interesting ones. She’s my fucking wife.”
Marco let out a dry laugh, spitting more blood.
“And you, apparently, love her,” he murmured.
My expression hardened.
“That’s none of your business,” I shot back.
He smiled.
“You were able to break the woman you love. To reject her while she was pregna—”
He stopped speaking, but he didn’t need to finish. My blood turned cold, and my gaze narrowed in fury.
“Finish what you were going to say,” I demanded.
“To reject her while she was pregnant,” he finally said.
My world stopped. Everything disappeared. For a moment, there was nothing but his words echoing in my mind.
Pregnant.
My breath caught in my throat, and the ground seemed to crumble beneath my feet. Every rational thought was consumed by the storm growing inside me. My fists clenched involuntarily.
“She’ll never forgive you,” he taunted with satisfaction.
My jaw clenched, and the control I valued so much began to slip through my fingers.
One of the soldiers hurried over as I stared at Marco.
“Boss, Alessandro took a bad beating. We’ve been told he might not even make it to Italy alive,” the soldier said.
“Tell them that if he dies, every goddamn man with him will pay with his life. The order was clear: I want Alessandro alive.”
I gave a brief nod, signaling for him to leave.
“I’m loving watching your despair,” Marco taunted, a mocking smile on his lips. “First, you reject your own pregnant wife. Now you’ll carry the guilt of having your brother-in-law killed. For the record, Bianca loves that brother more than anything. This will destroy her.”