12. Chapter Twelve #2
I frown. “Not the real Alexandra Ricci? What does that even mean? Alexandra is who she says she is. She was always bragging about herself to other people. I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know. But we’ll look into it. For now, you should stay inside the house and not leave. You were at her house. If her killer saw you, they might come for you. So to be safe, stay here. I made a vow to protect you and I intend on doing that.”
Matteo’s words hit me right in the heart. “You really do want to protect me, don’t you?”
He offers me a soft smile. “I do.”
I’m starting to believe that my husband might not be as much of a monster as I once thought. And clearly, there’s another monster on the loose.
“You didn’t kill her, did you?” I ask.
His smile immediately disappears. “Do you honestly think I would?”
“I know you’ve done bad things. I need to hear it in your own words. Please.”
“No. I did not kill her. What point would I have for killing Alexandra? I never even really knew her.”
“Right. Sorry,” I whisper, bowing my head in shame.
He sighs and runs his hand over his face. “I thought we were making progress.”
“We were. Are,” I correct. “But seeing Alexandra… dead. It was a shock.”
“I get that. Well, just stay here. I’ll look into it.” He leaves without kissing me goodbye. I know I shouldn’t have asked him if he killed Alexandra. It feels like were taking two steps forward and now we just took one huge step back.
After Matteo leaves and I’m left all alone in his large house, a sudden memory hits me.
When I enter Dante’s restaurant, he confronted me and asked for my name. I lied and told him it was Alexandra Ricci. But surely… surely that has nothing to do with this? Right?
But Matteo told me the note by her body said she was impersonating the real Alexandra Ricci. What if Dante came looking for me and found Alexandra instead? All because I gave a false name.
Which if that were the case… would make me partially responsible for her death.
But why kill her? What kind of man is Dante Zaneli to kill an innocent woman just because she isn’t me? That’s assuming it was him and not someone else who had a vendetta against her.
Yet, the note doesn’t make sense. Not the real Alexandra Ricci? Unless she was lying about her identity, which I don’t think she was, then the only other explanation is the person who killed her thought there was another Alexandra Ricci out there.
Meaning me. When I gave Dante Alexandra’s name instead of my own.
No. No. That can’t be. It just… can’t be.
I can’t be partially responsible for another person’s death. That would make me no better than… my husband. And I wouldn’t be perfect. I would be the farthest thing from perfect anyone can imagine.
Matteo
Since I don’t have the exact resources myself, I send the note to one of Gabriel’s men who works in forensics. Someone on the inside Gabriel pays off to not ask any questions.
Word begins to spread of Alexandra’s disappearance. It’s better people think she ran away than she was murdered.
Murder becomes messy. It makes a person wonder who would do that. Makes people angry.
It only takes a day for Gabriel’s forensic analyst to come back with a fingerprint. Some man named Jack Russo.
“Have you ever heard of him?” I ask Gabriel over the back booth at his restaurant.
“No. But I’ll look into it.”
I’m on my way home when Gabriel calls me. “Turns out, Jack Russo works for Dante Zaneli.”
I almost swerve into traffic but I manage to keep my composure. “The man who Luciana said she met. But why would he kill Alexandra? None of it makes any sense.”
“I don’t know. But Alexandra was married to one of my higher ranking men. Maybe Dante is trying to send us a message. Trying to shake things up. We might have to go to war with him if he continues killing mafia women. I don’t want him going after my wife.”
“And I don’t want him going after mine. He’s seen Luciana’s face. He knows her.”
“Then make sure you keep Luciana safe or you’ll have to deal with the wrath of her father and I’m not sure I could keep you safe from him.”
We end the call. My stomach is in knots the whole way home. What game is Dante playing? Why leave the note? What message is he trying to send?
When I return home, I find Luciana in the kitchen, working on dinner. She practically jumps when she hears me behind her.
“Sorry,” I murmur. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine.” She continues basting the chicken but I can tell by her tone that she’s not fine. I know my wife well enough now to know when she’s lying to me. “Did you learn anything else about Alexandra’s… death?” She hesitates on the last word.
“We did. Dante Zaneli might have played a part in it. One of his men wrote the note. But we don’t know what he’s trying to do or what game he’s playing. We’ll keep looking into it.”
Luciana has completely frozen.
“Luciana?” I touch her shoulder and she jerks away from me. “What is going on?”
“You said Dante Zaneli killed her?”
“Maybe not him, exactly. He might have had one of his men do it. But you’re safe here. I know you had a run in with him but I promise you, Luciana, you’re safe.”
“I don’t think I’m safe,” she whispers, finally looking into my eyes.
My chest squeezes. “Why would you say that?”
“Because…” She bites her lip and turns away from me. “It’s nothing. It’s all fine. Everything will be fine.”
“You don’t sound fine. You’re lying to me again. Pushing me out. But open up to me, Luciana. Do you know something that you’re not telling me?”
“It’s fine. Everything will be fine. My life is perfect. There’s no other option.” She picks up the baster and tries ignoring me but I know she can see me.
“Luciana, what is going on? If you don’t tell me, I’m going to have to make you. I will not let you push me away again.”
“I can’t,” she whispers. “I can’t.” Before I can react, she takes off running out of the room.
And like a predator, I give chase.