“Signorina Nardone,” the head waitress greets, smiling despite the weariness in her eyes. “I believe your mother is in the back. It’s been a while since I last saw you.”
“I’ve been so busy, but it’s nice to see you again. Take care, okay?”
She nods and goes back to wiping down the table. I let my gaze linger on her for a little as I make my way to the set of offices at the rear of the building. Her behavior didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, which gives me the reassurance I need to keep moving.
My mother jerks up her head when I open the door and I almost smile in amusement. She is such a creature of habit, with piles of cash in neat rows, stacked on her desktop. Her eyes widen when she registers it’s me and then she drops her hand into her lap. Apparently, my mother has decided not to grab the weapon secured just underneath the desk.
Good to know she won’t shoot me on sight.
“Carina, what are you doing here?”
“What’s wrong with Violetta?”
I came with the intent to get Rafael away from here, yet the question I uttered is what’s been pressing on my psyche for days. It’s not that Rafael isn’t important; it’s more that I may not have another chance to ask someone who is likely to know about the mystery concerning my sister.
“She’s always been eccentric,” my mother says. “You know that.”
“Unique but not fucking catatonic!” I lower my voice so I don’t alert my mother’s bodyguard’s of my presence. If my father finds out I’m here, Rafael’s freedom is most likely forfeit. “She doesn’t talk or smile or laugh. Why?”
My mother shrugs and her indifference makes me want to slap her. “I don’t know, Carina. Right after you left the family, she came to dinner that way. Your father and I assumed it was due to you leaving, and that Violetta needed time to come to terms with reality. But nothing’s changed after two years.”
My lungs collapse and I grip my chest, briefly closing my eyes. “No.” My whisper, although barely audible, is full of agony and denial. There’s nothing I can do for my sister, not now, and maybe not ever. As gut-wrenching as the thought is, another one surfaces.
But Icando something for Rafael…
“Mother, I need your help to get Rafael out of here.”
She visibly balks and the haughty veneer she covers herself with evaporates. “Absolutely not! Your father would kill us both. He’s very keen on using that man as a business opportunity.”
Like the creature of habit she is, my mother takes my father’s side for the millionth time. The only thing that’s changed is it doesn’t hurt me this time.
“I don’t care what his plans are. All I know is, I need to get Rafael out of here and you’re going to help me.” From one second to the next, I remove my hand from the muff and point the pistol I’m holding at my mother’s face. “If you don’t,I’llfucking kill you. Not my father.”
“Carina Maritza Nardone, I’m your mother! How dare you?” Her expression is supposed to be one of outrage, but it’s marred by terror swirling in her gaze. I’m not happy about that, but I won’t be swayed by it either.
“Oh, Mother… I dare because you’re not a mother. A real, loving parent wouldn’t have let her children suffer the abuse from their father. You let him talk to us as though Violetta and I weren’t worth more than what we could get him from a marriage contract. And even then he would have no problem giving us to a monster if it suited him.”
I suck in a breath and my hand shakes from the anger building inside me. My mother’s gaze widens a fraction and her terror shifts to horror. It could be due to my behavior or because the truths I’m telling are ugly and no one has ever made her face the repulsiveness of them.
“When Ugo assaulted me, you took my father’s side and said it was my fault, that I brought it on myself because I wanted it. Well, fuck you and my father, and Ugo. Now move your ass before I shoot you.”
My mother jumps up from her chair as though I set it on fire. She approaches me, albeit hesitantly, but doesn’t scream or do anything outrageous when we step from the office. I wrap my arm around her waist and she stiffens.
“I want you to know that I’ll happily die knowing I took you with me, so if you even blink the wrong way, I’m killing you,” I say. The barrel of the silencer, courtesy of Tristano, is back to being hidden inside the muff and I dig the steel into my mother’s ribcage to emphasize how fucking serious I am. “Let’s go.”
We walk from there to the rear of the building, passing several of my father’s men along the way. The two of us smile and chat, keeping up the light-hearted conversation anytime we’re within earshot of someone, but when we reach the entrance to the secret tunnel, I drop the act.
After descending the staircase, the lights switch on as I escort her. The metal gate comes into view and it’s the only barrier. My father didn’t want to give access to just anyone that happened to come across this route, and from what I remember, he’s used it to trap people and mow them down.
“Put your hands through the bars,” I tell her.
My mother does without a word and I hurriedly grab a zip tie from my coat pocket and secure her to the gate. Once that’s done, I breathe a little easier.
I walk over to the keypad several feet away and look at her expectantly. “What is the code?”
“Carina, wh—”
“The code.” My voice is hard, like iron. “I’m not going to ask you again.”
