The air changes as we step into what I think is a building. It carries a musty smell, reminiscent of a room that hasn’t been aired out in a long time. I’m jostled and dumped into a soft chair. If my arms weren’t tied behind my back, the chair would be quite comfortable.
More shuffling and murmurs, and then it goes silent. Even though I’m blinded by the sack still rammed over my head, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to get myself into a state of calm. I will not let these arseholes know they’ve scared me. Been there, done that this month.
“Do you know who I am?” the low-pitched voice asks. His English is broken but clear.
“Giani Arello,” I reply. Maybe I should play dumb, and pretend I have no idea who he is or why they could have possibly taken me. But then I think of the bloody book again, and remember the character who did that and how it didn’t go too well for her. So, I’ll do the opposite and hope for the best.
“Ah, so Daddy warned you, huh?”
“If you mean Lorenzo, then no. It was Allegra.” I want to warn him she’ll come for me and when she does, he’s in big trouble, but that would be stupid. I’m sure he’s well aware of the shit Allegra is about to bring.
“Yes, Allegra. She’s too clever for her own good, at times.”
“I think you’ll find she’s cleverer than you, Mr Arello.” Ah, my snarky side is coming out to play.
Great timing as ever, Bonnie!
“She is a child, and this doesn’t concern her,” he growls.
My mouth runs away with itself as usual. “I’m part of the family. You’ve just made it her business.”
“You’re Lorenzo’s bastard, not a Ferrante.”
“Totally agree,” I say. “But the Ferrantes don’t seem to make those kinds of distinctions.”
The sack over my head is pulled off, along with several strands of my hair. Just what I need, a bald patch to go along with my mangled face.
My hands are untied, which gives a little comfort. I get my first look at Giani Arello and what I see is…huh, unexpected. He’s short, probably around my height, and he’s round. When I say “round”, I’m saying his circumference is impressive and defies physics. His hair is thin and combed back with enough gel to withstand several rounds in a wind tunnel. There’s a chemical shimmer hovering over his skin, which I presume is cologne. These guys are wearing it at dangerous levels. It must affect their oxygen intake. Everything about him screams “sleazebag”.
He looks at me with a set of bloodshot marbles for eyes. I’d guess he’s had a few drinks. “Why aren’t you…scared?”
I’m sure he was expecting me to be hysterical, and if this had been a few weeks ago, you bet your bottom I would have been. I’d have hyperventilated in the first ten minutes of my abduction and passed out. But I’m not the same person now. I’m nowhere near the level of calm someone like Allegra would be in this situation, but I’m confident enough she will keep her promise and get me home, so there’s no need to have a full meltdown just yet.
“Should I be scared? Are you planning on hurting me?” I can’t just rely on Allegra finding me. I need to work this guy and buy some time.
He grins like a classic movie villain. “I’m going to hurt you. That’s a promise. I just need Lorenzo here to see it.”
Okay, I wasn’t expecting him to be that blunt. Time to channel my parents. “I’m nothing to him, Mr Arello. You must know that?”
“He wouldn’t have hidden you if that were the case, my dear. No, no. Lorenzo loves you, which is why it will break him when I take you away. Vengeance will be mine.”
Time to change tactics. I shake my head and give him the best pitying look I can forge. “I feel bad for you, Mr Arello. You’ve carried all this anger around for so long. And for what? Don’t you get it?”
“Get what?”
I let out a small, humourless chuckle. “You got your vengeance the second my mother died in childbirth. She was his true love, and he has to live every day knowing he could have prevented it or at least been there at the end. Instead, she died alone. You can kill me, but it won’t have the effect you think it will. Lorenzo has been broken for a long time. You can’t take any more away from him.”
There, a nice dose of psychobabble to confuse the situation and, hopefully, the man tipping precariously to one side.
“My being here is a constant reminder of what he lost. When you kill me, he never has to look at my face again. A face that resembles my mother so closely. You’d be letting him off the hook.”
I put some anger in my voice, because it occurs to me that I’m on to something good. If I can convince Giani that I hate Lorenzo as much as him, he may deviate from his plan. I can see his cogs turning. His booze-soaked mind is trying to make sense of what I’m saying.
“How could you ever think of letting him get away with what he did?” I continue with venom coating every word. “He deprived me of a mother!” I shriek. “I never knew what her smile looked like, or if she would have sung me to sleep. I never got to learn how to be a woman from her. He took that from me. All the memories a child should have when they are grown, I never had and never will. So, think about it before you do something rash. Be smart, Mr Arello. Help me punish him until the day he dies.”
Oh wow, this is an Oscar-worthy performance if I do say so myself. I might ask Pete if I can join his theatre group when we get back.
“You hate him?” Giani asks, a tinge of wonder in his voice.
