“Where’s Gianni?”
All of us turned quickly to Angelo, who had barked out the question. He was grimacing, as though he couldn’t withhold his anger. He was glaring at Marcello, the veins in his forehead protruding from his skin. It was the first time I’d ever seen Angelo’s anger up close and personal. I’d heard tales of it, but he was truly a menacing man when he was angry.
I saw a shadow pass over Marcello’s face. The shift in his expression was subtle, but it was obvious to me. I’d seen it once before when I’d told him about what Romeo had done to my sister and I when we’d first been brought to the house. He lowered his eyes, unable to look his father in the face. It was bad.
“I had to kill Gianni. I can tell you the details later, in private, and we can go get him and the limo.”
Angelo Cavetti placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Fuck. I can’t believe I had to lose him. Not to mention twice,” he said and brought his eyes to Marcello’s. “I know you wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t necessary. We’ll talk later, and then we can properly mourn as a family.”
None of us knew how to react. What were the chances that he had been alive regardless? Anyone who had seen someone that wild, though, knew that Gianni was high on drugs when he arrived at the church. Those wild eyes, the gaunt face, and his quick mannerisms—the desperation of someone who simply needed help. I was sure that Marcello would need a shoulder later, but I was still angry with him. I wished he’d told me about Antonio.
There had been so much death since our families decided to unite. I wished we could all go back to before it had all happened, even if it meant losing Marcello. If only we could go back to how things were. The fate of our families was tied, and we’d all lost someone. There was a heaviness to the air as the news of Gianni’s death weighed down on everyone.
Angelo spun around to face Savio. “Go get the priest. We’re going through with the wedding.”
Romeo rolled his eyes. “You can’t be serious right now,” Romeo said and pointed to his abdomen. “I’ve got a bullet inside of me.”
“I won’t let this day be ruined and your wife belong to someone else. She’s been a widow for five minutes, and although the paperwork wasn’t signed, you know that it’s something we have to do. Besides,mio figlio, all it takes is a few minutes. Come on.”
I met eyes with Marcello, shocked that Angelo wanted to go through with it. After everything that had happened, it seemed like the worst thing we could possibly be doing. Gianni’s body was still in the woods and Lucia and Romeo were both covered in blood.
Well, if it was what Angelo wanted, then none of us had a choice. They were getting married.
I spotted Giorgio enter the church, and I could see the blood staining the carpet on the aisle. All of us, despite our emotional and physical exhaustion, would have to watch it. I made my way down the bloodstained aisle to stand next to the dais and watched as Romeo limped up the aisle with my sister. Savio left to fetch the priest, who was likely already suffering from some form of shock.
It was like something out of a movie, and yet, Angelo Cavetti was unmoved. It didn’t surprise me at all that he was determined to go through with it. On his end, it was a power move. He wanted to prove to everyone that his son could take a bullet and still get the job done. Even if there were no spectators, there was sure to be gossip about what had happened. Angelo had something to prove, and he was willing to hurt his son to do it.
He really was heartless. There was no question as to why his sons were all suffering from emotional issues. I was just surprised that they dealt with him at all. Being as intense each of the Cavetti sons were, I was sure that one of them would just remove Angelo from the picture. But they respected him.
And they listened. Lucia, despite her makeup being messed and blood being on the end of her dress, would go through with it, too. If Romeo chose to step ahead, so would she.
The wedding would go on.
26
Marcello
Everyone was leaving the church the moment things were finished and the papers were signed. It was the shortest, strangest wedding I’d ever attended. Someone was dead, and we had yet to retrieve my brother’s body or the limo. I wasn’t sure how we always handled the stress of our lives. Despite my father’s mafia ties, and running his own empire, he never allowed our lives to become chaotic, until recently. It was, by criminal standards, an ordinary life. A lavish life, sure. But as normal as he could make it.
I waited at the front entrance for Chiara to leave the building. Lucia and Romeo already left, since Romeo would need help with his wound. He’d been on his feet for so long, I couldn’t believe that he was able to continue to stand. My father was a ruthless man, but he was also still a father. I wouldn’t have forced my son to continue with a wedding and deny him urgent surgery in a hospital.
It was moments like those that made me grateful that I wasn’t Angelo Cavetti’s heir. It was clear that the pressure on my brother was growing heavier, especially now that we all found out that Lucia was pregnant.
Savio started past the entrance before stopping at the front of the step and turning towards me. “I’ll be taking Alessandra home. You can take Chiara,” he said and cleared his throat. “We’ll deal with Gianni tonight.”
The thought of having to bury my brother caused everything in me to shift, making me feel uneasy. It was my fault that Gianni was dead. I could never take that back. I would never see Gianni again, and I hadn’t been there to help him when he needed me most. If only I’d known or looked harder. I should have thought of the cabin sooner, and not only when he’d taken Lucia away. It’s just that his death had been so ingrained in us because of my father’s paranoia, and we rarely questioned him. I should have known better.
Alessandra passed through the doorway and met up with Savio. I didn’t reply to him. I could barely form words. It felt as though they were trapped at the back of my throat, along with all of the difficult emotions that had passed throughout the day. In such a short period of time, so much had changed. It had felt like I was caught in a whirlwind, and at that point, I was simply exhausted. There was nothing I wanted more than to just crawl into bed with Chiara and sleep the night away with her in my arms.
“I heard that I’m driving with you.”
Chiara’s steps were light as she came up behind me. I didn’t look just yet, as I knew that she’d been crying. The situation had been such a mess, and so emotional, that all of us were drained. I hated seeing her eyes puffy and red. I couldn’t bear to look at her face.
“I’m driving you. We’re taking the Escalade back. Come on.”
“Shouldn’t we go get some of the things that Lucia left behind? There’s a bunch of flowers and accessories in the changeroom.”
“No. We’ll send someone later.”
