It made my stomach knot with anger, but I kept my mouth shut. So long as I didn’t argue with Angelo or cause trouble, he may end up bringing me back. Until then, I planned to communicate with Gianni through letters if we weren’t reunited sooner.
When we got back to the estate, instead of being returned to the staff quarters or even one of the workrooms, I was dragged up to the third floor of the home. The top floor was reserved almost exclusively for Angelo and his business, so I was terrified at first, but as I was led into a room, I could hear Alegna’s voice. I was shoved with some force down into a chair and the bag over my head was ripped off. We were in Angelo’s office, and I’d been sat in a chair next to one that Alegna was already occupying.
Alegna looked equal parts relieved and confused to see me. “Are you okay?” she whispered as Angelo crossed the room to his desk.
I nodded. “I’m okay.”
Whether she believed me or not, I wasn’t sure, but she didn’t have much time to inquire. Angelo cleared his throat and the guards who’d led me in evacuated the room, shutting and locking the door behind them, effectively leaving us on our own with Angelo.
He dropped a vile gaze to me first. “You are proving even more useful around the house than I was expecting at first. You should be glad.”
I offered an obedient nod. “Yes,Signore.”
“Alegna, I wanted you to be here because you will no longer oversee Philippa or any of her dealings here in the house. As of this moment, she’ll report directly to Romeo or myself.”
Both Alegna and I recoiled a little, shocked by the news. “Sir?” Alegna questioned.
“Philippa has proven herself up to the task of doing whatever it takes to tend to our family, which is why I’m designating her to tend to Lucia full-time,” he explained. I’d had some interactions with Lucia since she came to the house. As a staff member who’d fallen to an unofficial “number two” role under Alegna, it was to be expected, but full-time was certainly unexpected. “You will provide her with everything she needs,” Angelo continued, focused on me. “You must check on her frequently and see that she wants for nothing. Even if it’s just conversation, you must engage her as much as she requires.”
“Yes,Signore,” I said.
After that, Angelo looked at Alegna. “You may go.”
Alegna gave me a nervous glance but didn’t argue. She stood up, bowed her head, and then walked over to the door. She unlocked the door and let herself out, and the doors were quickly locked again in her wake.
When she was well gone, Angelo looked at me once again. “There is no room for error or negotiation in my next request, Philippa. Do you understand?”
I swallowed hard, my heart slamming in my chest at the steel in his voice. “Yes,Signore.”
“Your arrangement from last night will resume, once every few days, so long as you never let Lucia or Romeo know anything about it. I’ll take care of making sure you are removed from and returned to the house without a soul knowing, you just make sure that no one knows what you know. There’s not a soul in this home who realizes he still lives, and if they did, my entire empire would fall apart. Do you know what I would do if that happened?” he asked. “Your father, your brother. Doesn’t your brother have a family?”
My nose started to burn, but I did the best I could to keep myself even. “Yes,Signore.”
“I even know who all of your childhood friends are. The old man who works in the convenience store by your mom’s old cleaners. Your high-brow friends from elementary school. If you risk everything I’ve built, I won’t stop until the world is ablaze with your name on it. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
“Yes,Signore.”
For the first time since I’d come to work under Angelo, his words chilled me to the bone and terrified me. What his understanding of my and Gianni’s relationship was, I didn’t know but believed him when he said he wouldn’t stop until everyone I ever knew and loved was dead.
Just like I wouldn’t stop until he was dead.
Exactly as he said I would be, I was given my new routine serving Lucia during the day, and being driven to Gianni every few nights. I witnessed firsthand Lucia’s fear as she dealt with Romeo, and thanked God that Gianni was nothing like his brother. I began to develop something of a soft spot for Lucia if it could be called that. Her circumstance wasn’t totally unlike my own. She was afraid for her family and had her parents killed ruthlessly by Angelo. We both hated him to the depths of our spirits, but only I was lucky enough to get the Cavetti that had been spared his ruthless mean streak.
It also poised me in a unique, unexpected position where I was hearing more of the family business than I had in the past. Though my primary dedication was to Lucia, I often crossed paths with Romeo, and I was quickly learning that he could not generally keep his mouth shut. Where Angelo was quiet and calculating, Romeo was arrogant and snide. He had no shame in boldly stating his intentions, however nefarious they may be.
This led to an unexpected disagreement between Gianni and me.
“Stop!” I screeched. “Sit down!”
Gianni slammed himself down into his dining room chair as I walked into the kitchen and collected ice from the freezer. When I told Gianni what I’d seen while serving Lucia, I expected him to be angry, but I didn’t expect him to be so beside himself that he put his fist through a wall. He would have done another one if I hadn’t stopped him.
“That stupid, fucking Romeo. Maybe I reallywillkill him!” he bellowed.
I walked back into the dining room with my makeshift ice pack in tow. “That’s not what you want. You need to free your siblings, not make things worse.” I set the pack on his hand, which was scratched and bleeding.
“Lucia doesn’t deserve that treatment! She’s a good person,” he growled.
“I agree,” I said.
