“My sister is dead,” I murmur. My fists clench in my lap, my breathing harder than before when I remember seeing her that last time. Before the explosion.
“Are you sure about that?” Gabriel slaps the envelope on the table. “You might feel differently after you see what’s inside here.”
Nick pounces on it, tearing the envelope open, pulling out photos which he holds in hands that tremble harder with every passing second. I break eye contact with Gabriel to glance over at them.
Jesus Christ. A shockwave hits me when I recognize the woman staring up at me from those glossy images. She’s older now, of course. She’s not the fresh-faced girl on the boat, prettyand smiling, dressed for a wedding that ended in tragedy. The girl who was blown to pieces along with our parents, while I somehow was able to walk away all because I was on the other end of the boat, elbowing my way through the sea of bodies between us.
That sea of bodies is what kept me alive.
“She didn’t die that day,” Gabriel explains while Nick stares down at the images. She’s beautiful, as she always was, her hair worn long in shining black curls. There’s something sharp about her, something almost primal. It’s her intense gaze, captured by the photographer, like she was staring through the camera.
“Agree with me today that once Mariella turns eighteen, she’s mine,” Gabriel says. “And I will send you all of the information I have on Laura.”
“How much information?” Nick barks. He’s a coiled spring seconds away from popping. Now I wish I hadn’t brought him. He’s making it too easy for Gabriel to set the terms.
“Enough,” Gabriel replies. “I’ll send it all to your email as soon as we shake on it. Mariella for Laura,” he concludes, sounding as smug and satisfied as he looks.
What can I do? This is my sister. My living, breathing sister. She looks so much like Mom, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe any of this.
Nick looks at me. He doesn’t have to say a word. I can hear his thoughts, I can feel his desperation. He’s already planning in his head how he’ll get her back. There’s never been anyone for him but her—it isn’t that we’ve ever sat around and talked about this, but I know. I know she has always been his reason why.
I can’t afford to lose this opportunity. And if I say no, I might lose him, as well.
What can I do? “All right. You have a deal.” I reach across the table to shake his hand and seal it, knowing there isn’t a chancein hell I’m giving him Mariella. There’s plenty of time before she comes of age. I’ll think of something.
In the meantime, Enzo works on his phone, then nods to his brother. “It’s done,” Gabriel announces. “The files have been sent. Good luck to you.” Why does it seem like he is finding humor in this?
“Tell me more,” Nick urges as I stand. “Where is she? Why did she never come home?”
I place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze tight, until finally he looks up at me.
“We’ll find her. They sent us the information, right?” I look at the brothers. Both of them nod. “Let’s go.”
Nick moves like a man in shock, holding tight to the photos as he gets up and we leave the restaurant. He doesn’t say a word on the way back to the penthouse. He only stares at them, flipping through them again and again like he’ll find something new. My sister is alive. I didn’t lose everyone that day. But why didn’t she come home, the way Nick asked? Why did she never reach out? I suppose there’s no way of knowing until we look through the information Gabriel sent.
Nick rides the elevator with me, still silent, still rigid in his posture. He’s in another world now, far away from the present. It’s better that I let him go, so I don’t bother stopping him when he practically launches himself out of the elevator car and into the penthouse, heading straight to my office.
Aurora steps out of the kitchen, watching Nick as he retreats before she turns to me looking confused. “What’s happening? He looks upset.”
Upset doesn’t begin to cover it. I find Maggie in the kitchen, as well, fixing a salad. Another cutting board holds grilled chicken, which it looks like Aurora was in the process of chopping up.
“Maggie? Can we have a minute?” I ask.
Maggie looks back and forth between us but nods, leaving the room.
“Just come out with it, whatever it is.” Aurora lifts her chin and squares her shoulders like she’s preparing for a battle. “I can handle it. Just say it.”
If only it was that easy. “The meeting I’m coming from now… it was with Gabriel Russo.”
Her face falls and her mouth hangs open in horror. “Why didn’t you tell me? What happened? What did he say? Is he?—”
“You’re safe. I told him I’m not handing you over, now or ever.” With my hands on her shoulders, I add, “And he understands. He agreed.”
Her eyes search my face, because she’s not a stupid girl. “What does he want instead? Money?”
If only it was that easy. “He still wants a bride. He wants Mariella, instead, when she comes of age.”
“And you said no!” She barks before catching herself, eyelids fluttering, her face turning red. “Sorry. But you did, right? There’s no way! We can’t do that to her!”
