“Every word out of your mouth is a lie,” he said, voice low and venomous. “I don’t give a fuck why you’re here, or what game you think you’re playing. I don’t trust you, Tony, but hear this. Whatever bullshit plan you’re cooking up to take me down, I’m already ten steps ahead. I see you. Every move. Every angle.”
Tony gave him a crooked smirk. “We’ll see about that, Carlo. We’ll see.”
It was clearly a threat, but Carlo didn’t acknowledge it and changed the subject. “And you’d better explain the little stunt your girlfriend pulled. You’ve got one hour.”
Tony’s smirk faded. “You’re not my capo. You don’t get to order me around.”
“Maybe I’m not your capo yet, but I have enough power to give orders like one and carry out my will exactly as I see fit. Hard way or easy way, you’ll do what I want. The choice is yours.”
Carlo spoke as if he were genuinely enjoying himself. After dropping that line, he walked past Tony, but just before stepping into the mansion, he turned on his heel and delivered another jab.“And I think we both know which option I’m hoping for.”
Without another glance, he stepped inside and disappeared into the shadows of the mansion.
Tony turned toward me, and whatever cool indifference he’d been forging earlier was gone.
“Get this bitch inside,” he barked at Rafael then stormed into the mansion.
Hearing him caused my blood to boil. The nerve of him, to be caught with his cousin’s wife and still act like I was the one at fault.
Rafael yanked me off the horse without a word, dragging me across the marble floor and into Tony’s room. Then he shoved me down like a sack of potatoes, landing me hard at Tony’s feet.
My body hit the floor with a sickening thud, right on my injured arm. The pain tore a wail out of me, but the fury burning inside me was stronger.
Wiping my tears, I pushed myself up. Tony stood with his back to me, fists clenched, staring out at the lake in the distance. If I’d seen the look on his face, I would’ve thought twice about what I was about to say. But I didn’t, so I let him have it.
“What the hell’s wrong with you? You have no right treating me like this. No right to be so goddamn brazen when I’ve just busted you wide open as the piece-of-shit bastard you are. A lying, backstabbing traitor who fucks another man’s wife."
It was clear I’d crossed a line I never should’ve.Without a word, Tony turned and slapped me so hard it knocked me straight to the floor.The sheer violence of it stunned me. I’d never been hit my entire life, ever.
Like a soldier caught in the shockwave of a blast, my ears rang, my vision blurred, and I was left dazed on the floor.I touched my burning cheek, eyes wide, staring up at him in disbelief.
He stood over me with a stone face and gestured for me to get up with a flick of his hand.When too much time passed and I still couldn’t move, Rafael stepped in. He grabbed me by the collar, hauled me upright, and tossed me onto the bed.
Tony sat down calmly in the chair.“Are you listening to me?”
I kept looking at the black sheets, saying nothing. My head was spinning, full of questions and desperate thoughts to find a way out of this nightmare.
Rafael grabbed my injured arm and squeezed it. I screamed, twisting in pain, uselessly struggling to free myself.
“Are you listening to me, Emily?” Tony asked again.
“Yes! Yes, please, let go, you’re hurting me!”
“Yes, sir,” Rafael dictated through clenched teeth.
“Yes, sir,” I repeated, broken and pathetic.
Finally, Rafael let go of my arm, and I scrambled backward, trying to put as much space between us as I could.
“Don’t ever say Lucia and Carlo’s names in the same fucking sentence again,” Tony warned. “Next time, it won’t just be your arm that gets broken.”
It was like another slap. This wasn’t some casual affair. He had feelings for her.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I choked out through tears. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“You were spying on me behind closed doors. That’s more than enough reason for me to make your life a living hell.”
“I wasn’t spying on you. I went to spend some time with Lucia. I didn’t even know you were home.Yousaid you wouldn’t be back before the evening.”
