What have I done to you, Allegra?
Her apathy is more powerful than any bullet she could have put through my heart. The thought that I might have killed something inside of her with my behavior is unpardonable.
It takes a couple of days for the results to come back, and the long list of substances doesn't even surprise me.
"It was a strong cocktail of amphetamines and MDMA. It would have caused anyone to snap." The laboratory technician proceeds to tell me that such a mixture of substances is known to cause the kind of irrational anger and paranoia that could easily lead to murder.
"Thank you," I say as I hang up, my hands clenched in fists.
Goddamn it!
I should have gotten rid of her years ago. But I'd put my sister's happiness above my own thirst for revenge. How would they have reacted if the mother they so loved and adored turned out to be a fucking pedophile?
But this seals it.
I lock the door to my office, ready to confront my mother when I hear Ana scream from upstairs. I run toward the noise to see Allegra crouched on the floor, her arm around her waist as she's emptying the contents of her stomach. Blood is pouring out of her nose.
"What the fuck?" I curse out loud, coming to her aid right away. Ana is calling 911 while I try to calm her down.
"The food," she whispers, pointing to the half-empty bowl of food on the desk, and I immediately suspect the worst.
Poison.
I hold her as she keeps on retching, dabbing a cold towel on her forehead.
The ambulance quickly arrives and I hold on to her as she's being carried to the car. The journey to the hospital is one of the worst nerve-wracking moments of my life as I hold her cold hand, hoping the poison is slow-acting and that we're not too late.
Waiting around in the emergency room while the doctors attend to her, I have enough time to realize exactly who is behind this—the same person who drugged me.
It all makes sense. Mother must have thought that seeing Allegra with another man would injure my Sicilian pride enough that I'd kill both of them at once. And when that hadn't happened, she'd decided to finish the job herself.
The attending physician confirms that she was poisoned and tells me she was lucky she exhibited the symptoms early because they pumped her stomach before the poison got into her bloodstream.
With a sigh of relief, I thank the doctor and go see my wife.
She's pale, lying in bed with her eyes half-closed.
"How are you feeling, little tigress?" I ask, taking her hand in mine.
"Like shit, obviously," she attempts to crack a joke, but then she winces in pain.
"Fuck, are you okay?"
"It's just some stomach cramps. The doctors say I'll be as good as new." A feeble smile stretches across her face and my heart flutters.
She's fine.
"Good," I say, standing up to leave. "Ana will stay with you until they discharge you," I add, and she just nods. Maybe I hoped she'd be a little disappointed that I'm not staying, but her face doesn't give anything away.
Reluctantly, I turn to go, but only because I havesomeoneto take care of.
I reach the house in record time, and I head directly for my mother's room. I don't bother to knock as I push the door open.
She's on her bed, half-naked and masturbating to a video that's playing on the TV on the wall. Shocked, I stop in my tracks, turning my head when I hear my own voice coming from the TV. My eyes widen as I see myself thrusting aggressively into Allegra from behind.
What the fuck is this?
"Enzo," my mother scrambles to cover herself, using the remote control to stop the video.
