She was saved just now.
But not for long.
"Why don't you go to bed, Luca? I'll come read you a story in a few minutes." I urge him out of the room, and luckily he listens.
When he's out of sight, I turn back to face her—the bane of my existence.
She struggles to stand up and snickers at me.
"Can't kill me, can you? What will you tell your son?" She has a smug look on her face, convinced that Luca would save her.
Oh, how wrong she is.
"The truth." I take a few steps toward her. "That his mother was a fucking whore and a traitor to boot," I lie. Ah, I guess she's never figured out that I know who sheactuallyis.
Her confidence disappears, and she instinctively falls down, her ass hitting the floor with a resounding thud. She drags herself backward, her eyes wildly seeking an exit.
"I think he'd rather judge me for not killing you sooner." A cruel smile stretches across my face.
One more step. Just one more step. And she's dead.
"Really?" she drawls, her face morphing from fear to confidence. "You shouldn't have sent him to his room. Now you're going to be responsible for his death."
Her words stop me dead in my tracks.
"What do you mean?" I don't bother to hide the sudden terror in my voice. After all, Luca is where I draw the line.
"Let's just say that I didn't comeonlyfor the family silver," she comments, smugly lifting her hand to show me a small remote control.
I narrow my eyes at it, and it slowly dawns on me what she means.
No… no…
I take a step back, and another, and then I'm running toward Luca's room at full speed. I burst through the door and grab him, holding him tightly to my chest just before a loud noise erupts from the side of his bed. The explosion is powerful enough to propel me forward but weak enough to be contained to his room.
"It's okay, Luca.Papa'shere." I brush my hand across his face, kissing his cheeks and whispering calming words.
Fucking hell!
I underestimated Chiara, and that's on me. But the next time we cross paths, I'll show her just how much she can push me until I become her very own personified nightmare.
52
ALLEGRA
Scrolling on my tablet,I scoff when I realize that all these torture methods requirea lotof instruments I have no way of procuring. Because Chiara deserves the best, and I aim to give her just that.
She'll finally pay for what she's done to me, and I will relish watching her pain as the life drains from her body.
"Miss, what isthat?" Lia's face blanches in horror as she catches a glimpse of the image on my tablet. Her hands move to make the sign of the cross, and I refrain from rolling my eyes.
Lia is too innocent for her own good.
"This," I start, angling the screen so she can have a better view, "is a Sicilian bull." I explain that it was used in ancient times to slowly toast people to death.
Since burning alive might just be one of the most painful ways to go, I'll have to think of how to use it to my advantage, given that I'm not exactly swimming in resources.
There's just one tiny problem—no one knows where Chiara is.
