Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Meeting my children was a test. The boys were a warm up. But Ella was worth fifty percent of her grade.
Had I known my daughter would physically attack the woman?
No, but I had my suspicions.
Did I relish in it?
Only momentarily.
Watching her be struck and fall, brought down by a child – my child – should have brought me the sick sense of satisfaction any bastard would have enjoyed. I predicted her to snap. I wanted her to snap. I willed it. Then I could turn to my father and silently gloat. But my resigned Vittoria took the abuse without more than a flinch. Like it was normal. Expected.
And I found I did not like that.
It made me question things, and I liked that even less.
Regrettably, I had been far too preoccupied with this internal dilemma to foresee my brother’s planned degradation of my young bride. By the look he threw me as he walked her meal out the back door, I was sure he thought I would enjoy it. But once again, it was her reaction that concerned me.
I observed closely as her hands clawed and her fingernails dug into her thighs, the material of her skirt bunching awkwardly under the table. Vittoria remained straight-faced as members of my family tore her down, piece by piece.
And, suddenly, it felt wrong. Like flogging a dead horse.
The last straw was seeing the blood rush from her pretty face as the reminder of what occurred the day before hit. She tried to hold it together, but nobody was that strong. Her body quaked, her forehead beaded with sweat, and then, I watched her spiral.
Her pain. Her humiliation. Her panic.
I did not enjoy it. Not one bit.
Grudgingly, I had to face facts. These were not the actions of a cold-blooded killer.
As I pondered what this meant, I gifted her an hour with my sister, knowing Giada had the ability to calm even the most restless of souls. But an hour was all she had. A quick glance at the heavy silver watch on my wrist said we had dawdled too long already.
Under alternate circumstances, things might have been different.
I didn’t beg permission when it came to things that were mine so I did not knock, simply put my hand to the lever and let myself in. Both women turned to look at me. I told myself I didn’t care that Vittoria had regained color to her cheeks, but the easing of my gut spoke otherwise.
“Come, Vittoria. It’s time to go.”
She stood with little hesitation, only stopping to thank and hug my sister, and then she came to me, standing dutifully by my side, awaiting instruction.
Fuck me. She would never understand what her passive nature did to me.
My cock jerked happily in my drawers.
We said our goodbyes and when I walked around the car, opening the door and holding my hand out to Vittoria, she did something… odd. Her expression softened, she placed her small hand in mine and when she was seated, offered a heartfelt but breathy thank you.
Her gratefulness for bare minimum was troubling and, quite frankly, pissed me off.
Who the fuck had treated my wife so poorly that opening a car door for her was some grand gesture?
I didn’t know, but when I found them, I’d kill them.
I would offer their heads to her on a pike as an act of devotion, bury them beneath the shadow of her sadness and craft her a crown from the midnight flowers that sprouted there.
My blood boiled. I slammed the car door harder than expected and my fury rose until I turned and saw my sister standing on the porch, wringing her fingers together, wearing a look of trepidation.
She stepped forward as I went to her, meeting me half way, and her eyes were heavy with woe. She spoke quietly so Vittoria wouldn’t hear her plea. “Don’t do this. She’s just a confused girl. She’s not a bad person, Tor. You see it, don’t you? I know you do.” My sister peeked around me, finding my wife. And then she gently took my hand and squeezed as she beseeched, “Please. As your sister and a mother, I’m asking you not to do this. Please don’t do this.”
I think deep down she knew my mind would not be changed, but she had to tell herself she tried.
My hands rose to hold her upper arms. I lowered my lips to her forehead and pressed a gentle kiss to it. Then, I pulled back, peered down at her and uttered regretfully, “I have to.”
Chapter 10
Northport
Vittoria
Backing out of the driveway without Ettore’s children was my first clue that something was wrong. That small red flag did not stop waving the entire ride over.
Wherever we were driving to was farther away than I assumed it would be. I took note at twenty minutes, then thirty and when we reached an hour on the road, I sat anxiously in my seat thinking the worst.