Page 39 of Cage of Thorns and Blood

Let’s not forget that my family told me to go there, no doubt egged on by the helpful Angela in that plan.

Once all of that is nicely set up, he sets about seducing me and brings me to his home.

Finally, he goes out, on a supposed emergency, leaving me here with the papers showing that a part of his business is about to fold. Papers which were on clear display. Matteo isn’t that careless.

I’m not that fucking dumb.

This is a setup.

My heart drops. He only brought me here to set me up? Is none of it real?

What the fuck? Why would he do that?

Furthermore, if my theories are correct, then he wants me to give this information to my parents. Why?

As I think about it, I realize that I need to know what his real financial situation is and what his other companies are. I need the entire list. Right now, I'm trying to figure things out with only half the information available to me. Once I have an accurate picture of his business and financial situation, I can hopefully make a much more accurate guess as to what is going on here.

Still, I've seen enough that my initial suspicions are correct. This whole thing is a ruse. I’m being played in part of a setup. I'm not completely sure as to what the hell is going on, but for me and my family it can't be anything good.

This information he wants me to give to my parents is clearly going to be harmful to them.

Maybe he believes this is his way of getting revenge on me. Make me do something to hurt my family and make me suffer. Surely, even from the little I have said, he must know that I don't exactly have close bond with them. So I could do exactly what he wants and sit back and watch my family fuck themselves up. Is that what he wants? God, I am so confused my head is spinning. Is this about getting revenge on my family, or getting revenge on me?

Is he helping me bring them down? No.

I immediately push that naïve idea aside. He’d tell me if he wanted to do that.

Fucking fucker. I let out an angry scream and then dial it back because I don’t want to bring his staff running. I swallow more of the amber liquid and relish the burn.

For a moment, I let my thoughts drift. I end up having a daydream about my family taking this information and acting upon it only to actually harm themselves in the process and end up bankrupt.

That would be so amusing. Imagine Nico having to come to me for help. He would hate that so much. His massive ego would have to take a real dent if he had to come cap in hand to his sister. I probably have enough money that I could support all of my family until they got back on their feet.

None of them really knew how wealthy my husband and his family were. I signed a prenup of course, but when I found out all the things he done, I simply threatened to go to the media. I had emails with photographic evidence from some of his many lovers. The scandal would have absolutely destroyed his family, and possibly reached all the way to the heads of some minor European States. So, in the end, my beloved ex-husband paid me off handsomely. I think in part because he was strongly encouraged to do so by his family. It means that I'm a very wealthy young woman in my own right.

Still not entirely sure what I'm going to do about this, but knowing I need to take a note of the information, I use my phone to take photos of the documents.

It's going to be very tempting to use this the way Matteo has intended and get the revenge I so dearly would love upon my family. He might think I am doing it to get back at him, but this isn’t revenge on him. I know the game now, and me giving this information is knowingly poisoning the lifeblood of my family by leading them to make some very bad moves.

How to get revenge on Matteo though?

Why would he want to use me this way? Was the sex only so he could set this up? Christ, I’m insulted he thinks I’m so idiotic as to fall for this. Did he honestly think I would come in here and see these papers laid around so obviously and believe that it was all a coincidence? Does Matteo think that I'm as stupid and airheaded as the women he clearly hangs around with normally.

I need to bide my time, and formulate a plan. There’s got to be a way to turn this back on him and burn him. I ought to go home and leave him a message saying I’ve got a headache, but because I’m messed up that way, I want to fuck him even more now.

The other night he gave me the most epic sex of my life, and I know that with the added hate and adrenalin I’m feeling, it will be like screwing him while high on the world’s best drug.

I go and use the bathroom, the same one I left the picture for him in all those years ago at his party, and as I wash my hands, I know exactly how I’m going to get Matteo back.

How dare he do this to me again? How dare he use me and plan to betray me. I take that hurt, the one I get because everyone always underestimates me, uses me, and treats me like crap. Well, fuck him.

I’m going to fuck him so good that he’ll be addicted to me. I will make myself his new drug. Then when he’s utterly on the hook, and only then, I’m going to get hot and heavy with someone else in front of him. Just like I did with Duncan but worse. This time he’ll get a front row seat to the show.

I heard Matteo just about lost his mind when I screwed Duncan, so he has a jealous streak. He might not want me, but if he’s anything like he was before, he doesn’t want anyone else to have me either.

I’ll pass this information on to my family because screw them, but I’ll also make Matteo think he’s met his sexual soul mate, and then I’ll make him look like a fool, in public.

I will do it to him, but it will be for every fucking man who ever underestimated me. They’re all about to find out what happens when you treat Renata Andretti like she’s stupid.

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