Page 39 of Ruining Vanessa

10

GIULIO

There’s no lock on the outside of Elena’s room. That was one of the first things I had removed when I took control of Ntimacy. I couldn’t let her leave, not while my old man was alive and stopping by regularly to check on things, but I could offer her a little bit of freedom.

“I still think you should let me set you up in a nice condo,” I say as I step into her room. This one has a window, and I’d brought nice blankets and pillows to make her bed more inviting. It’s small and cramped, but between my gifts and Elena’s own creativity, it actually looks cozy.

Elena unfolds the small table and sets it up by the bed. “I told you, there’s nothing for me out there. And I like helping the women here.”

She and Vanessa have that in common, apparently. I set the take-out bag on the table and start sorting through all the food.

“Let me know if you change your mind. I brought Ethiopian food. Don’t worry, I told them I wanted the American, unspicy version. I’m not Damien.”

Elena laughs a little and grabs her container of food. “I can handle a little bit of spice. But…” Her expression turns a bit darker. “I do have something to tell you.”

From her tone, it’s something that’ll potentially spoil the meal. I sigh and sit down on the bed next to her, on her “good” side. I don’t really care, but she’s self-conscious and appreciates being able to hide her scars.

“Can it wait until after we eat? Or, if it’s anything about Paul, just tell Damien and let him handle it.” I grab my own food container and tear off a piece of injera, using the flatbread to scoop up some of the doro wat. The stewed chicken in berbere spices smells heavenly, and while it might not be Damien levels of spice, it’s far from bland.

“It’s not about Paul,” Elena says. “And I don’t think you’ll want to wait to hear this.”

I probably do. Elena isn’t the kind to make a big deal out of nothing. But I’ve had a good day, with business finally turning a bit in my favor. My gamble with Romano had paid off, and more of the other mafia families are eager to partner with me.

It helps that I’d delivered some of Corvi’s men to Romano—the ones who had stolen his shipment of goods. I do try to be generous with my friends.

After another few bites of my food, I say, “Fine, fine. Lay it on me. Who do I need to deal with?”

Elena lowers her gaze, looking down at her own container of food. “It’s about Vanessa, Giulio.”

I force myself to smile as I answer. “Yeah? What about her? Did she try to replace Stef again? Ooh, start another cat fight with Cat? Or… did she try to convince somebody to call the cops again?” I chuckle to myself. “That worked out so well for her the first time.”

She slowly looks back at me, and I’m disturbed by how little humor there is in her eyes.

I set my food down, my appetite gone. “You have my attention,” I say quietly. “What’s going on, Elena?”

Elena sighs, unable to hold my gaze for long. “She’s been using the contraceptive sponges meant for the girls.”

There’s this one second where I don’t understand what she’s talking about, where I want to make a joke or tell Elena not to lie.

But Elena wouldn’t lie to me. She’s one of the few people who I know I can trust, who has stuck by me and cared.

I still shake my head in denial. “She… She what? No. Are you sure?”

“I was helping Donny with the inventory, and they’ve been checked off as being low for the second time in a row. It’s usually rare for us to go through them like that. The girls prefer to use the condoms, obviously. I went to talk to her while she was cleaning the bathroom, and she had something in her hand she was very quick to get rid of,” Elena says quietly. “I went through the trash before I took it out, and I found it.”

I look at her, and I realize I can’t be in the room anymore. I scoot the table aside and get up, my body already tensing.

“Thanks for telling me,” I say, my voice sounding distant to me.

If it’s the second time the stuff has been ordered… That means Vanessa’s been doing this for a while. How long? How long has she been lying to us? How long has she pretended—and oh, I thought she was a terrible actress, but apparently, she knows enough to lie through her fucking teeth about something like this.

Vanessa’s room is right next door to Elena’s. I don’t bother to knock before unlocking it, and I slam the door open as hard as I can.

Vanessa shrieks and sits up in her bed. Her hand goes to her chest, her breathing already quickening. “Giulio! You just scared the crap out of me!” she exclaims. She looks at me, really looks at me, and she goes still. I don’t know what she sees in my face, but I know it isn’t good.

I shut the door behind me and lean against it, crossing my arms. My cheeks hurt with how much I’m grinning. “I hear you’ve been holding out on me.”

She shrinks back, pressing against the wall. She tries to smile, but it comes out more like a grimace. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But she does. She’s not stupid. Like Damien always says, she’s smart, but she obviously has no fucking common sense.

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