Page 86 of The Last Vendetta

“Just pack up and be ready to go.”

“Does this have something to do with Father’s death?” Lucia asked.

“Or how… weird Mother’s been acting?” Beatrice asked.

I sighed, wishing I could drop to the floor and just avoid the stress of all these questions. Marianna was perceptive to notice how exhausted and worn down I looked.

“Both, I imagine.” She ushered the younger two back into the room. “Regardless, we will listen to Giulia and follow her lead. She’ll always know what to do.”

Really? Do I? Will I? Her stout confidence in me fueled me to stand up straighter. After a firm nod, I drew in a deep breath and shoved away my moment of weakness. I was stronger than this. Sooner or later, I would succumb to the mental roller coaster. Seeing Cecilia dying. Making love with Renzo. Being kidnapped. Uncle Dario dying. The relief of running away. All of it. I was bottling it up, functioning because I had to, and I couldn’t let up on that tight rein yet.

Only once we were somewhere safe, far from here, could I let myself feel again.

Back in my room, I stashed more clothes into my largest suitcase. We had to leave before Mother came back to the house, and without knowing where she was having her meeting or how long she would be out of our way, I had to hurry. And hurry. Faster and faster. Clothing fell and got tangled in the zipper of my case. Stuffing my most practical shoes into another bag was a clumsier attempt at packing. My rush knocked my purse to the floor, and I winced. It hardly mattered whether we took lots of items. Just enough to get by for a while until we could be settled somewhere else.

Now that I was acting on the plan to leave, to run away, it felt so surreal. Like this was someone else stuffing my things into cases in a rush. The moment to act on my future, to choose my path myself… I struggled to believe that it was finally here. That I was now poised to strike out for a different life.

I wanted one with Renzo, but there was no way to make that happen.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Mother asked as she slipped into my room.

I sucked in a breath and held it. She’d surprised me. I’d counted on her being gone for longer, and that was my first mistake. Still, I wasn’t here dawdling. I wasn’t idling around. Without glancing at her, I continued to stash my things in my suitcase.

“I’d like to travel with my sisters. Before I’m a married woman.”

She huffed, leisurely entering my room. Her pace was slow but measured, and feeling her stare on me made me nervous. She sounded too cool. Too calm and collected, like she had ultimate confidence that she held all the power in here.

“Oh. I see. You get out of town with that man and think you can just take off wherever, hmm?”

I clenched my teeth, refusing to make eye contact. If I looked at her, she’d see the barely veiled anger I kept within me at the sound of her voice. Antagonizing her wasn’t what I wanted to do. Uncle Dario didn’t have any proof to offer me when he claimed that my mother had killed Renzo’s mother. But I didn’t need it. I’d grown up knowing how strategic and cruel she could be.

“I am not a married woman yet,” I reminded her, “and I would like to enjoy spending time with my sisters while I can.” This seemed like the easiest deflection. The safest way to shut her down.

“You are not going anywhere.” She slammed the suitcase shut and shoved my shoulder until I staggered back. I’d set Uncle Dario’s knife on the vanity in the bathroom when I changed.

Dammit. I was defenseless, and the crazy look in her eyes scared me.

“You are not going to run off like this.” She bared her teeth as she lifted her finger at me. The digit shook, trembling with the force of her anger.

“You will not run off, impregnated by Renzo Bernardi.”

My jaw dropped open.

“I know you’ve been fucking him, running off like that with your lover.”

“But I’m not preg?—”

“Shut up!” she screamed as she lifted a gun out of her pocket and aimed it at my face. “Shut up, you little whore!”

“I…” I shook my head. I couldn’t prove I wasn’t pregnant in the same sense that she could guess that I was. We hadn’t used protection, but still, this was an insane accusation to leap to.

“I’ll be damned if my daughter gets a Bernardi when I never could.”

Because you wanted Giovanni. You killed his wife because he chose his arranged bride over you.

“You’re not going to fucking leave and foil my plans. You will stay here.” She jabbed the gun at me. “You will abort any Bernardi baby you have.” Another thrust of her gun. “And you will marry Nickolas Romano so I can get closer to his father.”

Jesus. She was twisted. Hearing her plans for me pushed me over the edge. “Oh. You’ve got it all figured out, huh?”

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