Page 66 of Bianchi

The door closes with a bang, a reminder of my prison. Collapsing to the floor, I bang my fist on the door and cry out, “Please. I just want to leave a note.”

I don’t want to die and be forgotten.

I need to leave behind something that shows I existed, even if it’s never found. Someone has to know I was here before my body ends up in the Hudson River, just like my father.

And my mom.

Chapter 42

Romeo

Iglance at my watch when Daniele strolls into Massimo’s office. He’s thirty minutes late. If last night's conversation hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t think twice about it. I’d have trusted that he had a damn good reason for holding us up. As it stands, a man I’ve considered a brother for the last fifteen years has just guaranteed himself a painful death.

Dropping a manila envelope onto the desk, he chances a glance at me before nodding to Leonardo who’s positioned behind Massimo. Daniele drops into the seat next to me as Massimo reaches for the envelope. The way he leans away ever so slightly pisses me off, because we both know there’s no getting away from what’s to come.

Aurora has him wrapped around her little fucking finger. Too bad she’s probably already dead. A tightness pulls at my chest and my throat thickens as I swallow. She only has herself to blame. If she hadn’t betrayed us, I’d have done anything to get her back. But she did and so, for the family, I know I did the right thing.

Massimo flips the envelope over in his hand, his thumb poised on the opening. “What’s this?”

Daniele clears his throat. “It’s your evidence. I worked with Callum and we hacked the systems. It’s proof that whatever information you were given that Aurora was behind any of this was doctored.”

Massimo’s brows tug together before he calmly tears open the envelope. Tipping it upside down, papers fall out onto the desk and Massimo’s eyes widen a fraction as they bounce around the scattered documents.

My breath halts when I pick up a log of calls to the house, my eyes scanning the page. It looks similar to the one Aldo showed us, but there are clear differences. There’s a fluttering in the pit of my stomach, but I ignore it, refusing to allow the hope in. Not yet, anyway. Because with the hope, the guilt will inevitably follow. “How can you be sure this hasn’t been manipulated?”

Daniele holds my stare, his defiance clear. “I know it hasn’t.” His attention moves back to Massimo before he continues, “No offense to your guy, Aldo, and whoever gave him the information, but I had a hunch and I needed to follow it for my own peace of mind.”

A muscle ticks in Massimo’s jaw when he picks up a photo. He hands it to Leonardo.

Massimo turns his focus to me. “Anything for the family?”

“Of course.”

“Deal with her, Leonardo. Take her upstate, and when you come back, break the news to Maria. Don’t do it before. I don’t want the drama,” Massimo commands.

Leonardo’s Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. “Yes, boss.”

Whoever is in that picture has clearly betrayed us and I know that he’ll do what his boss is telling him to do, even if he doesn’t want to. After all, he knows better than anyone that there is only one way to deal with disloyalty.

Leonardo leaves us, a stiffness in his walk, and when the door clicks softly behind him, I return to looking over the papers spread out on the desk. A photograph shows Aurora in the living room, dressed in the skimpy outfit, with overdone hair and makeup from the night we went to dinner. Her back is to the room as she looks out of the window, but in the corner of the image, you can see what looks like an arm. My stomach rolls and a sour taste fills my mouth.

With a hoarse voice, I ask, “Do you have the actual footage?”

I already know what it will show. Her innocence. Smoothing my hand over my chin and down my neck, I tug on the collar of my shirt. The guilt hits me in the chest, leaving behind a tightness that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

There’s no judgment in his tone when Daniele replies, “I do.” He pulls out his phone, flicking through the screen before holding it at an angle for us to view.

The recording plays, showing Aurora standing at the window in the living room, her arms wrapped around her slender waist. There’s no sound, but when she jumps and turns to look over her shoulder in the direction of the phone, I can hear it ringing.

I feel Daniele’s eyes boring into me when he says, “It was an incoming call. Which is consistent with the data I got directly from the phone company.”

Aurora makes no move to get it, instead her attention shifts over her other shoulder before one of Massimo’s housekeepers enters the frame. She looks vaguely familiar, but I wouldn’t be able to name her. I’ve seen her around the house but… she’s the one that told us Aurora had been taken.

Cristo.

The housekeeper picks up the phone, her back to Aurora as she puts it to her ear. Thirty seconds later, she puts it down and scurries from the room. The video continues to play and I see myself stroll in. Not once did she move to make a call.

A muscle in my chest contracts and no matter how much air I try to drag in, it’s not enough to fill my lungs. I cover my mouth with my hand. I should have known that she wouldn’t betray us. Wouldn’t betray me. Nothing she’s done since I took her has indicated that she would, and yet at the first sign of trouble, I’ve abandoned her. I don’t know that she’ll forgive me, but I have to hope that she will. If she’s still alive.

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