Page 93 of Monster in Disguise

"Bah! I'll have none of that. Consider it a gift. For better future relations." Yeah, well, I don't buy that. So I continue to probe.

"I could never in good conscience accept such a thing from you."

"If you put it like that..." He pauses and regards me, narrowing his eyes. "My son here is my heir." He tugs a still cowering Rafaelo to his side, slapping his back and making him stand straighter.

"But I have still not found him a nice bride. He needs a good woman to take care of him and the house. Hard to find these days," he sighs, "with these feminist notions, all women are suddenly independent." He shakes his head in disgust and starts a tirade on how women's places should be at home taking care of their husbands and children. I'm half-listening at this point, and I note Rafaelo's tormented expression.

"I...I d-d-don't w... w-w-ant a www...ife." Rafaelo musters with great difficulty, and I feel for him.

"But youneeda wife," his father remarks and moves on, disregarding his son's opinion. "I've heard about your sister," Benedicto suddenly says, and I see where this is going.

"With all due respect, my sister is too young."

"Notthatsister." He frowns. "The one who grew up in the convent." I have to carefully mask my features. How is it that he knows Assisi's no longer at Sacre Coeur? "She would be perfect for my boy. I'm sure the nuns must have instilled in her traditional values." He says this with such conviction, as if he has everything figured out.

"I don't think Assisi would be ready for that anytime soon. And should she decide to marry someone in the future, I'll leave it up to her," I try to explain. I will force none of my sisters into marriages they don't want. I'd meant what I told Lina last time. It's time things changed a little within the famiglia.

"Come on, Lastra. You can't mean that!" He starts in an outraged tone, but immediately catches himself. "Of course she wouldn't be ready just yet. But why don't we let them meet and see where it goes?" He insists, and I have to wonderwhyexactly he's so set on a union between our families. "If they decide they suit, then who are we to stand against their happiness, right?"

The way he's phrased this has me a little backed into a corner. I can't overtly refuse him, so I just nod. "Maybe something can be arranged." It's best to be vague.

"Good. I knew you'd see reason." Benedicto nods, satisfied. But then Rafaelo starts trembling next to him.

"I...I..." He stutters, and I hear a trickling sound. I look closer and see that a wet spot is forming on the front of his trousers and down his leg.

Rafaelo just pissed himself.

His father notes this immediately, but he doesn't react in any way. Rather, he excuses them both and leaves the room.

Maybe Michele was onto something... Maybe Rafaelo does have some mental issues. It's hard to associate his physical appearance with it. He's a big man, if not for his slumping shoulders and craning neck. His posture alone makes him look more like a child than an adult.

Shaking my head at what I'd just witnessed, I scan the ballroom for Catalina.

I frown.

Where is she?

I can't see her anywhere, so I check with the women she'd been with. One of them tells me she must have gone to the bathroom. But I'm not mollified.

She can't be alone. Not here, with so many out to harm her.

I immediately zone in on Enzo. He's by an alcohol station, a bored expression on his face. He's staring into the half-empty glass he's holding, while the people around him are chatting away. His wife is next to him, but she's busy talking with her father.

"Catalina's missing." I go straight to the point when I see him. I have his attention right away, and he puts down his glass.

"We need to find her," he says, and we plan to cover the entire area.

"Where are you going?" His wife, Allegra, clings to his arm and pouts.

"I'm looking for my sister." His voice is tense as he tries to shake her off.

"That," Allegra's voice is full of venom as she refers to Catalina. "I'm sure she's off with someone." Before I can react, Enzo pushes her off.

He grasps her jaw in his hands, and in a callous voice he tells her, "Stop running your mouth if you want to keep this prettyface." He thrusts her backward, and with a scowl, he signals me to get moving.

After checking every single corner of the ballroom, I feel like I'm losing my mind. Where is she? The things crossing my mind are not helping one bit.

I check the bathrooms, a few women screaming at me and calling me a pervert, but I don't care.

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