Page 51 of Twisted Obsession

Again, Graham contemplated.

‘Our families have been joined in union before. It has been a profitable and pleasurable alliance.’ He nodded at us both. ‘I don’t see why this marriage—once your brother has got over his anger of course, should be any different.’

‘Thank you, Uncle.’

‘You don’t need to thank me. You are the son I never had, Dante. I have been grooming you to be my successor for the past few years. Now with Giovanna by your side, as a steadying hand, I think you will mature into the man I know resides within you.’

Dante fidgeted to the side of me, obviously slightly uncomfortable with his uncle’s belief in him.

‘Your impending nuptials are cause to celebrate…’ Graham lifted what looked like a small glass of fortified wine up to us both, before taking it to his mouth to take a small amount. ‘But as soon as I contact Lambeth Palace and reach out to the archbishop you understand your cover will be exposed. I have contacts there, so equally Salvatore will also have his. You will need to move quickly to reach the destination we agree on to take your vows?’

‘We understand.’ Dante spoke for us both.

‘Okay, so I also have other news. Although, I’m not sure where to start with it all.’ Dante unconsciously gripped my shoulder a little tighter as I attempted once again to consume some of the water from the bottle in my hand, desperately wishing it was the fortified wine his uncle was sipping at again. I craved the numbness I knew I’d find in its alcoholic strength,even though I knew that being allergic to it, I’d possibly be sick for days afterwards.

‘I’ll start with the good news. Rosemary has told me that they believe within the next couple of days Mia will emerge from her coma. Serafina has told her that Mia’s vital signs are indicating positively.’

‘That’s great news,’ I voiced, pleased for my friend and soon to be sister-in-law.

‘Good,’ Dante added.

‘Salvatore, your father and Alessio have caught Enzo. He has been taken care of.’ Graham glanced at me, and I could see he wanted to say just how he’d been taken care of, but stopped himself because I was present.

‘Okay,’ Dante voiced, with slight regret that he hadn’t been present in his tone. ‘And the information they got from him… Has papa been cleared?’

‘He has.’

Dante physically reacted to the news. His body slumped with relief, and he exhaled as though he hadn’t properly breathed out in years.

‘Dante, that’s such good news,’ I added as I looked over at him. ‘Salvatore now knows he’s wrong about your papa and your family. It really is the best news for us, isn’t it?’

Dante turned his head to nod at me, and although I couldn’t quite read the expression on his face, I could see he was pleased. Another question flashed across his face and he turned to talk to his uncle again.

‘As a result of Enzo’s death, did they get an answer to who was to blame for Salvatore’s mama’s death, and all the other women and children that were kidnapped over the years?’

‘They did.’ Graham sighed loudly before resting his gaze back on me. ‘Gianni De Luca was killed by Salvatore as punishmentfor killing many, many innocents, including Salvatore’s mama, Lia Ranieri.’

‘Giovanna’s papa?’ I heard Dante question as he turned to look at me. My world closed in, confining me in a darkness I wasn’t strong enough to fight against.

The last thing I heard was a loud crash as my chair toppled.

Then I felt nothing, because there was nothing I wanted to feel.

Part 2

Chapter One

Dante

Ilooked over the large desk that dominated the airy room at the two men.

‘So, let me get this straight. What you’re both reporting is that although the casinos are up eighteen percent on last year, and we’ve sold more than double the number of passports in the last twelve months compared with the previous, our profits haven’t increased by the expected amount?’

I looked at both Marco and Ricco individually.

‘That’s correct,’ Ricco replied as he fidgeted slightly and undid the top button of his shirt beneath his tie, but while doing so his eyes never left mine.

‘Yeah, that’s about the up and down of it,’ Marco answered.

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