Page 44 of The Forbidden Husband

He knew I did.

I extended the glass toward him, and as his fingers brushed it, I released it quickly.

The crystal fell to the floor, and the amber liquid spilled all over the desk between us. The poison did too.

I hadn’t thought about my decision before making it, but as my father’s plan spilled out in front of me, I couldn’t bringmyself to regret it. This was wrong. Killing Giovanni waswrong, and I couldn’t do it.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled as blood rushed through my ears.

He said that it wasn’t important, not realizing he was wrong. This may have been the most important decision I had ever made.

“Which one did you choose?” he asked.

“Louis XIII Remy Martin.”

His grin widened. “I knew it.”

He didn’t know anything.

Chapter Fifteen

Aria Bianchi

“A bullet was inches from taking out Uncle Giovanni this morning.”

My heart skipped a beat as Enzo told me what had happened to his uncle, and I focused keenly on schooling my expression. I knew who the culprit was, but Enzo couldn’t know that.

“Your uncle?” I gasped. “Is he okay?”

I had told my father about the misstep, and he had been furious. He had ended the call immediately, not bothering to give me feedback or direction. I didn’t know what I would have done if he had told me the truth.

I had failed, and he told me what would happen if I failed him.

Was Evelina going to suffer because of my decision? I had never known my father to bluff…

Enzo leaned into the countertop in the center of the kitchen as he analyzed my expression. He had only come in a moment ago, tensely telling Jaimie she was free to go. The energy between us had been relaxed and almost easy over the past fewweeks. There were things that we both had hidden from one another, but the marriage had become something less than a burden.

And not hearing from my father for that long… it eased something within me.

“Enzo,” I pushed.

But the hard line of his mouth didn’t soften. “We assume your father was the one behind it.”

“Of course, you would. He probably was.”

Enzo still didn’t seem to know what to think about it. He continued staring accusingly at me. I clasped my hands in front of me. I had nothing to hide about this situation, at least. I hadn’t been the one behind the bullet, and I genuinely knew nothing about it. Hell, I hadn’t even known that he had something in motion beside me.

But I did remember what he had told me he would sell in order to pay for a backup plan.

“Enzo, why are you staring at me like that?” I asked.

“We have all our sources digging into this, and they will find the truth. They are going to find the person who did this.”

“You know I didn’t do this,” I replied, shaking my head. “Why are you talking to me like I was the one who orchestrated this whole thing.”

Enzo walked toward me slowly, each step meticulously behind the last. For the first time, I was terrified looking at Enzo. Seeing the underboss of the mafia approaching me with scorn in his eyes made me feel like his true enemy. It made me realize precisely how dangerous he could be if I were ever caught.

“I need to know everything about him and his plans, Aria.”

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