Page 151 of A Beautiful Crime

His love for her was doomed from the beginning. A tragedy written amongst the stars.

“One drink had become two and two turned to three. I take it you don’t need me to discuss the intimate details of what transpired next.”

“No, I do not,” I agree. “How long was the affair?”

“It was very short lived. After Viola fell pregnant she put an end to our affair. Afraid Savio would come to know the truth.”

“And yet he stayed unaware for sixteen years.”

His face falls. “Because of me.”

I raise a brow. “Do tell.”

“Savio and Luca had taken Elio for his rebirth. He was to be initiated in The Fiore Famiglia and act under Luca’s rule.”

“Thirteen is too young to kill a man.”

“How old were you when you first stained your hands?”

“My hands were stained far before I killed. I was born in this life. Molded to become The Don of The Donati Famiglia. Killing didn’t stain my hands, Giuseppe. Being born did.”

He grunts in disapproval. “This is not the life I wanted for her. She deserves more. And so did Viola.”

“Viola deserved more than the man she married but make no mistake, Carina deserves to be by my side. In this life and in the next.” Much to his chagrin he stays quiet upon the matter. Thinning his lips displeased. Unfortunately for him it’s not something I will lose sleep over. “How did Savio come to know of the affair?”

“I had Viola and Carina’s bags packed. She saw what Luca had become, she knew what was becoming of Elio and she knew she had to save Carina. That night would be the only night to do it. I had everything planned. How to bypass security. How to slip in the car and sneak them in. I was going to save them. Iwas going to free her.” His eyes shine with renewed tears. “But their night was unexpectedly short. And by the time they arrived home they had caught me with Viola in hand as we were headed to Carina’s room with luggage in the other.” Utter despair and agony fall over him.

And I can only imagine how I would be if I were to lose Carina and fail her within the same breath. It would not only be devastating but I would be haunted for the rest of my existence.

“Why didn’t he kill you?”

“My punishment was worse than death. I was to watch Elio kill my dear Viola. I was to help stage the body as a suicide alongside Luca. And I was to live the rest of my days under the same roof as my daughter and watch her be mistreated and abused because of my mistake.”

A bitter taste fills my mouth. An inferno of rage blisters under the surface. And while I have always been a man of patience and control I am finding myself grasping at straws to not lose composure.

There’s even a great part of me that wants to spill blood of the man who sits before me. He failed in protecting Carina. For that I should have his life.

But knowing the matter of the situation Giuseppe was faced against the impossible. He could never save Carina and live. He would’ve died trying. And the cruelty inflicted upon Carina would have only worsened.

There wasn’t anything Giuseppe could have done.

He truly did suffer a fate worse than death.

“She deserves to know the truth.”

Terror overtakes his face. “No,” he says in a horrified whisper. He then shakes his head as he becomes desperate. “She can’t know.” His voice becomes stronger. “This secret will die with me, Constantine.”

“I’m afraid the decision has already been made.” Carina will know the truth. And I would prefer it if it comes from her own father.

Tears shimmer in his eyes as he draws his lower lip in between his teeth. Head down he whispers heartbroken, “She is going to hate me.”

And while I have sympathy for the man for losing the woman he loved most in this world and watching his daughter suffer at the hands of a monster I have no sympathy for him confessing.

I rise from the chair and cross the room to where he sits. When I clasp my hand firmly on his shoulder he looks up at me pleadingly. “The truth, Giuseppe.”

“Have you no mercy?”

My hand clamps down on his shoulder, applying enough pressure to remind him whom is speaking to. He winces. “Mercy was not offered to Carina. And it will not be offered to you. The truth, Giuseppe or I will make the fear you have for Savio be child’s play.”

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