Page 58 of Tower of Temptations

31

PEARL

Icouldn't stop shaking.

Everything Nan had just told me—about my father, about Vittorio, about that night on the Chapman Bridge—it was like the world had tilted sideways.

All those years, I'd told myself Vittorio's control, for all its flaws, had at least been protection, that the tower was home. What a sad joke.

"Miss Pearl." Nan's weathered hands caught mine, steady as always. "You need to breathe, love."

We were huddled in what must have been an office once, decades ago. The air smelled like old paper and secrets, dust coating every surface except the small space Nan had cleared for her blueprints. The flashlight beam caught cobwebs in the corners, making them look like silver threads holding the walls together.

"I always knew something was wrong." My voice sounded strange in the dark. "The way he'd smile when he was angry.How Mom changed after they married." I swallowed hard. "God, Nan. You watched him kill her too, didn't you?"

"Slow and careful, like everything else he does." Nan's voice was rough with old grief. "By the time anyone noticed the pills..." She shook her head. "Your daddy tried to warn her. That's when Vittorio decided Marco had to go."

I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to think past the nausea that never quite left these days. "So what now? We can't exactly walk out the front door."

Nan spread the blueprints wider, her flashlight catching neat notes in familiar handwriting. Of course she'd been preparing for this. Nan never did anything without a plan.

"There are three ways out." Her finger traced routes through the maze of hidden passages. "But since those boys of yours tried their rescue..." She sighed. "There are guards everywhere now. Too many eyes."

"Christ." My head hurt just thinking about all that security. "We'll never make it alone."

Nan was already pulling out a battered flip phone, her mouth set in that stubborn line I knew too well. "I've got detective Santos handling the legal side, but..." She met my eyes. "You trust those boys of yours?"

My men. Just thinking about them made my heart ache. Their fierce protection, their gentle love—each one different but equally precious. My hand drifted to my stomach before I could stop it. Would they be happy about the baby? Scared? Both?

Focus, Pearl. One crisis at a time.

The phone felt ancient in my palm as I dialed Giuliano's number from memory. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"Who is this?" His voice hit me like a punch.

"Jules." It came out barely a whisper.

The silence stretched forever. Then, "Pearl?" Like he couldn't quite believe it.

"I need you." My voice cracked. "All of you."

Movement on his end—I could picture them gathering around the phone, my men ready to destroy the world if it would keep me safe. My eyes burned with tears.

"Where are you,tesoro?" Enzo, his usual charm stripped down to raw worry.

"Hidden passages in the tower. Nan's got maps, she knows all the routes." I tried to keep my voice steady. "But there's so much security now..."

"We're coming." Angelo's calm cut through my rising panic. "Just tell us where."

Nan took the phone, giving rapid directions I could barely follow. Twenty minutes. We just had to stay hidden and reach the west service entrance before they breached.

A door slammed somewhere close by. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Easy now." Nan's hand found mine in the dark. "Time to move."

The passages were cramped and treacherous. My silk blouse caught on everything as we moved, and I cursed myself for not changing into something more practical.

We made it down three floors before the radio static nearly gave me a heart attack.

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