Page 218 of La Dolce Vita

Each word, each drunken insult from Lorenzo's lips burned through Giovanni like lava. He glanced to Tacchini who gave a sly smile and a nod. And then it happened. Every man under Tacchini’s gun turned to a Benicia and opened fire. Even Mateo Benicia didn’t understand the scene until it was too late. He was disarmed and wrestled to the floor. Umberto, even with his bandaged arm, grabbed Isabella and put her in a chokehold. She screamed.

Bullet's zipped past Giovanni so close he could feel the trajectory of each tiny missile as they barely missed him. He didn't move. He stood there staring at the cassette player Isabella had dropped. He suspected Lorenzo couldn't be trusted. He suspected his cousin wanted nothing more than to be a drug lord and the ruler of their family. And he even suspected that he'd done something to undermine him. That was the reason he put distance between them after Santo warned of his betrayal. But nothing in his nightmares prepared him for this bitter truth.

The putrid sulfuric air reeked of a coppery smell that mingled with the bloodshed. And dead men lie everywhere. Not a single Benicia was left standing. Only Mateo who snarled and struggled to be let go.

“Let me go! Let me go!” Isabella screamed. She kicked and fought Umberto like a wild woman. Her long hair covered her face. One of her shoes flew off her feet. Giovanni walked over to the cassette player and picked it up from the floor.

“Put her in the chair.”

A few men were on the ground groaning. Giovanni stepped over one of them.

“Figlio di puttana! Li mortacci tua! Pigliainculo!”Isabella shouted obscenities.

Don Tacchini approached. Giovanni cut his gaze over to his friend. “Gio? We need to detonate. And soon.”

He nodded. A man returned Giovanni’s case to him. He didn’t make eye contact with Giovanni. Who would after hearing Lorenzo’s betrayal. He suspected they all thought Giovanni would go insane with rage. And he might do so. But this kind of pain required more control. Especially when dealing with the messenger.

Umberto yanked Isabella by the hair and forced her to look at Giovanni. She spat at him and the Don. He flipped open the case and revealed the vials of poison injected into Mirabella. Isabella's eyes stretched. "What is this!"

Mateo Benicia was now standing. He was no longer cursing and fighting. He was weeping. His family was slaughtered all around him. His brother, cousins, uncles, all lay dead.

Giovanni pulled out a syringe and attached it to the vial of liquid poison.

“What is this? Kill me! Just kill me!” Isabella seethed.

"You know what this is, don't you?" Giovanni asked. Isabella looked at the serum with fear. It was the first sign of fear in her eyes. Giovanni stepped to her. He put the syringe in her face. Isabella recoiled.

“Kei Hyogo injected this into my wife. Over and over again.”

“I had nothing to do with that. That is his mess. His poison.”

“There are many ways to die,” Giovanni said. “This is a different kind of death. It happens much slowly. It opens a door in your mind. Let the worst of your demons come through. Day by day they come. Today I introduce you to your new master.”

Isabella screamed for help. Giovanni injected a dose into the bulging vein in her neck. And he didn’t do so gently. Blood streamed down the tiny puncture wound. She gagged and coughed.

“My Bella has had to suffer because of you and your games. I have lost friends and family because of you.” He grabbed her chin and lifted it. Her eyes rolled into her head. “Death will come for you, but not today. Do you hear me!”

Isabella opened her eyes and looked at him Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Today I introduce you to my wife’s hell,” he said.

Giovanni turned and handed the needle over to the man next to him. Umberto let go of Isabella. She slumped forward and dropped to the floor. Don Tacchini signaled to his men, and one came over and swept her up in his arms. He carried her out of the building with a man following carrying the poison in the case.

"We will see to her Giovanni," Tacchini assured him. "Do as you instructed."

The man holding Benicia released him. Mateo Benicia dropped to his knees and wept. Giovanni removed the cassette player from his pocket and looked at it. He turned away and walked out.

ChapterThirty-Three

A Safe Place

Sorrento, Italy

"Are your eyes closed?" Lorenzo asked.

"I'm so tired, Lo. What are we doing? Can't we just go home?"

"Let me help you out of the car. Wait here. Don’t move."

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