Page 48 of La Dolce Vita

"Mira," Marietta stopped her.

"Yes?" she answered.

"I have to ask. Have you heard anything about Isabella? Giovanni is cutting Lorenzo out in his search for her. But I know he's looking. Is he close to finding her?" Marietta asked.

Mirabella shook her head no. "If he is, he wouldn't tell me."

"But we're wives. We hear and see things that they think we don't. What do you know?"

"Nothing!" Mirabella snapped. "I don't spy on Giovanni. And you shouldn't spy on Lorenzo. There's a reason why we don't know everything our husbands do. It protects us, and our children."

"That's crazy. If you knew more of Kei and Giovanni's war he might not have been able to kidnap you!"

Mirabella felt the blow of her sister's words to her heart. In a flash, Marietta could strike faster than a rattlesnake, and her venom hurt deeply. Marietta started to stumble through an explanation for her harsh words, but Mirabella waved the apology off. "Kei Hyogo was an obsessive, controlling freak long before Giovanni came into the picture. And I knew it."

“Sorry,” Marietta mumbled.

“Let it go. Giovanni will find her, and she'll pay for everything she's done."

Marietta gave her a weak smile. "Yeah. I hope so. The bitch deserves it."

"Deserves it!" Gianni exclaimed and nodded for his mama and aunt. The women laughed and started out of the kitchen.

ChapterNine

The Plan

Villa Rosso - Sorrento Italy

The day was almost done. It irked Giovanni that he had to waste most of it waiting on Lorenzo to return from his sailing adventure. The only bright spot of his day was the extra time spent with hisbambiniand his wife. Bella was a talker. And most times he preferred to listen, even if she were rambling or complaining about something he found insignificant. However, last night and this morning was different. They held each other, and he reflected on how precious and fragile the life he'd created with her was. Dominic had given him hope with this PTSD talk. And Bella slept peacefully in his arms for the first time in weeks. Maybe the worst was near the end.

Suddenly he had faith.

The talk of wanting another child surprised him. Each time he tried to discuss it in the past she ended the conversation. He may have faith, but he knew his wife had lost hers. Again he worried. He was reminded of the man he was before she entered his life. The dark solitude he dwelled in where he didn't need the comfort of a woman's affections. It was always physical with the ladies before his wife. He could never go back to those lost days and find fulfillment. Mirabella was his balance. The kind of balance his father didn't appreciate in Giovanni's mother. He swore on his life when he said his vows to her; he'd be a different man.

Now he practiced at being a selfless person.

It was the reason he made sure hiscapuswere careful not to pursue the women in his family. If Bella was his weakness, then the love of a real woman would certainly be theirs. He would rather not have the complication of their love affairs so close to his family. He needed killers, attack dogs, men who didn't have anything to lose. That's why he chose men who had no fathers to rely on like Carlo, who were orphaned and without a family like Renaldo, who could bring pain without even clenching a fist like Nico. This is how you held on to power when everyone around you wanted to take it from you.

Giovanni reached for the phone. He called the house and asked for his wife. He waited patiently for her to answer.

“Hello?” Mirabella answered.

“Where would you like to go this evening?” he asked.

She chuckled. “Surprise me.”

“Are you dressed?”

“Not quite. Feeding your children and then I will have to give them a bath. When will you be ready for me?”

He looked at his watch. “Two hours and I’m coming to collect my wife.”

“I’ll be ready. Love you.”

He hung up. The men all arrived.

"Where's Carlo?" Giovanni asked. He glanced to his cousin who slowly removed his sunglasses. "And before you lie to me, consider that this is not a question, but a one-time request for an answer."

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