Page 23 of Merciless Oath

Stay.

Stay? What the hell?

I glance around the kitchen, feeling like I’m being watched.

The sight of security guards patrolling the grounds momentarily calms me down, but I call Uncle Luigi anyway. He confirms he hasn’t been to the house all night and didn’t bring in the mail this morning.

I check the security cameras, but there's nothing there. No sign of someone entering the house with a package.

With shaky hands, I tuck my phone away and head to the living room. A group of my associates has gathered to discuss business, but none of them brought the mail inside.

After tracking down Uncle Alfonso and instructing him to stick to Matilda like glue today, I head to the complex.

I’m nervous and jittery the entire way, turning the message over and over in my head. I check my rearview mirror, catching another glimpse of the dark sedan that was parked outside my house.

They’ve been following me the entire time, staying far enough away that I can’t see their faces.

I pull into the giant, empty parking lot of the complex and park near the doors where the contractors left their vans. Glancing back again, I don’t see the sedan in the parking lot and breathe a sigh of relief.This shit is really making me paranoid.

After a successful walkthrough, I nearly sprint back to my car, desperate to get home to Matilda. Four wooden blocks placed carefully on my passenger’s seat stop me in my tracks. My blood runs cold, but I force myself to get into the vehicle.

Away,the blocks read.

The message isn’t “stay.” It’s “stay away.”

I quickly check my backseat and when everything looks clear, throw my car into drive and peel out of the parking lot. On the way home, I call Uncle Luigi and give him the update. He agrees to meet me at the house immediately.

I’m checking over my shoulder and the rearview mirror the entire drive home, paranoid as hell. When I stop at a red light, the overwhelming reality of what happened fully hits me.

My car was locked. They got into my locked car to leave this message. And they got into my security-patrolled, locked house to leave the first package.

I nearly throw up from worry over Matilda, but force myself to speed home. When I start down the long, winding driveway to the house, I catch sight of Matilda running through the snow with Alfonso, and my heart settles.

She’s safe.

I pull into the heated garage and make my way through the kitchen to check on Matilda. A large, unmarked box on my kitchen table stops me in my tracks.

A third part of the message?

With trembling fingers, I slip off the ribbon and open the box. Fear drains my body of blood, and I get light-headed. A pink princess cake, eerily similar to the one Matilda requested for her birthday, sits in the box.

Except the pink icing doesn’t spell out “Happy Birthday.” I read it again and again, until my vision blurs.

“You took what’s mine. Now I take what’s yours.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Enzo

I have a child.A daughter.

With Valentina.

And I find this out in the most messed up way possible.

Swimming laps is the only thing that can help me right now. I strip off the plush robe, shivering in the early morning February frost, and dive in. The second my fingertips touch the water, all thoughts and worries drift away.

I spend two hours practicing different strokes across the heated pool, refusing to get out and face the day. Finally, when my muscles are exhausted and my fingers pruney, I pull myself out and head back down to my penthouse.

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