Page 65 of Beautiful Revenge

“I’m a close friend of his. Finn kidnapped me to hurt Dante but Dante is offering a large reward to the person who brings me home. If you were to do that, then Dante would give you a lot of money.”

“Interesting. How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“I’m Aria Romano. Of course I’m telling the truth.”

He tilts his head to the side. “Am I supposed to know the name? I don’t know you.”

“My father is Elio Romano. He’s high up in the Mafia.”

“The name is a little familiar.”

“There you go,” I say. “You know I’m telling the truth. Just bring me back home to them and Dante and my father will pay you handsomely.”

“It’s an interesting offer. But if you have ties to the Mafia, then that makes you valuable. Finn clearly stole you for that reason.”

“Exactly. I’m valuable. You could make a lot of money off me by returning me home.”

His eyes zero in on my left hand. “You have a ring on your finger. Are you married?”

“Yes.”

“What’s his name?”

There’s no way I’m telling him Finn is my husband. He might think I’m on Finn’s side and try to hurt me to get to Finn.

“Enzo… Rocci.” It’s a made up Italian name. I don’t know any Enzos.

“Mmm. Haven’t heard that name before.”

“Well, he’s my husband. He works with Dante and my father. He will also pay you a lot for returning me home. So, you could do that and then come back and kill Finn. You could even brag to his face that you stole his prisoner out from under him.”

“That is an interesting idea. But I much prefer the idea of waiting for Finn to return, and then bringing you home to your family. Actually, I much prefer the idea of just keeping you for myself.” He grabs my arms and pulls me flush against him. I scream and struggle but he’s too strong for me. “You’re pretty, Aria Romano. I like having my own playthings. I think I’ll keep you.”

“Did you not hear what I just said? You could make millions if you returned me to my family.”

“See, I don’t do this job for money. Sure, the money is nice but I do this job because I like killing people. It’s a thrill. I like taking my time with it. Did you know that I strapped Sarah Williamsto her dining room table and cut at her for hours before I finally killed her?”

I freeze. This man is even more sadistic than Finn is. That’s something I never thought I would see.

“Do you want to know what I did to the baby?”

“You said you… shot her,” I whisper.

“Oh, I did. But not before I jammed my finger down her throat to stop her from crying. Somehow, that didn’t stop her. That’s why I shot her.”

“You’re sick.”

“So I’ve been told. Sarah wouldn’t stop crying after I killed her baby.”

“You killed her baby in front of her?”

“It added to the torture. Then I cut her and cut her until she was bleeding too much, I couldn’t save her. That’s when I finally ended things. Do you want to know how I killed her?”

“No.”

“I took my knife and I jammed it into her body over and over again until she died. To see the light slowly leave her eyes… mmm. It was delicious.”

“You’re evil,” I whisper. I thought Finn was the worst person in this world but I’ve been proven wrong.

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