Page 61 of Darkest Oblivion
My lungs seized, my knees threatening to buckle, my mind spinning in disbelief.
Shot?
Dmitri?
The man who was supposed to be untouchable, surrounded by guards and territory and fear—it made no sense.
My heart pounded so violently I thought I might pass out.
Images of him flashed in my mind: icy blue eyes ablaze with hatred, his grip bruising my arms, his voice carving into my very soul.
I hated him, yes. God, how I hated him for the monster he had become, for the boy I had once loved twisted into something unrecognizable. And yet... the thought of him dead, erased fromthe world, sent a strange, stabbing pain twisting through my chest, sharper than any insult he’d ever hurled at me.
I bolted toward the door, my silk gown slipping against my clammy skin, and yanked it open.
Giovanni stood like a monolith, every muscle coiled as if ready to spring. His eyes, usually unreadable, flickered with something raw—urgency, and the unspoken danger that clung to Dmitri’s name like a shadow.
The sheer weight of his gaze pinned me in place.
He stepped back slightly, giving me space, his broad frame clad in a crisp black suit that screamed enforcer more than butler.
“He—what?” I stammered, my throat dry, my fingers trembling as they clutched the doorframe. “How... how did this happen? When? I thought he was untouchable—guards, territory, every inch protected!”
Giovanni’s jaw tightened, the faint lines around his eyes deepening. “Someone leaked his location. The enemy struck when he was unprepared. Six bullets... so far. They’ve been removed, but it’s serious, ma’am.”
My chest caved in, a storm of fear and unwanted worry crashing over me.
“Will he... survive?” The words escaped almost before I realized I’d spoken.
Giovanni exhaled, a long, heavy sound, as if the weight of the world pressed down on him.
“The doctors are fighting for him. He’s tough... always has been.” His gaze sharpened, piercing mine. “Did you—did you sell him out?”
The accusation landed like a slap, and I recoiled, eyes widening.
“What? No! I—” My voice faltered, the lie lodged in my throat, bitter and metallic.
The device I’d planted on his phone loomed over me like a silent threat—a secret betrayal I hadn’t dared confess. Admitting it now, to Dmitri’s most loyal shadow? It could end me.
Giovanni’s eyes narrowed, reading every flicker of hesitation like an open book.
“I checked the CCTV at the club yesterday. Back camera footage. I saw you and Antonio Bellanti.” His voice was deadly precise. “He sneaked in—illegally. Lake Como doesn’t allow outsiders without permission. But corruption always has a way in.”
I swallowed hard, the weight of my actions pressing down like stones on my chest.
“Yes... I talked to Antonio.” My voice trembled.
I swallowed hard before continuing, each word a confession I wasn’t sure I deserved to survive.
“He gave me a device... to plant on Dmitri’s phone. I didn’t want to, but... I snapped. I overheard him—on the phone—with Seraphina. He mocked me, Giovanni.”
“He laughed about my body, about my stretch marks and my curves, calling me heavy, worthless... a stampede. And then—God—he said he’d divorce me, send me back to my family, and marry her as soon as I gave him his first child.”
“That I was only here to suffer for my sins... and for my parents’. He’d given me perfume, expensive perfume—I thought he was softening, that he remembered how much I loved scents. I held onto that gift like it was hope. And then I realized—it wasn’t for me. It was her perfume. Always her. Giovanni... it cut too deep. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Planting that device felt like the only way to fight back, the only way to make him hurt the way he made me hurt. I... I just lost control.”
Giovanni’s face remained stoic, but the brief flicker of understanding passed over his scarred features.
Slowly, he nodded.
