Page 122 of Dreadful
“No.” I shake my head, but the room spins, so I have to stop. “What…did you…do to me?”
“The little cross-pollination your mother was bragging about earlier? You are our first guinea pig.”
I look at her. “Just like my father, huh, Gertrude? AndziaAntonella?”
Her lips are sealed firmly shut, but her expression is haughty, as if she’s proud of what she’s done.
“Do you think your mother would let you get away with murderingme?” Claudio barks a laugh and travels around the table again to stand behind my mother with his hands on her shoulders. “She’d never let anyone take away the extravagant lifestyle I’ve given her. Your father couldn’t provide what she needed, so she came to me, and I was more than happy to oblige. She’d already taken care of one problem for me—my snake of a wife. Why not take out my half brother, too?”
Even before Tallie told me her theories, I’d always known, deep down, that my mother was capable of evil like this. But to have her treachery laid out so openly and used onme?
Poison and betrayalliterally burn in my veins, and yet I still can’t wrap my mind around it.
“How could you?” The words are sticky on my tongue, but I spit them out nonetheless.
She sits up in her chair and takes a sip of her wine. “Antonella was weak. She proved that when she cared so much about that stupid little slut of yours.”
“Don’t call her that!” I growl.
“Severino! Don’t interrupt. It’s rude.” She clears her throat and preens as if she’s on stage. “Now what was I saying…ah, right. Nightshade in Antonella’s wine did the trick. But your father was still a problem, and I had to suffer with him for years too long. He liked to say, ‘Family over money.’ I was able to convince him of most of the things I wanted. It was easy to sway him to believe you were too emotional and weak to lead, for example. But I could never get him to give me the life Ideserved. He could’ve easily done it too, with the money he made in his side businesses, but he refused. I gave up my career to be arichmafioso’s wife, not a pauper. Claudio had no such limitations, and what do you know? He was single!”
“How fortunate for you.” My tone is anything but congratulatory, but she beams.
“Isn’t it? I had to bide my time, because I knew someone might ask for an autopsy if your father died mysteriously. But when he went on Digoxin, I had the perfect opportunity. Foxglove in his wine mimicked an overdose. And thankfully, Claudio put off an autopsy for me. I was able to marry the Boss I deserved, and Claudio became the rightful king to his throne.”
She gazes at my uncle as if he’s hung the moon, and I want to wring both their necks. But when my name wheezes from the corner of the room, all my focus falls on Tallie again.
“Dolcezza, I’m here.”
I trip toward her and collapse to my knees at her side. Her breaths are labored as she cradles her stomach and tries to sit up, but her eyes are clear.
My panic subsides a fraction, and I draw her up into my arms and whisper into her ear, “Amore mio, be still. The pain will ease soon. You’ll be alright.”
“But…you’re poisoned…”
“I’ll be okay,” I murmur. “Don’t worry about me.”
My mother sighs. “Claudio, I think he’s right. I soaked the inside of the glass with the juice of my most potent berries, but it still might not be enough, especially since his adrenaline is overactive right now. You’ll have to shoot him, too.”
Rage burns in my chest at the callous way she talks about killing me and Tallie.
“You might be right, Trudy. I thought you might fail at this task, but you were so insistent.” My mother’s jaw drops, but Claudio keeps going. “No matter. It’s nothing a couple more bullets can’t fix. But Severino, I have a proposition for you first.”
“What?” I growl.
I don’t have my gun, my cane is still by the table, and my razor is useless with Claudio across the table. I don’t know how to get out of this, but I think my mother is telling the truth, at least. The adrenaline shooting through me makes me feel shaky and strong at the same time as it counteracts some of the poison’s effects. I’m not sure how long that’ll last or if I’m making shit up in my head, but I go with it for now and pray that Tallie and I can get out of this.
“My proposition is, you tell me where Vinnie is, and I won’t shoot you. If you stumble to the hospital in time, you might not even suffer long-term effects.”
“Claudio,” my mother whispers. “I don’t think he will. Like I said, I’m afraid I didn’t use enough—”
“Shut up, Trudy.” Claudio glares at me again. “How about I won’t shoot your cousin, then, hmm? Or maybe your answer can stop me from putting a bullet in your little whore’s brain instead?”
Fury heats my skin, and I rack my brain for ideas to help me get out of this. Claudio loves mind games, so in other circumstances, he might have actually let me go. But he won’t like my answer about Vinnie.
Tallie shudders in my arms, and I hold her closer. Her face is pale, and her brow is sweating. I think it’s just from pain, but I’d need to see where the bullet landed to be sure. Claudio still watches me, though, waiting for my answer.
“You want to know where Vinnie is,” I say more slowly than I need to.
