Page 6 of Blood and Lies (A Twisted Duet 1)

“It’s the eye, isn’t it?” He touched the scar on his face. “Usually, it’s the scar, but you doubted even that, such a prominent sign…until you saw the tiniest defect in my eye. A defect my twin brother didn’t have.”

I glanced down, unable to stare at him any longer. “I didn’t…he never…” I looked back up at him. “Carlo never told me he had a twin brother.”

He straightened, his eyes seeming like they were mocking me. “Like you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t.” I shook my head. “I didn’t know Carlo had a twin brother.”

The next thing I knew, he had his hand wrapped around my neck, gripping it so tight I could hardly breathe while he pushed my head painfully hard against the headboard. He brought his face inches from mine, and I could feel his hate as I stared into his eyes. I felt every ounce of his anger, his loathing…of me.

“Do not play games with me, Miss Linscott.”

“I’m not. I swear to God I didn’t know.” I pinched my eyes closed, unable to look into the darkness of his soul, feeling how his grip tightened around my throat little by little.

“You knew he was a Fattore, so how could you not know he had a twin brother?”

“He told me…” I swallowed hard, trying to suck in a breath against the strain of his grip. “Carlo told me his surname was Mancini.”

Immediately, Castello let go of my throat and stepped back. I gasped and coughed, rubbing at the ache around my neck.

“You’re lying,” he said simply.

“No, I’m not. His name is Carlo Mancini.”

He stiffened, his eyebrows slanted inward. “Is? What do you meanis?”

“His name is Carlo Mancini, not Fattore.”

For a few seconds—which seemed like hours—he just stared at me like he was trying to determine if I was crazy. Maybe I was. If someone had asked me yesterday whether I was crazy, I’d answer a very confident “no” to that question. But right now, as I stared at a man with the freakiest resemblance to Carlo, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Nice try, Miss Linscott.” He turned around, grabbed the only chair in the room, pulled it closer, and sat down, his stare pinning me in place. “I can see that your family taught you well.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about or what the hell is going on.” A tear slipped down my cheek as the panic inside me grew stronger and stronger.

He leaned back, clasping his hands in front of him. “I see you’re playing the ignorant card. Do you really think that’s going to work with me?”

“I’m not playing any damn card. I really don’t have a clue who you are or why I’m even here.”

“I already told you, I’m Carlo’s twin brother.”

“And I already told you that his surname isn’t Fattore.”

“There you go with theisn’tagain.” He sighed before shifting in his seat, placing his elbows on his knees. “I’ll give you an early warning, Miss Linscott,” he shrugged, “to help make this entire process a little less painful than it’s already going to be for you. I’m not well-known for my patience, and my level of tolerance for bullshit is really, really low. So I suggest you cut the crap and forget about fooling me with your ignorance.”

I shook my head as more tears came running down my cheeks. “Please, I’m telling you the truth. I really don’t know what you’re talking about. All I know is that Carlo told me his surname was Mancini, and he never mentioned a twin brother.”

His eyes narrowed, and his scrutinizing gaze swept over my face. “I don’t believe you.”

“Why would I lie?”

“You’re in quite the predicament, Miss Linscott. Humanity has a way to make us do whatever we need to in order to survive…which includes lying.”

I wiped away strands of hair that were stuck to my face as my desperation started to burn a hole inside my chest. “I’m not lying,” I whispered and then started sobbing. “I really don’t know what you want from me. What am I doing here?”

Abruptly, he jerked up with such force the chair skidded across the floor and tumbled over.

“You are here because you couldn’t keep your filthy hands off my brother.” The deep, hard sound of his voice made me flinch, more tears streaming down my face. “You are here because your father thinks he can play God with people’s lives and get away with it. You are here because someone needs to fucking pay for what has been taken from me and my family. And that, Miss Linscott, will have to be you.”

“Please, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

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