Page 127 of Beautiful Desire

He killed someone.

Bile rises in my throat at the thought that the man in front of me could be capable of such a thing. The man who’s haunted my thoughts and dreams every day for the past year and a half. Thefatherof my child. How could he? My mind whirls with confusion and uncertainty.

“I know you won’t understand, but I knew Mass would. He wanted me to get out of there just as much as I wanted it for him, and if I couldn’t save both of us, then I had to at least try to save myself. Later that night, I tried convincing Bianca to run, but she refused. She didn’t want to leave him.” Tears gather in his eyes as he turns his attention to Melinda. “After all these years, I’m glad to know you got out.”

My brows furrow in confusion. “Dom, what are you talking about? This is Melinda, the nanny I hired to look after Lily.”

“Elle, this is Bianca, Massimo’s mom,” he says matter-of-factly as the room falls into an eerie silence.

“What? No, she’s Melinda.” Looking over at her, I reiterate the story she told me when we first met. “You married your high school sweetheart, and then found out you couldn’t have kids. That’s what you said. That’s what you told me.”

My attention is fully on Melinda, waiting for her to confirm what she told me. When she doesn’t, a shiver runs down my spine.

“I’m so sorry I lied to you, Elle.”

No. No, this can’t be happening.

“When I arrived in America, I had to create a life before I moved here so that Guil—Don Bianchi couldn’t find me. I had to make it believable so I could blend in like a regular person.”

This is information overload. I don’t even know how to process this. Everything is so jumbled in my head.

“Bu-but what does Melinda have to do with Nero?”

Dom and Melinda look at one another, holding each other’s gaze. Dom turns so that his full attention and focus is on me.

“Nero is my cousin. His father and my father were brothers. Nero’s dad was the eldest, and the head of the Cosa Nostra. That is, until he died and my father took over. Papa never did seem overly sad at the loss of his brother. He loved the power and control he had once he was the don. My father treated Nero and his mother like they were less than us after my uncle’s death. The morning after Fabi and Gia’s wedding, I received a phone call telling me they were coming to get me. If I had any chance of getting away, I had to leave immediately. Unfortunately, it was already too late. I hadn’t made it very far from Sofia’s villa before they got me.”

He reaches out and takes my right hand in his and holds on tight, as if I’m his lifeline.

“He captured me and kept me in Italy as his slave for the entire year I was gone. I knew I had to try to get out. He wanted to take down my father and take hisrightful placeas the head of the Cosa Nostra, and he decided I was the best candidate to help. He bought the company under my name and made me go through with the sale and filter money through the client accounts to his offshore account. He wanted me to kill Fabi so he would have one less competitor and gain more power when he went after my papa.” His thumb strokes my hand gently as he talks.

This whole thing feels like a bad dream. How can this be happening?

“He had footage of my initiation and was blackmailing me with it, until Fabi had everything deleted so he couldn’t use it against me anymore. I may hate my father and what he stands for, but I already had blood on my hands I didn’t want. My father’s blood, though, is something I’m not sure I could carry the burden of. That day you met him in my office was the day I told him it was over.Done. He had nothing to hold over me anymore. The second Nero saw you walking through my door, Iknewit wouldn’t end well...”

His hand squeezes mine, and I hear the sound of his teeth grinding together as he speaks about that day.

“I knew he would be interested in you, and I knew once he saw how protective I was of you, he would hold on to that. The day he bumped into you was the same day I found out he was still in the city. I knew he was planning something. I just didn’t know what. Trust me, fiore, if I had known about Lily before this, I would have done everything in my power to protecther. To protectyou. He took Lily to use her as blackmail to try to get me to kill Fabi.”

Turning his head back to look at Fabi, he says, “You know I would have killed you if I had to, right?”

Fabi smirks at his question and replies in a bored tone. “I’d like to see to try, fratello.”

Shaking his head, Dom comes back to me. “I know you’ve been through a lot today and this isa lotto take in just now, but I had to tell you. I couldn’t keep it from you anymore.”

Finally finding my voice, I ask, “Well, where is Nero now, and how did you get Lily back without killing Fabi?”

My eyes bounce between Fabi and Dom. It’s only then I notice the condition Fabi is in. His white dress shirt is torn, and he’s covered in a red substance that looks like…

I can feel my face paling as I hope and pray Dom didn’t injure Fabi. I’m trying to wrap my head around him killing his best friend. Shooting Fabi, or injuring him in any way, right now…I’m not sure I could handle that.

“Okay, so what exactly did you guys do, then?” Gia asks, looking just as confused as I am.

“When Nero first told me that he wanted me to kill Fabi, I knew I couldn’t do it. He’s been the closest thing to family I’ve had over the past twenty years,” Dom states as they look at one another, giving each other a knowing grin. “When I came to Fab and told him what Nero wanted me to do, he told me we had to come up with a plan. Initially, I said no, that I couldn’t put him at risk like that. I didn’t trust Nero not to take him out himself instead of me. Guess I was right not to trust him on that.”

Gia jumps up and turns her body toward her husband. “What the hell does he mean by that? I thought it was fake blood.”

Lifting his hand, Fabi strokes Gia’s arm, soothing her.

---