Page 48 of Let Vengeance Be Mine

“I’m askingyouto tell me.” I act on high emotion and impulse when I clutch her throat in my hands and stare into her eyes.

“Don’t youdareinterfere,” I tell Matteo’s guard when I catch a glimpse of him moving toward me from the corner of my eye.

A cramp in the base of my stomach forces me to close my eyes and squeeze Menika’s neck a little tighter, but it passes after a few seconds and I quickly get back to focusing on her.

“There was an accident about two years ago, Matteo lost his girlfriend and their unborn child.” I release her from my grip so I can stand on my feet, resting my hand on the table while I try to get all my thoughts in check.

What I’m hearing can’t be true. Matteo has never mentioned anything about a dead ex, or another baby. Just yesterday he told me I was the only woman he’s ever loved.

“I’m taking over here. We need more men in the foyer….Aria.” I look up when I hear my name and see Demitri racing toward me. The guard he just spoke to scurries away and when I look up at him I can tell straight away that something’s wrong.

“Did you know about this?” I ask, clutching my stomach and reminding myself to stay calm. Though it’s hard to do when I suddenly feel trapped in a web of lies.

“Aria, we have to leave.” Demitri’s voice sounds panicked as he grabs my elbow.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me if what she’s saying is true.” I rip my elbow out of his hands.

“What? What has she said to you?” He frowns at Menika impatiently, his eyes scanning the door he just walked through, like he’s on edge.

“She told me that Matteo was expecting a child with another woman and that he lost them both.” I narrow my eyes, daring him to try lying to me.

“Aria, we really have to leave. Matteo needs me to take you somewhere safe.”

“Tell me!” I feel the tears building in my eyes as the betrayal sinks in.

“It’s true, and I'll explain everything, but first you have to let me get you somewhere safe. Please.” There's a desperation in his eyes that I’ve never seen before.

“What’s happened?” In spite of my anger, I focus on what he’s been trying to say, something must have gone wrong. And I see no signs of Matteo.

“Where’s Matteo?” I start to panic. It doesn’t matter that I’m hurting, or mad at him. I need him and he’s not here. Worse still, there's a chance he could be in danger.

“Aria, we have to go, come on!” Demitri takes a firmer hold of me and starts dragging me around the side of the house into darkness, and when I look back at Menika she shakes her head at me, in confusion, before heading back inside.

“Demitri, you need to tell me what's happened. Where is Matteo?” He remains silent as he leads me to a car that's parked out of view, behind Vivian Romano’s huge garage.

“Matteo had an escape plan organized just in case something went wrong. This is the escape plan,” he eventually tells me, opening the passenger door and leaving me no choice but to get inside.

MATTEO

“Do you want to explain to me what thefuckis going on?” Stevan Fucchini sounds fuming. Despite all my own anger, I manage to remain calm when I close the door to my father’s old office and take a seat behind his desk.

“I should kill you!” he snarls at me through his teeth, and I say nothing, just stare the evil bastard right in his eyes.

“But you won’t. Innocent women and unborn babies are much more your style,” I point out, waiting for him to show some form of reaction.

“What are you talking about, Matteo?” He shakes his head, impatiently. “We both know you marrying my daughter and knocking her up with the next Romano heir, is your version of a very distasteful joke. I’ve been out of my mind with worry. It’s almost been a fucking year!”

“Don’t give me bullshit, we both know your daughter is nothing to you. Just a pawn. You were going to marry her to the wrinkly, old bastard. You were going to sacrifice her chance of happiness for your own gain,” I tell him, feeling all the rage, I'm trying to hold off, building stronger.

“Every father has to make arrangements for their daughter, you know that. It’s how our world works. Dennis wouldn’t have lasted many more years. He had no heirs. When he died she would have inherited everything.”

“And why would she need to? She is the daughter of thegreatStevan Fucchini.” I throw my hands in the air sarcastically, and when his eyes drop to the floor, I get the impression something isn’t right.

“Not anymore.” There's a disgruntled look on his face when he pulls his eyes back up to mine.

“What are you talking about?” I shake my head in confusion.

“I’ve lost it all,” he mutters under his breath. “I made some judgment errors. I relied on the wrong people. For years now, I have been steering a sinking ship.” He leaves his pride on the fucking table and suddenly looks completely different from the man who stormed in here, after me.

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