Page 54 of Vengeful Vows

“He murdered my sister.” Marse’s words are flat, emotionless.

Frantically I shake my head.No. That’s not what happened.

“He destroyed my family. My sister’s death killed my parents. My father followed Lucia into the grave, laid there by a broken heart two years after her death.” A pulse thumps in his temple. “And my mother couldn’t go on without them.”

He’s never been more frightening than he is in this moment, and acid is churning in me as the vortex spins faster.

“Your family—Alessandro—owes me a blood debt.”

I no longer recognize Marcello—Nico,I forcibly tell myself.

His lips set in a grim line, Nico reaches across the table and strokes my engagement ring. The touch is soft, and the action scares me.

I yank my hand away.

When he speaks again, his words ring with terrifying finality. “And you, Bella, are going to pay it with your body and your heart.”

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

Bella

No,no, no!A thousand timesno.

My world shatters, and the shards arrow into my heart as I realize the man I’ve fallen in love with doesn’t exist. He’s an awful stranger who’s using me as a weapon of revenge against my brother.

From the beginning, all Nico’s lovely words and actions have been a devastating lie.

Simultaneously I burn with anger and am frozen to my bones, and the need to get away from him consumes me.

I push back from the table with frantic haste, standing so quickly that my chair topples, crashing to the floor.

“Bella!” Nico calls, rising, his hand extended. “Wait.”

“So you can hurt me more?” Trembling, I snatch up my purse, but then the massive diamond in my engagement ring refracts the overhead light, making a mockery of everything I thought we shared.

Choking on a hysterical sob, I wrench off the symbol of his manipulation and forcibly throw the expensive piece of jewelry on the table, uncaring when it bounces and falls off the other side.

Then I flee, running through the restaurant without stopping to look where I’m going.

I blaze past servers before I shove open the front door.

Sergio—the blasted man—looms in front of me on the sidewalk, arms folded, expression fierce. It’s almost as if he’s expecting me.

When I all but plow into him, he grabs my shoulders.

“Get your hands off me!” Though I yank myself away from him, I’m unsure how far I can run. After all, Nico has woven a terrible web around me, one I can never escape.

I no longer even have my own home.

Maybe a hotel? Or…Amelia’s!

Thankfully there’s a valet stand, so I hurry over, telling the woman there that I need a ride.

“I can call a taxi for you, but there’s a big concert in town tonight, so it could take a while to arrive.”

I don’t have long. Maybe not even two minutes.

Between Nico and Sergio, I might be trapped.

---