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“I’m fine, baby. But you need to listen to me carefully. I need you to leave the academy right now and go to your aunt’s place. Don’t ask questions, just go.”
“Sorry,” Cesare says. “Benito hung up.”
The corner of my mouth lifts into a smirk. Benito would never hurt an innocent schoolgirl, even under orders. Young Verona is perfectly safe. I only need to frighten Dominic enough to loosen his tongue.
“I’ll kill you,” he snarls and jerks against his restraints.
“Why did you strangle Emberly?” I ask.
“Fuck you.”
I turn to Cesare. “Call Benito. This time, I want to hear Verona scream.”
“Wait,” Dominic says, his voice rising with panic. “A man representing Sam Capello came to my house two nights ago and dropped a hundred grand in cash, offering me a million for the hit.”
“Did he explain why?”
He shakes his head. “Only that I needed to get her alone by saying I knew her parents.”
“And who are they?” I ask.
“Some woman called Lena Kay who ran from New Alderney while she was pregnant with Emberly and kept moving around. He didn’t tell me about her father, only that he was very important and dead.”
I nod. Samson wouldn’t be stupid enough to divulge that my houseguest would become an heiress upon his untimely demise, otherwise anyone who thought they had a chance with Emberly would be after his head.
“How long have you been working for the Capello family?” I ask.
“I haven’t,” he blurts. “It was one job that would set my daughter up for life. I’ve never worked for them before.”
“Roman?” Cesare asks.
I run a hand through my hair. The most important thing is that Emberly doesn’t know about her inheritance.
“See if you can get the truth. I want names of anyone who’s even remotely compromised, as well as information on Samson’s location.”
Dominic groans a protest, but I’m no longer interested.
“Do I keep him alive?” Cesare asks.
“Yes,” I reply through clenched teeth. “Every motherfucker living under my roof or working in my inner circle needs to know the consequences of betrayal. And for touching what’s mine.”
I stride out of the interrogation room with Dominic’s screams ringing through my ears. Emberly will be awake soon, and I don’t want her feeling abandoned.
If she gets enough time alone, she might start unraveling the lies.
TWENTY-FOUR
EMBERLY
My throat burns, my chest pulls tighter than a corset, and every muscle in my body aches from struggling against Dominic’s overwhelming strength.
Everything hurts, including my head, which pounds in time to the beat of my pulse. I can’t process anything other than his final words.
Sam sends his regards.
The memory of his hands around my neck, his hot breath on my face, and his malicious grin burns into my vision, as does a kaleidoscope of memories related to Jim. I jerk, but a pair of strong arms hold me in place.
It’s Roman.
