It was easy to believe Franco’s attitude toward Letti had been similar, and if she’d had an affair, borne someone else’s child, and that man had come to take Gia away and expose it all, Franco wouldn’t have hesitated to eliminate the threat to his image.
Several hours later,Gia brought her food to the kitchen to throw away. “Hi, Mary.” She smiled at one of the housekeepers. “Seems quiet around here.”
The older woman nodded seriously. “Everyone cleared out. The girls and I won’t know what to do without the usual interruptions. Shall I heat dinner for you?”
“No, that’s okay, thanks. Marc brought me food.”
Mary pretended she hadn’t seen Gia throw the food away. “Very good. Let me know if you change your mind.” She slipped out of the room.
Gia headed to the library. It seemed lying around all day had been enough to rid her of the worst of last night’s effects. She wasn’t even tired as she selected a few books and returned to the hall, looking up and down to make sure the coast was clear.
She passed the gym and opened the door to the garage. The one with the SUVs, not the sports cars. But a ride wasn’t the reason Gia was here.
Glancing over her shoulder one more time and seeing no one, she hurried to a storage bench at the side of the room. After opening a few drawers, she found what she needed and grabbed it.
Her heart raced, and she quickly selected a set of keys from the line of hooks to unlock the SUV Salvator always drove her around in. She opened the back door, found the bag she’d left behind yesterday, and stowed her items inside.
“Gia?” a deep voice called.
Her heart skipped, but she didn’t flinch. She could thank her father for her poker face. Masking emotion was a necessary survival skill growing up around here.
“Hi, Salvator.” Gia closed the car door and feigned a tired smile in his direction.
He loomed in the doorway, arms crossed over his singlet,gold chains gleaming. Combined with dyed jet-black hair, gelled to within an inch of its life, he was a walking stereotype.
Salvator scanned the garage. “What are you doing?”
“Forgot my bag.” Gia raised it in the air for his inspection.
He grunted, and his assessing gaze relaxed. “You should be resting.”
Gia grabbed the books she’d placed on the roof of the car. “I know, but I needed something to read. Then I remembered my bag. I’m heading upstairs now.”
“Good.”
Gia kept her face blank as she crossed the room, her movements slow but not so exaggerated that they’d make Salvator suspicious.
When she reached the doorway, Salvator took the key from her and stepped out of the way, allowing her to pass. He didn’t follow, and once she escaped his scrutiny, some of her tension eased, but she didn’t dare to pick up her pace.
In her bedroom, Gia turned on some music and locked herself in the bathroom. She pulled the burner phone and new prepaid SIM card out of her bag and tore open the plastic casings.
How many times had she seen her father’s men grab phones from that drawer? She never thought she’d need one.
Maybe she should have known better.
Once the phone was set up and plugged in to charge, Gia ran the bath. She didn’t really think Salvator or anyone was outside her bedroom door listening, but everything about today made her paranoid.
With the water running, she called the number the lawyer had left in his voicemail.
“Hello, Edward Ramirez speaking,” said a familiar voice.
“It’s Gianna.” She glared at herself in the mirror. Fuck, shelooked like she’d pulled an all-nighter partying, not passed out with a debilitating headache.
“Gianna, thank you for returning my call. Is this a better number to reach you on?”
She chewed her lip. “Sure. What documentation do you have?”
“Regarding your father, Jeffrey?” He paused, but she didn’t respond. “I have photos of him and your mother. A photo of all three of you. Letters from your mother, sent to Jeffrey. Things of that nature.”
