Page 36 of A Vendetta That Ruins

His words help calm the storm of emotion swirling like a vortex in my mind, but I’m not going to relax until I know all of our loved ones are safe. “How long before Lanah and your ma get here? Maybe we should go and get them?”

Vincenzo shakes his head. “They’re safe where they are until Saint gets here. Grab anything you need for a day or so and let’s go.”

He runs his finger along the back, looking for what I cannot tell but when he finds it, the entire wall shifts to the right, taking the rod of clothing with it as I push a few outfits and some personals into a bag on the floor.

A large safe with a digital panel sits in front of us. He places a hand on it and presses the keypad a few times before the display turns green. He turns the handle of the big steel safe and when it opens, I learn it’s far more than that. “This is unbelievable.”

He takes my hand and helps me step into the small doorway. It’s barely tall enough for me to stand up straight in with Keds on, Vincenzo’s going to have to duck all the way down this hall for sure. He grasps a flashlight from the side of the wall and hits a button and then turns to close the door behind us. “We’re sealed in. Let’s move.”

Vincenzo keeps a hand at my waist, guiding me with a hand from behind while keeping the flashlight shining out in front of us as we make our way through the tunnel. “You’re going to take a right when you come to the fork in the road.”

I don’t ask where the other path leads. I have no clue if our family ever had something as high tech as this but if Pa had it we certainly never used it, that’s for sure. We come to a door and Vincenzo’s body presses against me from behind as he puts his thumb on the digital pad.

The door opens and Lanah launches herself at us, trying to hug us and pull us into the safe room at the very same time. “Let’s get in and settled, sweetie,” Vincenzo tells his little sister, who inhales a deep breath and keeps the tears in her eyes from spilling over. “Nicolo called and told us to get to the safe room. Told us to meet you here, and that Saint will be here soon.”

Vincenzo closes the door behind him and pushes some more electronic buttons, waiting until the display turns to locked. “Ma’s here?”

She’s in one of the bedrooms resting. She’s worried about everyone right now and you know how she gets.”

Guilt that Vincenzo’s mom is worried so shortly after a heart attack floods me, rolling around in my belly churning all the same emotions as before. This is my fault. No matter what Vincenzo says, none of this family would be dealing with this if it weren’t for me. “I’m going to show Anna to our bedroom. I’ll be back.”

The contract dad signed gave me to Gallini, gave me to him fair and square. No matter that no one knew I couldn’t bear children and that he got tired of trying, even beat the hell out of me for it and left me to die. Bastian must know I’m unable to conceive. Surely Barcelo’s dad was kept in the loop, and told Bastian, which just confirms what I’ve always thought. Bastian doesn’t want me for any other reason than to torture and torment.

A firm arm wraps around my shoulder. “Breathe, princessa. Tell me you still trust me.”

It’s hard to choke out over the emotion. “I trust you. I’m just so sorry about this whole mess. It really is my fault.”

“The Gallinis created this mess in their need for power. Many of our kind marry for territory or power and do just fine. They don’t all beat their future wives to within an inch of their lives and kill any chance they have of bearing children. The man is a fucking monster, and I won’t continue having you even consider giving yourself over to a prick like that, capisce? Finito!”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry I let you think that but at the time I just couldn’t talk about it. Barcelo Gallini was a bastard but he did not take my chance of having children from me.” A tear runs down my face. “I just can’t conceive for some reason. He hurt me, almost killed me, but he would never have hurt his chances to become the father of a Cassone. That’s all he ever wanted, not me.”

35

Vincenzo

My arms go around my fearless princessa. If I could make everything bad that’s ever happened to her go away I would. “You’re mine to protect now, princess, nothing bad is going to happen to you on my watch. I love you, Anna.”

My jaw is clenched tight as I leave Anna tucked in to rest. This whole situation is stressing her out to the point that I’m worried she may try to run right into the danger that we’re trying to protect her from, again.

I check on Lanah, but at that time Saint walks through the door. I shake hands with him. “Stay with Lanah. I need to connect with Nicolo.” I close the door to a small makeshift office and get my brother on the line. “I spoke with Massimo not long ago, he’s taking Sophia underground.”

Nicolo exhales a breath. “What happened? He’s not going into hiding unless something went wrong. He’s got great security and drone systems all over the Jersey Shore.”

“Apparently, Addie has inside information. Denato, her connected client, told her Bastian is planning to take someone to exchange for Anna, but the bastard didn’t give her a name.”

“Fucker.”

“I’m trying my hardest to understand if there’s another angle, something we’ve missed, Nicolo. Anna told me that she simply can’t bear children, no fault of Barcelo’s. How does having Anna in his life or under his control help Bastian Gallini?”

My eyes close trying to recall all the details that we know, something we may have missed. Maybe we’ve been thinking about this all wrong. He has to want something more than a vendetta of ruin. I know he can be vicious, but his father also still sits at the helm, Bastian isn’t running the shots. What does Anna have that the elder Gallinis want, because it’s no longer a child. What reason would be so sound that it would give the Gallini elders justification to back his obsession with getting her back to the level of going to war?

In our world it comes down to three things. Money, power, or love and the third is off the table. Money and power would only come from the estate that she now owns but old man Cassone had sold off so much of his businesses already, the frailer he got the more he sold. I put in a call to a guy I’ve known for a long time. “I need a favor, and I need it fast.”

“Whatever you need.”

“I need you to look into the records of the Cassone estate. Send me a list of everything that was willed to his daughters, or anyone else for that matter. All his assets, how they got transferred upon death, everything, and Cipher, I need this one asap.”

“I’ve got you, boss. I’ll get back to you soon.”