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I’d seen Elio upset before, but the anguish on his face almost brought me to my knees. I hated that I had to be the one to cause him such pain.
“Start talking,” he nearly growled.
“I’m so sorry, Elio, but it’s true. I found Anja, the young girl who was planted in her house. She was barely alive on my bed. Noemi shot her, I tried to help her, but it was too late. Then Noemi came in. She had a gun and a candle, and she set fire to my room. She’s the one who burned down the house.”
His face went white, and I rushed to show him I understood his pain and disbelief. “I know. I couldn’t believe what was happening either. What she was saying. She was crazed. She said Mama had killed Theo, which, by the way, is true. That’s another thing.” I shook my head, getting my thoughts back on track. “She said she was doing it for her sons and that there couldn’t be any more loose ends. I only just managed to get out, but it was close.”
Elio didn’t blink. He just stared at me as he digested everything I’d shared. I knew it was a lot, but I didn’t want to keep anything unsaid between us anymore. I had to let it all out. I stopped speaking then and studied his face. Just when I thought he was going to blow, he grabbed the sides of my head and kissed me hard. Then he pressed his forehead to mine, and we stood there a moment.
“We’re going to get through this.” His voice was gentle, and I took a breath.
“I know we are.” I didn’t miss a beat. I needed him to know I was strong enough to take whatever hits would come our way. “Elio, I know you want to act, but Noemi is the only link to so many unanswered questions. I think we should pretend like nothing’s happened, like I never told you any of this. Who cares if she believes it or not? I mean, the fact that the family hasn’t kicked her out or worse means she still thinks she has a chance of getting away with it. We must keep this quiet, just for now. She’s been talking to Rosa Coppola, so if we act like normal, she might lead us right to her.”
“All right.” He stood straight and stepped away as he rubbed his lips in thought. “I see what you’re saying, and if even for my cousin’s sake, I agree we need to tread very carefully here. This’ll get ugly very quickly. But for now, we need you behind Capri gates. We also need to find a way around Nonna Greta.”
“What if we tell Greta what happened? Maybe she’ll see I’m not trying to hurt your family. I’m doing the exact opposite.”
“No, she wouldn’t believe it. She can’t see past who your father was. We need something bigger.” His hands dropped as he slowly turned to look at me.
“What?”
“You know you deserve the world, right?”
“Ahh?”
“You know that after everything that’s happened up to this very moment right here that I’ve always loved you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, good.”
“I’m not following.”
“Grab your things, Bella. We have a celebration to plan.” He grinned and swung me around.
* * *
Vinni’s gaze flicked to me from the rearview mirror. I could feel his nerves from the back seat.
“I promise you, Nonna is far from the house. Piero made sure of it.” He finally said something as we pulled into the wrap-around driveway and parked.
“I feel like I should be wearing a mask or something,” I joked to Vinni when he opened the car door for me at the Hill House. Though I was looking forward to this evening after spending the last couple of days hidden away in Elio’s house, I felt vulnerable out in the open. I would hate to be snatched up and sold to the highest bidder at this point.
“You have my word that Elio has everything under control.” He helped me out of the car. “That is until he sees you in that.” He grinned.
I smiled down at the green silk dress. It dove down into a deep V in the front, and the fabric draped gracefully down the length of my body from the gathers at the shoulders. A sexy slash stopped just inches from the top of my leg. I had paired a set of green beaded earrings so they would dangle from under my tumbling-curled hair and added dramatic green eye shadow to bring out my eyes. All my efforts had paid off when Andrea dropped in to see me earlier this afternoon. She had clapped her hands and smiled her approval.
“Well, you did say as a Donna I needed to make a statement.”
“You look spectacular,” She hugged me close then eyed me with one of her motherly looks. “How are you feeling?”
“All things considered, I’m doing fine.”
“I’m very pleased to hear that, Sienna. You’ve been through a lot. Our family knows how important it is to watch our mental health. Bad thoughts can creep in out of nowhere, especially at times like these, so be sure to check in with me whenever you need to talk. I’m always here for you.”
“Thank you.” I hugged her again, incredibly pleased that Elio’s mother was nothing like Elenora. Andrea was a hugger, and so was I.
Now standing with Vinni outside Hill House, I took a deep breath and knew I was ready for whatever I needed to face inside.
