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I am so ashamed of my past and what I did to survive it and then I’m shocked when a low growl makes it way out from deep inside my captor and he rasps, “Your sister is a fucking bitch, and she will pay for what she did to you. I promise you that at least.”
Then he drags my face to his and the flashing revenge in his eyes almost makes me fear for my sister—almost.
“I will kill them both and you will be free of them forever. Help me bring them down and you earn your freedom with enough money to be set for life.”
“How?” I’m shocked because how on earth can I bring those people down? And Domenico stares deep into my eyes and hisses, “By becoming Diana.”
CHAPTER12
DOM
The rage that burns so hot inside me drove me to find the one woman who can give me the answers I seek. Mario’s name set off a chain reaction that I am still struggling to deal with. When I learned Diana had brought her brother to live with her after I left, I never thought much of it. Then the stories began to filter back to me of a bastard soul who deserved his place by my father’s side.
It appears that Diana always intended on driving us out and installing her twisted lover in our place and my father was so besotted with her he couldn’t say no. I’m not a fool and I’m guessing this was probably her plan all along and when Flora sobbed out her story, fear gripped my heart and squeezed it tightly. I left my own fucking sister with those monsters, and I can’t shake the dreadful realization I played a part in her death.
Eliza ran away soon after we left and now I know why. It was because of Diana and Mario, and hearing Flora’s tale makes me wonder if history repeated itself. I was blinded by rage and regret that I never saved my sister because she perished along with my father when their super-yacht exploded in Dubai.
Eliza was innocent. She had run and my father was arranging her retrieval. It’s why they were there, an exchange if you like, and yet they never made it off the boat. Two family members dead because of two rotten souls and if I was closer to my brothers, I would ask for their help.
But I’m not and it’s all because of one woman. Diana Corlietti.
When I left Pasquale to dispose of Eddie’s body and clean up the chamber, I had only one thing on my mind. To punish Flora for her sister’s sins and send her back to her in pieces. Eddie’s story painted a picture with Flora in the starring role and I thought she was the enemy sent to bring me down.
Then I heard her story, and any fool could see she wasn’t faking the pain and in that moment, I knew what I had to do. Flora is as much a victim as the rest of us and as she spoke, a plan began to formulate in my mind. To defeat the enemy, you need to always be one step ahead of them and we are running to catch up. However, Flora will be the one to bring her sister and stepbrother down if it’s the last thing I ever do.
Flora is waiting for a response and as I turn, I see the fear in her eyes, and it unnerves me a little. She is so like her sister it’s confusing my emotions and as she stares through those beautiful pain-filled eyes, I want to chase that fear away.
I loved Diana, but it’s amazing how quickly love can turn to hate and yet as I cup Flora’s face in my hand, the emotion surges through me like a dam bursting.
It’s as if all those emotions are now shifting onto her and I don’t even register that I’m streaked with another man’s blood. A man that I killed in cold blood and never gave it a second thought. Now I’m experiencing a different emotion and after hearing her story and watching the fear mix with resignation in her eyes, I do something alien to me and whisper, “You’re safe with me, Flora. I won’t hurt you.”
I’m not even sure she believes me because her eyes flicker with disbelief and she probably expects me to be like everybody else. I don’t blame her for that and so I reach for the fur throw on the end of the bed and wrap it around her shivering shoulders.
“I’ll take care of you, baby girl. You’re safe with me.”
“Am I?” Her lower lip trembles and I suppose she’s right not to trust me, and I nod with a determination that’s alien to me.
“I don’t want to be like Mario or her. I am better than that and can tell you’ve been used along with the rest of us.”
“Us?” She appears confused and the ache in my heart is growing by the second when I think of my sister who was the only innocent one caught up in all of this.
“I had a sister.” My low growl comes from nowhere and it surprises me more than her. She says nothing, but the air is tense between us, and I should leave it there, but something is compelling me to unburden this grief onto her.
“Eliza. She was the same age as you.”
“You say was. What happened?”
Flora’s sweet gentle voice washes over me like balm and I sigh heavily. “She lived with us and when Diana moved in, I was happy she had someone her own age to hang out with.”
“I’m sorry.” Flora hangs her head because she knows what’s coming and I growl, “Diana turned us all against her. Made out Eliza was causing her trouble and plotting to get rid of her. I’m ashamed to say, along with my brothers, we thought more of Diana than Eliza and made her life a misery because of what Diana told us.”
A small hand creeps into mine and she whispers, “She’s good at that. Don’t blame yourself or your brothers for something my sister did.”
Just this gentle act of kindness melts a little piece of my frozen heart and, as a piece falls revealing a jagged edge, it sharpens the pain. I take a deep breath and whisper huskily, “Eliza ran away after soon we left. My father was angry and searched the globe for her, but she remained hidden for well over a year until he heard she was under the protection of the Karim family in Dubai. A meeting was arranged in exchange for information my father had on the mafia king and when he went to collect, they were blown to fucking hell.”
Flora’s shocked gasp reminds me she’s here because I’m so deep in my own thoughts I forgot that for a second.
I turn and gaze into her astonishing eyes that are brimming with compassion, and my breath hitches. She is so beautiful, so fragile, an innocent caught in the middle of a turbulent storm with nowhere to shelter. In this moment, I hate myself and so I lower my voice and whisper gently, “Together we will make them pay for what they have done to us, and every innocent person caught up in their despicable world. Will you help me, Flora—please?”
