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I nod because I can guess where this is going.
“My father felt betrayed by her. I don’t doubt they loved each other, but I think my father loved the aristocratic lifestyle more. Eventually, he ran out of money and started to steal from the warehouse. It didn’t take long for Lucian to figure it out. They keep surprisingly accurate books for such a large criminal organization. Lucian was going to kill him, but—”
“Your father offered him you in trade for his life.”
“I’m simply part of the transaction. Alessio is set to run the family after Lucian steps down, but I think being promised to him instead of Marcello had more to do with the fact that I don’t think Lucian or Alessio fully trusted the younger Severino. He was a lit fuse, unpredictable.”
I think about what she’s told me. “Your father will be dead before the ink dries on the marriage certificate.”
She doesn’t look surprised by my words. She doesn’t look sad or concerned.
“I know. I think that’s why my father insisted that I don’t marry until I have access to the money. He’s been trying to get back in their good graces, but once you betray them—”
“You’re as good as dead,” I interrupt, knowing this is how she sees herself.
I took her, ensuring that she’s going to be another one of their victims.
“How long do you think you’ll survive after your marriage?”
Her lips form a flat line, but I can tell this is a question she’s asked herself. She doesn’t seem surprised by it. She has known for a while that she isn’t going to last forever with them.
“Even if Marcello wasn’t killed, I think Alessio would’ve spent a while torturing me. As long as I could manage tears, I think they would keep me alive. They’d kill me when they were done with me. They’d probably pass me around to their men, and after being tainted by them, I’d be useless.”
She gives me a weak smile, as if thinking of her own death is an everyday occurrence for her.
I’m grateful for the distraction this conversation with her has given me, but I hate the way my gut turns at thinking of her ending up with Alessio. Even if it was a marriage that was sustained over the years and he never laid another finger on her, I hate the image that it brings to my head.
Chapter 16
Madelene
He grew silent after I told him how I ended up with the Severino family. I think he’d slit my father’s throat if he were given the chance, but I can’t let his anger at my abuse muddle my head. The man is a killer just like the men he stole me from. His moral compass may be a little more finely tuned, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he could kill me as easily as they could. Hell, he could demand my hand in marriage in an effort to steal my family’s money for himself. This little house doesn’t exactly scream that he’s rolling in cash.
I look around the tiny shower I’m standing in, wishing the water would get just a little warmer, as if the heat will ease the ache still in my shoulders from being tied up for so long.
He grew silent after I explained, and he didn’t ask me further questions about the family, but I know it will be a short-lived reprieve. He wants to know all of it, and surprisingly, I plan to answer every single question he asks. I have no hope of survival if I end up back with Alessio. Maybe this man is crazy enough to cause enough of a disturbance that I can disappear forever.
He seemed reluctant to allow me in here, as if imagining me getting comfortable in his space made his skin crawl, but eventually he nodded after I asked him if I could shower.
The door is locked, but it’s a false sense of security. I know that he could easily open the door by simply ramming his shoulder against it.
I know what all men are capable of. The look in some of the Severino guards’ eyes told me that the only thing keeping them from raping me was the threat Alessio was to them. This man has no such loyalty to the family. There’s nothing stopping him but his own principles, and I’m not so sure the man has any.
I use the three-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and body gel, making a point to scrub every inch of my body. I got most of Julio’s blood that I could off me when I came in here first thing this morning, but I still felt sticky with it. It took hours of sitting at the tiny table before I managed to gather the courage to ask him to shower. The day dragged by with me waiting for his next move and him seemingly lost in thought as he stared out the window, as if the view had the power to answer his questions and solve his problems.
