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“You’re still my daughter, Aria,” he answers. “I like to keep track of what’s important to me.”
“How dare you speak about me as if I am some kind of possession?” I bark. “I am flesh and blood. I have my own heart, and my own mind, and it ismewho chooses who I spend my time with. Stop doing this. If you really love me, then let me go and end all this.”
He is silent for some time and I realize that I have misunderstood him entirely. It’s precisely as he said. This has nothing to do with love, it has everything to do with the principle of the thing. It is his ego that has done this, to protect nothing more than his pride, and nothing can ever change that.
“Tell you what,” he says, leaning forward. “You can come back here. You can have whatever your heart desires. I won’t stop you, I won’t follow you, I won’t even keep track of your spending. You just have to do one thing for me.”
It’s so absurd that I scoff. “You have to be kidding.”
“Make a statement saying that he kidnapped you, and held you there against your will,” he says. “Make this easier on all of us.”
“I willneverdo that,” I say with a scowl. “I am nothing like you. He has done nothing wrong.”
“I don’t think you understand,” my father says. “The option is not whether or not he goes to jail, or whether or not you say something … The option is whether or not you get your freedom.”
His words strike me like a blow to the face. He isusingme to play this sick game. It strikes me now that I have never truly known the man that sits before me now. He is a stranger to me. He always has been.
“I won’t be any part of this,” I say.
“You will change your mind,” he laughs.
“Don’t be so certain.”
My father leans back in his chair and makes himself comfortable. He looks at me for some time and I can see that he is disappointed in me, but I don’t care.
“Take her and lock her away until she has changed her mind,” he says bluntly.
I don’t even have the chance to argue before, suddenly, multiple hands wrap around my arms. I look at my father in disbelief as they start to pull me from my chair.
“You can’t do this!” I shout. “I am your daughter! You can’t do this!”
No matter how much I kick and struggle, I cannot break free from their grip. It is only when we make it to the other end of the mansion, where I am pushed into one of the guest suites, that I am free of them. And not even a second later, the door to the suite is slammed closed and I hear the click of the lock being turned.
Chapter 14
Edoardo
Ibreathedeeply,hopingthat this meditative state calms me down enough to make it through another day in this cell. My knuckles sting as the cool air washes over the skin that has split. I have slammed my fists into these walls a few more times since I threw the first round of punches. I’m not sure how much more my hands can take.
From time to time, the guards come in to hurt me, cracking their batons against my ribs. When I breathe, I feel the ache of the bruises on my body. It won’t be long until my mind is the only thing left intact, but that will only be the case if I take care not to lose it.
I try to think of all the things that usually calm me down, but all I can think about is Aria. The more I think about her, the angrier I get about everything that has happened. The silence in this jail will drive me nuts. They’ve moved me into the farthest cell from every other overnighter that’s been arrested for drunk driving or being disorderly in a bar.
Being locked in this cell alone, with nobody to talk to, has me convinced that I am losing my mind.
“You don’t look so good,” a familiar voice interrupts me.
I am so happy to see Mattia on the other side of the prison bars, that I might just pull him closer and kiss him on the head.
“It’s good to see your face,” I say instead as I get up to my feet. “How did you know I was here?”
“It’s been all over the news since the story broke an hour or so ago,” he explains. “There’s pictures of you in the damn handcuffs floating around everywhere. They’re saying you kidnapped Aria and kept her stashed on your island.”
A knot forms in my stomach. I know it is Gabriele that leaked it to the press. He’s pulling out all the stops, and trial by media seems to be one of them.
“I’m surprised they let you through to see me,” I say, shaking my head.
“Well, with the news crews arriving to try and get an interview, the precinct can’t get away with its usual shady business. You’re allowed visitors by law,” he says. “So, it really wasn’t all that difficult in the end. They did strip me of my shoes, watch, and phone, though.”
