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Then I remember my friend Clarice and gasp, “Clarice!”
“Who?”
Matteo is confused, and I whisper ungently. “My best friend. She was here, and they were torturing her. Do you think she’s…?”
I can’t even say the word and Matteo calls out, “Search this fucking place from top to bottom. If you find anyone, bring them here.”
The remaining soldiers jump to attention and head off, sweeping this place for bodies, dead or alive.
I catch sight of Cesare holding Stephanie closer and Matteo follows my gaze and smiles when he sees the emotion on his friend’s face.
“You said Diana was here.” I interrupt the tender moment and wish I hadn’t when his face clouds with rage.
“She brought us here, and I’m guessing it was for this reason. She wanted Mario gone, and we were her best shot at making it happen.”
Stephanie looks across and says loudly, “Diana told me what to do when Abigail arrived.”
We turn to stare at her in shock as Cesare says softly, “Tell us, baby.”
She nods, smiling up at him with a look of happiness that brings tears to my eyes and as we step closer, she says in her soft voice, “When Mario brought me here, it wasn’t only to clean for him. I was one of many girls he abducted off the street to use in his sick fantasies.”
From the expression on Cesare’s face, it’s a good job Mario’s dead already and Stephanie sighs heavily. “Diana was no better. They used us and made us do things I can’t even form the words to describe. Parties mainly with men like Mario and Diana was the perfect hostess. He soon started getting wilder, darker, and the games began to change. He dreamed up this Dark Lords shit, and we had to perform in his ceremonies. If we tried to escape, that girl was the next one chained to the stone altar and her life was dragged out in the coldest and most callous way.”
She shivers and whispers, “It was easier to go along with him. It would be over, and he would leave, sometimes for weeks at a time. During his absence, we were all locked on the top floor of the house where there were no windows and only enough food to last until he returned.”
Matteo mutters, “I wish we had made it more painful for the sick fucking bastard.”
Cesare nods, looking sick and emotional as he reaches for Stephanie’s hand.
“It surprised me when Diana pulled me aside the last time they were here and told me if he ever brought a woman here and said she was going to be his wife, I was to save her.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand. Why would she do that?”
“Because Diana loved him.” Matteo interrupts. “She wanted him all to herself and was jealous. She knew that if he married you, she would no longer be in a position of power. He would have no further need of her, especially if he was right and became Don Ortega at the reading of my father’s will. It was her insurance policy, and it paid off.”
“So, Diana saved me.” I can’t process what I’m hearing and Matteo growls, “No. She saved herself and getting Stephanie to be your guardian angel, ensured the utmost chaos when you both entered the room. It’s obvious she used you as a distraction to escape and is, no doubt, speeding as far away from here as possible, ready to make her next move.”
It all slots into place and I note the resignation in Matteo’s eyes as he comes to the realization that she has slipped away from him.
Stephanie nods. “Diana was equally as cruel as Mario, if not worse. She was a vindictive bitch who delighted in torturing the sacrifices herself. There was no compassion in that woman, which tells me you are right. She did this for her own reasons, and you should be afraid of them.”
We are distracted when two soldiers appear, guiding a familiar face into the room, and I cry out as I run toward the only friend I ever had.
“Clarice!” She is wrapped in a similar black robe and her face is streaked with tears. Her breath coming in gasps as she winces with pain.
“Abi.” She openly sobs as she whispers between them, “Please forgive me.”
“Of course, I forgive you.” I crush her to me, noting her squeal of pain and then she says in shock, “Is that…?”
I turn and see Mario’s body swinging the short distance away, and I nod. “Yes.”
She stiffens and I’m surprised when she gasps, “Oh my God. What have you done?”
Matteo is by my side in an instant and says roughly, “What do you mean?”
Clarice stares at us in fear and whispers, “You won’t get away with this.”
“We already have.” Matteo snaps and she looks so afraid it’s as if my heart is held in an icy glove as she sobs, “The supreme Dark Lord is his father. Nothing can save you.”
