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Her fingers dug reflexively into Alessio’s arm. He made a low noise in his throat but he didn’t slow his steps. On the contrary, he all but dragged her after him, his fierce gaze cutting through his own guests as if they weren’t there.
Someone approached with champagne. Giada took the glass just for something to occupy her. And when her eyes sought Alessio again, his tension had escalated even more.
‘Alessio—’
‘There you are,frati. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show.’
Giada turned towards the only person who’d dared to venture close, her eyes widening as she registered the man’s resemblance to Alessio.
‘Massimo,’ Alessio bit out, confirming who the younger man was.
Massimo nodded at his brother, then his gaze shifted to her. ‘I understand I’m to blame for you getting stuck with my brother.’ Eyes a shade lighter than his brother’s glinted beneath the ballroom chandeliers. ‘Do I need to beg your forgiveness or—?’
‘Is everything in place?’ Alessio snapped, his jaw hard enough to crunch titanium.
Massimo’s gaze flicked away from hers, a hint of hardness and something else...something she wanted to label compassion shifting through the gold depths as he looked at his brother. ‘Se, frati.Are you sure you want to do this? We can—’
‘I’m sure,’ Alessio interrupted.
Massimo paused a beat, then nodded at someone behind Alessio’s shoulder. A man holding a large box under his arm stepped up to the dais where a quartet played.
When the music trailed off, Alessio eased her arm from his. Without glancing her way, he stepped up to the dais. A second later, Massimo trailed him and stood one step below.
Giada’s heart thumped hard as a hush came over the crowd, their gazes commanded by their host.
‘Everyone here is connected in some way to my family. So you’ll know some or all of our history. You’ll know the wrong that has been done to us.’ He paused, his eyes narrowing as they tracked across the room. ‘Some of those traitors are here tonight.’ At the gasps that sounded, he smiled. ‘They eat and drink from my table and dare to hope that I’ve forgotten. I...’ his gaze darted to Massimo ‘...wehaven’t forgotten.’ He gestured with his hand and the man with the box stepped forward.
Even before he’d opened it, Giada knew what it contained.
Sure enough, when Alessio lifted the lid to the sizeable antique box, the most exquisite ruby-and-emerald-encrusted crest about the size of a large dinner plate, the same winged roaring lions design as the monogrammed items she’d seen all over thecastello, nestled on the blood-orange silk bed. He plucked it out and held it up almost indifferently, but the slight tremble of his hand and the ferocious look in his eyes relayed his tumult.
‘Tonight, with thiscrestareturned to us, my brother and I reclaim our birthright, and I my place as the rightful head of the Montaldi family. Anyone who disagrees, speak now.’
A rumble tore through the room, but no one dared raise a voice.
Alessio gave a satisfied nod, then continued, ‘We also claim the right to seek justice the way we see fit. The culprits know who they are. Present yourselves.’
The crowd slowly parted to reveal two grey-haired older men. They were a poor likeness of what Alessio would look like thirty years from now but the resemblance was patent. Giada had no doubt they were his uncles.
They lurched towards Alessio, hushed pleas falling from their lips. When they got close enough, they grasped Alessio’s hand, dropped frantic kisses on it.
Alessio’s livid gaze fixed on them, then unerringly found Giada’s.
Perhaps she mouthed theno. Perhaps she only screamed it in her head. Either way, Alessio’s eyes darkened, determination warring with bewilderment. His chest heaved frantically for a full minute. Then he stepped off the dais, leaving his uncles kneeling on the floor.
And he left the ballroom.
Giada knew if she didn’t go after him, she’d lose him in the labyrinthiancastello. At least that was the surface truth she told herself. The deeper one was the unrelenting need to take away his pain. To offer solace. So when she saw his tall figure stride down one hallway and enter what looked like a study, she tore after him. Only to pause in the doorway when she realised he was on the phone.
‘And the Parker woman?’ he rasped.
Giada’s heart lurched, then grasped that he wasn’t necessarily talking about her. He confirmed it a moment later. ‘The deal was for the return of my property. Nothing else. She found her way into this mess. She can find her way out of it.’
Giada stumbled forward, unable to remain quiet. ‘What are you talking about? Is it something to do with Gigi?’
Alessio swung around. The look in his eyes hadn’t dissipated one iota. In that moment he was a man locked in full vendetta mode.
‘Answer me, Alessio!’
