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“But Joseph lives in Australia; he always did. It must have been someone else.”
I’m not sure Mrs. Romanov has got this right, but she says with conviction. “It was the same man. His wife Catherine was the love of his life and then she died in an accident. Her car ran off the road and tumbled down a cliff. She never survived. Joseph was heartbroken and returned to Australia, but they kept in touch. At least that’s what Andrei told me when I questioned him about them one day.”
“Them?” I can’t take this all in and she says lightly, “I overheard him mention Joseph Stoner and asked if it was the same man. I told him what I knew, and he divulged something that I never forgot.”
“What?”
“That Giselle Vieri had a child. It’s why she left college and never returned.”
“But she has never had children. Even with Uncle Carlos.”
Mrs. Romanov shakes her head. “I don’t know about that, but apparently, the child died in childbirth. Giselle made a deal with her father. In return for his help in disposing of her attackers, she would marry Carlos Matasso as arranged to strengthen the Vieri mafia with an alliance.”
My head hurts with information overload and I say quickly, “This is a lot to absorb but I still don’t know why it concerns me now?”
“Because Andrei told me that Giselle Matasso has been running rings around your family for years. Stoner is a man with a loose tongue when he drinks, and he bragged about his relationship with Giselle Matasso and how evil she was. That she hated her family and her sole aim in life was to bring them down because they ruined her life. She was unhappy in her marriage and blamed her father for arranging it. She saw your father have everything she believed should have been hers. A family, a loving marriage, and the family business. So, she set your father up to cheat and made certain your mother found out. She introduced her to Stoner, and he seduced her to break up her brother’s happy family.”
“I don’t believe you.” I stare at her in horror because my aunt is a Vieri first and foremost. She’s family and we work together, not against one another.
Mrs. Romanov moves beside me and takes my hands and whispers, “I’m telling you this for your own good. Sometimes the people closest to us wield the sharpest knife. Find your aunt and fear Joseph Stoner. They donothave your best interests at heart and if you are searching for the enemy, it could be the enemy within.”
She stands and says sadly, “I like you, Serena, and I’m hopeful things work out for you.”
She turns to leave, and I stand quickly and say, “Thank you.”
She turns and I smile. “I appreciate your honesty, even though it was hard to hear. Thanks for the heads up though. I’ll take it from here.”
“I know you will, Serena.” She flashes me a sad smile. “You’re a strong woman. Just be stronger than your aunt.”
She leaves me standing helplessly as I watch her go. Everything I thought I knew has been scrubbed through with a big red pen.
As the conversation starts to register, my heritage takes over, leaving a cold fury inside. Knowledge is a powerful weapon when you’re fighting a war and this time it’s personal.
CHAPTER21
ALEXEI
Tension surrounds us as we wait at the private airfield for the Vieri jet to land. Whatever mama said to Serena didn’t help my situation because I returned to find her even more distracted than before.
There is a sadness to her that I share, and I’m guessing we are both dealing with our own shit in much the same way.
I’m surprised when her small hand finds mine when the bright lights of an aircraft materialize from the clouds and she whispers, “Thank you for the best experience of my life.”
“Same.”
I squeeze her hand hard, hating the distance between us already, and she says with a deep sigh. “For once in my life I felt free. I walked away from the baggage I usually carry and experienced something I probably never will again. I took a chance on you, Alexei, and you didn’t let me down. And just for the record, I would definitely travel with your airline again.”
She turns and the light in her eyes makes me smile. She is so beautiful, and I can’t help reaching out and grasping her face, staring into those beautiful eyes and whispering, “You can travel with me anytime, Serena. There will always be a seat for you on my aircraft.”
“A seat?” She shakes her head, the tears brimming in her eyes. “I kind of hoped for one of those flat beds. I like to travel in comfort.”
“That goes without saying.”
I bend down and kiss her sweet lips, and it’s like coming home. My heart leaps inside me and I have an incredible urge to lock the door and drive away with her by my side. The fact she’s leaving isn’t sitting well with me and imagining her out there with an assassin hot on her trail isn’t the best feeling in the world.
She pulls back and rests her head against mine and whispers, “I never understood the term hating goodbyes. Why does this one feel so final?”
“Because there are many unspoken words between us, tiger. We never got to play our game to the end.”
