She said something to the guard, making him look to us. I glanced over to Darcy whose brown eyes narrowed at her and I knew what he was thinking.
She was beautiful.
Not just beautiful, but almost angelic…innocent. Big grey eyes, bright pink link lips, and an oval face with two small beauty marks: one under her right eye and the other beside her lip. So much for Ethan getting drunk and screwing some ugly waitress. We knew it wasn’t possible but still…fucking annoying. Even when he wasn’t trying, the man slept with goddamn Victoria’s Secret models.
“Hi.” She waved her hand slightly, trying to get our attention. “My name is Calliope Seraphina Orsini, I’m Giovanna’s mom. I called earlier to say I was picking her up at this time.”
Beautiful.
Soft spoken.
A kind smile.
Everything about her depicted the image of a good person, a Hallmark channel type of person. But that was the thing that put me on edge. Good people don’t find our family. Good people don’t sleep with us, and good people don’t carry and keep the child of mobsters, hide them, and then demand that child back so gently when they are taken away.
“Welcome to Callahan Manor, Calliope,” I spoke up, leaning on the rail. “Our cousin informed us you’d be coming and that you should already be aware that Giovanna is not going anywhere…after all she’s a Callahan and like I said, this is Callahan Manor.”
“Is Ethan here so we could speak like adults about this?” she asked, still politely looking between us.
“If you wanted to speak like adults, why didn’t you give him a chance four years ago? It seems odd you are expecting a courtesy you didn’t offer him,” Darcy questioned.
“I see.” She frowned and exhaled. She looked around the foyer before taking a few steps forward, and the guards who moved towards her fell to their knees. They lifted their guns but before they could even say anything one by one all of them fell like dominoes.
“What the—” Before I could get the words out, I coughed. Over and over again until my legs weakened. Searching out Darcy, I saw him on his knees, gasping for breath. Casually she walked up the stairs, her heels clicking on the marble as she towards us while my vision blurred.
“Don’t worry, the poison is only temporary,” she said as she pressed the button for the elevator.
How?
I wanted to ask, but my voice was no longer working. When she the doors opened, she stepped inside and spun on her heels. “What floor?”
But I couldn’t answer.
“Oh well, I’ll figure it out then. And thank you for the welcome Sedric, Darcy,” she said and started to hum to herself. As the doors closed, she let go of something on her umbrella. It was the fucking umbrella. Fuck!
NARI
When the elevators doors opened, she was gone. Her bag, her coat, umbrella, even her Gucci red leather pumps with studded bumble bees were there, but she wasn’t.
“Look up,” I ordered the guard as he moved into the elevator, holding the mask over his mouth and nose. He checked the ceiling. I expected her to drop down, but he just shook his head.
“She’s not here—”
“Is the latch undone? Maybe she climbed out?”
He reached up for the latch, and again I expected to see her drop down, but she wasn’t there.
What in the hell—I froze at the tap on my shoulder. It wasn’t possible. I watched her on the camera feed. I saw her get into the elevator and it was three second ride—”
“Just because you don’t turn around doesn’t mean I’m not still behind you, Nari.” Her voice sent chills down my spine.
Spinning, I lifted my leg and just before it connected her face, a needle was plunged into my calf. I screamed at the fiery pain as it shot up my leg. She pulled out the needle and I couldn’t move it. My whole leg went stiff as if it was encased in cement. She closed the distance between us, and with her perfectly manicured nail she pulled the mask off my mouth.
With a smile on her face she said, “When you’re about kick with your right leg you pull your left arm back. You should train more so something like this doesn’t happen to you again.”
This bitch. “I’m…going…to kill you…”
“You don’t have that kind of power. But I never want to discourage anyone from their dreams so keep at it. Who knows, in forty years you might make me break a nail. Good luck.”