"Let her speak," Father says to Gustavo who is now pale as a ghost. "Livia, you got the audience you so clearly wanted. Now finish what you started and tell us what the hell you're doing here."
"I'm here to tell you the so-called Carluccis are liars." Livia proudly tips her head back, laughing. "I can't believe none of you have figured it out yet. But I did."
"Figured what out?" I hiss.
"These two are imposters." Livia points at Nicoletta and her papa. "They killed the real Nicoletta and Gustavo Carlucci and took their places. They used to be the driver and companion for the Carluccis but this man... he took an opportunity to kill two innocent people when he saw how much alike Nicoletta was as her companion. He killed an innocent little girl and forced his daughter to take her place!"
"What?" My jaw is hanging open at this point and I instinctively look at Nicoletta to tell me this isn't the truth. "Nicoletta?"
She raises her tear-filled blue eyes to mine and merely whispers, "I'm sorry."
"Do you have any proof?" Father demands as Livia regards the scene she's created victoriously.
"Aren't their lying faces proof enough?" Julian pipes up from the front pew. "Look at Nicoletta! She's not denying anything."
"Enough!" Gustavo points to Livia. "Kill her, now!"
But the guards aren't listening to him anymore. One of them is looking at him with disgust, the other asks, "You aren't the real Gustavo?"
"Who cares?" Carlucci roars. "None of it matters, it's all lost to the past."
"You lied," Father coolly informs him. "You ruined a family. You're a killer. Did you really murder that innocent girl?"
"I merely placed a pillow on her while she slept," Gustavo defends himself uselessly while Nicoletta begins to sob. I pull my arm away from her and she crumples to the ground in her wedding dress. I can't fucking believe this is happening. Once again, my life has gone up in flames.
"Aren't you going to defend yourself?" Livia shouts at my fiancée. "Aren't you going to say they're all lies?"
Nicoletta wordlessly shakes her head, sobs wracking her body. Gustavo, who has finally realized none of his guards are listening to him anymore, lunges for Livia. He grabs her and begins choking her, but Father is faster, and shoots his gun, directly into Gustavo's back.
Nicoletta's ear-piercing scream is the only sound in the room as Gustavo's lifeless body falls to the ground.
Nicoletta rushes to her papa's aid, even when it's obvious it's too late. She sobs next to his body, blood pooling on the marble floor beneath. I can't believe this is happening. My life has utterly imploded yet again.
While everyone begins shouting, two guards grab Nicoletta and drag her off. She screams for her papa. Her bloodied wedding dress looks just like Livia's had. But I can't help her. Not now.
I turn to face the woman I thought I loved once, and hiss, "How did you get this information?"
"I found out from a family friend," she shrugs. "Thought you deserved to know, and since your father refused to see me, I thought I'd tell you here."
"You have a flare for the dramatic," I mutter as the full impact of everything that's happened hits me, fucking hard. "You destroyed my wedding."
"You should be grateful to me," Liv boasts. "I saved you from a marriage with that lying little girl. You really thought she was honest, didn't you, Ryder? And all the while she was just wrapping you around her little finger. And you believed her."
"Fucking shut up," I hiss, my tone sharp enough to make her stop. She hesitates before taking a step forward and brushing invisible dust off the lapel of my blazer. I growl when she touches me. She has no right to do that.
"Maybe now we can finally pick up where we left off," Liv purrs. "I know it's been a long time, and I needed to keep my distance. But I'm done with my revenge plan. All I want is what we had."
"I don't want you, Livia."
"You think you don't," she corrects me. "But I just saved your life and your future. Fuck knows what that fake Carlucci bastardo was capable of. It's a good thing your dad killed him."
I stare at Gustavo's body on the ground. Nicoletta just witnessed her father being murdered. She's going to fall apart.
A nagging voice in the back of my head reminds me this isn't unlike what she's been through before. After all, her papa killed those innocent people. And why? For money, for the status? Maybe we'll never find out now that he's dead. I have no inclination to speak to Nicoletta, which obviously isn't even her real name.
Rubbing my temples, I turn to face my father whose expression is stone cold.
"Another day, another mess, Ryder," he tells me, shaking his head. "I'm really disappointed."