Ruthless Monarch

“Make sure a man is listening to everything going on in that house. I don’t want anything to go over without me knowing. Do you understand?”

“I do.”

I move across the room, exiting and leaving Lorenzo alone. I make my way up the stairs, down the hall, and when I swing the door open, I’m hit with the knowledge that she really is gone. I know she betrayed me. I was prepared for this, but how wrong I was. I wasn’t prepared. I am not prepared. Not for the way the room feels empty.

Or how quiet it is. Not for the lingering smell of her perfume in the air. Or the way her clothes still hang in my closet. It doesn’t matter because I’m going to have to be okay with it. Just like I’m going to have to be okay with however the future plays out. There’s a good chance she’ll end up dead, or worse, but she betrayed me. Only in the quiet of my own room can I admit that yes, my wife had gotten under my skin. It doesn’t matter, though. Her fate is sealed.

The next day, I find myself in my surveillance room, curious to see what the night had in store for my dear wife.

“Any phone calls? Anything of importance?”

“No. Nothing.”

“And the bug in the bag, what was the audio?” My men look at me but don’t speak.

“Tell me.”

“She was crying. She held her own as her father chastised her, but then when the room went silent, she cried. Probably after he left her alone.”

Hearing she cried should make me feel better, but it doesn’t.

We don’t know why she cried. Maybe because her father once again has her under his thumb, which is the truth. We always knew he did. We just didn’t know the interesting thing she was going to tell me the night she decided to betray me. I turn back to Lorenzo.

“You need to find out now what her secret is.”

“Don’t you think our resources are better served by finding your cousin?”

He’s right, it is, but I need to know anyway. A small part of me thinks that’s the reason she ultimately decided to betray me. Whatever her father is holding over her is the key.

“Do both,” I say, and then turn and storm out of the room.

Leaving my men frantically working in my wake.

35

Viviana

* * *

My eyes are swollen when I wake up. Red and blotchy, the obvious signs of a night spent crying myself to sleep. It didn’t come for a long time. Not until approximately four in the morning, and when I did finally fall into a slumber, it was restless.

Nightmares plagued me.

Over and over again, I saw Matteo standing above me.

Over and over again, he pulled the trigger.

Each time I woke up, I jolted out of bed with tears pouring down my face. I need to talk to him. I need to tell him I didn’t betray him.

But the chances of that ever happening are few and far between. One thing I know is, Matteo doesn’t forgive.

He won’t hear what I have to say, and knowing my father, by the time Matteo has calmed down enough to speak to me, I’ll be long gone.

I’m sure he’s planning my annulment right now. I’m sure his lawyers are already here drawing up the papers. I’m sure Salvatore is waiting for me.

Salvatore, a man even Matteo says I should fear.

How can my father sell himself to this man? I stand from my bed and make my way over to the dresser, where I threw my bag, grab my phone, then I start searching to see if I have any missed phone calls.

Not that I would think Matteo would call me, but still I check, I hope, I dream, and then like expected, I’m disappointed. No, that’s not a strong enough word.

I’m crushed.

A shaky, audible sigh escapes my mouth as I make my way into the bathroom that’s attached to my room.

What’s staring back at me is frightening.

My dark hair, normally straight, is wavy from the wetness of my tears. My eyes, as I suspected, are bloodshot and puffy. My nose looks swollen, and I know my lip has dried, caked-on blood from where I bit myself.

I turn around and turn the shower water on, then when steam billows around me, I strip off my clothes. I’m still in the same clothes I wore yesterday. Once naked, I step under the scalding water. My skin burns, but I welcome the pain. Everything hurts my skin, but it serves me right.

I never should’ve fallen in love with him. I never should’ve trusted him with my heart because now, he’s crushed it. Part of me wants to figure it out, figure out a plan, but another part, a much larger part, wants to hide in my bed for the next three weeks.