His Merciless Marriage Bargain

Yours forever and ever,

Juliet

Rachel’s hands shook as she folded the letter back up and slid it into the envelope. A tear fell and she knocked it away as she returned the envelope to the bottom of the pile. She couldn’t bring herself to read more.

“Why did you bring these to me?” she choked.

“They are all like that.” Giovanni spoke from across the room.

Rachel drew a deep raw breath and then another. “You’ve read them all?”

“Not all. Maybe a quarter, if that. It didn’t feel right to continue reading when they were not meant for me.”

“When did you read these? Have you had these all this time?” Rachel struggled to stop the tears but they kept falling.

“Mrs. Fabbro brought the box with her when his Florence home was closed. She used to work for him in Florence, and when the letters arrived from Juliet, she’d put them in this box. She gave me the box several days ago, and I finally had a chance to go through the letters last night.” He hesitated. “I couldn’t sleep afterward.”

“You should have woken me.”

“But then you wouldn’t be able to sleep, either.”

Her eyes continued to burn. She blinked. “She really loved him.”

“Yes. I didn’t believe her, but I do now.”

“She wasn’t as shallow as you thought.”

Gio was silent. “There is something I haven’t told you. I need to tell you.” He glanced at her over his shoulder, expression grim. “Antonio loved your sister, too. He didn’t leave her because he didn’t care. He left her because he didn’t want her to see him die. He left her to protect her from the ugliness of his death.”

“How do you know?”

“He left her his entire estate. His homes, his assets, his stock in Marcello SpA. All of it.”

“What?”

“He didn’t leave her penniless. He left her a very wealthy woman, setting her up so that she could raise his son properly, wanting his woman and his child provided for.”

Rachel wanted to move but her legs wouldn’t stand. She sat, hands clasping the box, heart on fire. “I don’t understand. But she received nothing. She didn’t know—”

“She was never told.”

“How? Why not?”

“I took legal action when his will was revealed, petitioning our courts to investigate the legality of the document.” Gio stood before her, handsome in his tuxedo, but utterly unrepentant. “He had an inoperable tumor in his brain. He was dying. His behavior had become increasingly erratic. I was concerned he was being played, or coerced, and so I asked the courts to intervene—”

“Causing my sister’s death,” she interrupted hoarsely.

“Your sister didn’t want his money, she wanted him.”

“How do you know?”

“She refused it. She rejected every bank wire he sent her. Finally, near the end of his life, he simply changed his will.”

“And you knew all of this, the entire time?”

“I’ve learned bits and pieces over time, but yes, I’ve known since his will was read last June that he left her virtually his entire estate.”

Rachel rose, legs and body trembling. She was shaking from her head to the tips of her white silk high-heeled shoes. “You’ve known since Michael’s birth that Antonio wanted to provide for his child, and indeed, tried to provide but you interfered. You withheld support, and not just support, but love.”