“Why are you doing this? What does he want?”
“He wants you, Callista.”
“Gia,” she whispers between tears.
“Calling you Gia isn’t going to change the situation you’re in.”
“You work for him. You know how evil he is. What he does to...let me go. Please,” she begs.
I watch as she weakens before me, exactly as I planned. I wipe a tear away with the pad of my thumb, not as a gentlemanly gesture, because I don’t give a shit about her liking me, but to soften her. It will be quicker this way.
“I’m sorry, Gia, but I can’t let you go.”
She rolls back her shoulders and clenches her jaw. “You’re the spawn of the devil. You are the devil.”
I lift a shoulder in indifference even though her words affect me. It is her father who is the devil. I am simply an asshole.
“Molesting, raping, and killing innocent children. You’re the sickest bastards of them all. You deserve to die a torturous death and rot in hell with Satan himself.” She spits in my face and lifts her hand to slap me, but I catch her wrist in time.
With my free hand, I take a handkerchief from my back pocket. “Do. Not. Ever.” I wipe my face. “Attempt. That. Again.” I squeeze her narrow wrist tighter, reveling in the pain I give her.
I hear the bedroom door open and the rattling of the breakfast cart. As soon as the door closes again, I yank Gia into the room and push her down in a chair.
“Eat.”
I storm out of the room and, afraid I’ll show my temper by slamming the door, let Tio close it behind me.
For three hours, I work in my office, taking care of vineyard business and checking in with Elena. Not that she needs my guidance. She runs Parlatore Vineyards better than any of the vintners in Europe. The sole responsibility had been thrust upon me when I was sixteen and grieving my father, mother, and sister’s deaths, and giving her part ownership a few years ago so I could focus more on Parisi was the best decision I’ve ever made.
I rub the tension out of my shoulders and lift my gaze to the family portrait that was taken of us before their deaths. It was one of the last times I’d had anything to smile about. Two weeks later, my family was gone. Kidnapped. Raped. Murdered. In cold blood.
I snap my laptop shut and rise. There will be no more stalling. Callista—Gia—will agree to my terms.
Today.