“The-the men who killed your father are after us too.”
“Who are the men? No,” I tossed my hands in the air, “better yet, who was my father?”
“That’s a lot for me to explain and a lot for you to understand.”
“How do you know Noemi Capri?” Her face fell, and she took a step back. “I saw you at the party. I saw what passed between you both.”
“That’s complicated.”
“No,” I laughed lightly, “try being on my end, the end of not knowing a damn thing!” I grabbed my purse, stuffed the note inside, and headed for the door.
“Wait,” she called after me, and Oscar blocked my path. “Okay, fine, just come back in the room and I’ll tell you.”
I glared at Oscar then turned on my heel and closed the door in his face.
“Noemi used to date my brother. She’s a crazy, controlling woman who is only after money and the finer things in life. When she grew tired of my brother, she latched herself to someone else.”
“Who?” I crossed my arms, refusing to play her Mad Libs game.
“Your father.” That took the wind out of my lungs. “In fairness they were dating before I met him, but nonetheless, that’s who she wanted. Only thing is, she wasn’t part of the family agreement, I was. So, when it came time for us to marry, Noemi didn’t take it very well."
“Hold on! You’re telling that Noemi dated your brother, and Francesco never knew? I find that hard to believe.”
“They dated for such a short period of time, and Francesco was working a lot, plus Noemi made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with the Capri syndicate. It was the one thing we ever agreed on.” She scoffed. “But where there’s money and power, Noemi will be there, and Theo kept her out of the public most of the time. She made my life hell for a good number of years. Meanwhile, my brother was suffering from a broken heart and tried to win her back. I know she pulled some strings and made him disappear.”
“It wasn’t the Capris who killed him.”
“Believe what you want,” she dismissed me. “All I know is that woman turned your father and his family against me, against us, and forced us to live in a horrible situation.”
“She doesn’t come across as someone who would do that.”
“None of the Capris show their true colors until they need to.” Her voice dripped hatred.
I wrung my hands as her words sank in. “But I’ve met Noemi countless times. Why is she so nice to me?”
“Because she doesn’t know who you are. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I grabbed what I could and left. I legally changed your name for your own protection. You weren’t born as Sienna.” She sank onto the vanity seat. “Your birth name was Alessia. Sienna was a name Francesco and I had chosen years before when we dreamed of having a baby girl together.”
I wiped a tear away, feeling emotional all of a sudden.
“She only knew you up until we left. You were very young then, and now have a new name. She wouldn’t put two and two together. And I’d really rather keep it that way, Sienna.” She waited for my spinning brain to focus on her. “I know you and Elio are close, and I know I need to accept that, and I will,” she let out a frustrated sigh, “but I need to ask you for a big favor.”
“It depends.”
“Elio’s family doesn’t know about Noemi’s past, and that part of it is deeply connected with ours. Just for right now, could you keep what I share with you private until I know it’s safe for it to come out?”
“Francesco is going to dig.”
“I will deal with him.”
I hated the idea of not telling Elio what I knew. That wasn’t who I was, but it was my life, my past, so maybe I needed to think about it from a different angle. I needed answers, and she had them. If this promise was what it took to find out, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.
“If I agree to this, will you promise to share more with me?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“Yes.”