Vittoria
A footaway from the front door, I kept my eyes trained on it. The doorbell rang once more and I worked slowly, unlocking the chain, putting my hand to the knob and pulling the door open.
Almost immediately, Vincenza pushed through and let herself in without even looking at me. Instead, she took in the enemy’s fortress, searching for a weakness. “Took you long enough.” She removed her coat and held it out to me. I took it and waited for her to turn around and look at me. When the silence stretched long enough, she did turn and I almost winced.
Had her eyes always been so cold?
“Huh,” she said without a splinter of concern for my wellbeing. “I thought you were dead.”
Nice to see you too, sister. “Well, I’m not.”
Her brow rose. “And here you are, standing in his beautiful home, without injury.” She made a show of pouting her lips and fluttering her lashes before uttering mockingly, “Hisadoringlittle wife.”
What was wrong with her? Vincenza was acting as though I betrayed her.
“I tried to murder him, Enza. He could have done a lot worse than lock me away in a mansion for a few months. I’m grateful.”
“What?” Her humorless laugh came across scornful. “Don’t tell me you actually like the guy?”
I did. So much. But I was good at reading her emotions and I knew she was on the edge so what I said was less inflammatory. “I like his kids.”
Vincenza walked into the living area and waved me off before she sat down uninvited, stretching her arms out along the top of the sofa. The nerve of her to say what she said right then, right here, in Ettore’s home. “Don’t worry. You’ll have your own kids someday. Now that you’re back, we stick to the plan.”
My stunned silence lingering.
People talked about Vincenza. I’d heard stories about her floating on the wind that I never truly believed because I loved her. But right then, my blinders were lifted.
Maybe they were right. Maybe she was crazy.
“Have my own kids…” I muttered distantly. “After making these ones orphans, you mean.”
She blinked at me then. “I’m starting to wonder whose side you’re on, Vicky.”
Whose side I was on?
I was on the side of peace.
Right then, I looked at my sister and was surprised by what I discovered. Was this really the same person I was petrified of making upset? Why did I ever to go the lengths I did to keep her happy, at the sacrifice of my own?
A stunning realization came to front.
Mildly put, Vincenza wasn’t the center of my universe anymore. I didn’t care what she wanted. She was no longer my priority. And I wondered why that was.
Only one thing came to mind.
With Ettore, I didn’t feel alone anymore.
Standing a few feet away from her, I uttered evenly, “I need to start cooking. You’re welcome to stay for dinner.” And just to make myself abundantly clear, I added, “Meet the kids.”
She blinked at me a long moment before her stare turned cold and deadly. “No. I don’t think I will.” I followed my sister to the front door where I handed her back the coat I hadn’t relinquished. She looked at me then in a different way, as if noticing something she hadn’t seen before. The tension surrounding us built to force that threatened to crush me, and just before she left, her entire demeanor changed. My brow furrowed at how easily she transformed. Her easy smile came closer and then she was kissing my cheek. She then placed something in my hand and curled my fingers around it. “Look over these, will you?” As she walked out, she called back, “Oh, and I need it by morning.”
She got into her car and drove away with a pleasant wave, and I peered down at what she slid into my hand.
The USB carried an impossible weight and my shoulders drooped. She was so good at getting her way that she made it look like an artform. With a sighed, “Godammit,” I shut the door and got started on dinner knowing I wouldn’t be getting a wink of sleep tonight.
* * *
Ettore