Frederico paces the room, staring at the ceiling with his hands crossed behind his neck. “Why would you do this? I should have known this would happen . . . No . . . After everything I’ve done for you . . . for us . . . so we could be together. He forced you, didn’t he? That’s the only thing that makes sense . . . because you wouldn’t do this to me, would you?”
My brain comes to a screeching halt.
The nausea from earlier comes back twofold, and I press one hand against my stomach, hoping to keep its contents in.
“Frederico, what are you talking about?” My voice sounds way calmer than the tornado of dread that’s circling inside my stomach. “What did you do?”
The laugh that escapes him lacks any trace of humor. “I kept you safe, that’s what I did. And trust me, it wasn’t always easy. And sometimes I had to wait a while, watching you be in pain, just as much as I was, while we were kept apart once more. The way it’s been our whole lives. There was always someone keeping us apart. I was just waiting for the right time, for your dad to see me the way he was supposed to see me, but then he ruined it all by selling you off to Emilio. I knew I couldn’t just take him out like Luigi, especially once he got you out of the country, so I had to take you away and—”
“Youkilled Luigi?”
He stops his pacing and gives me a small smile, resembling the man I thought I knew once more. “Of course I did. And although you had to grieve in public, it was easy to tell how happy you were that he was gone.” His expression flips again, the angry mask firmly back in place. “Then Santarossa came along and had to ruin it all. I knew I could talk your dad into letting us get married after Luigi’s death, I was working on it. He was about to finally acknowledge we belonged together, that we were a perfect match, and suddenly you were gone.”
There’s no way I can currently process all of this, even if my brain was working a hundred percent. Maybe I’ll wake up soon and this will all have been a dream. My head spins back to the time I first woke up here, handcuffed to the damn bed.
I don’t think, I just talk. “Did you drug me?”
He lifts a shoulder and drops it again. “You were frantic when you realized Ally wasn’t here, so I had to calm you down.”
Ally?
The memory pops into my head at the mention of my best friend’s name. Frederico texted me that Ally was dropped off somewhere by the Russians and needed our help. I called her phone, but it went straight to voicemail, so I didn’t even think twice and quickly put on clothes to meet Frederico. Then we drove here, and then . . .
My hand flies up to my neck, touching the tender spot on the side. “You put a needle in my neck.”
He shrugs again. “It’s the fastest way.”
He’s crazy, absolutely crazy.
And I have no clue how to get out of this.
Frederico laughs. “You know, you might have actually done me a favor by fucking Santarossa. Like you said, your dad might not sell you anymore. And I can swoop in and offer to take on the tainted principessa that no one else wants. I’ll just have to fuck Santarossa out of you until you’re pure again, so I can put a baby in you.”
This time, I can’t keep the bile down. I turn to the side and heave, emptying whatever I had in my stomach on the floor. This is too much, all of this. Dealing with my crazy dad was one thing, but at least I knew what I was working against. This thing with Frederico came so out of left field, I can’t wrap my head around it. I’m still not a hundred percent sure I know whatitis.
“Amore mio, Frederico is an adult now and working with your papà, so he can’t come over to play anymore. He said not to bother him, capiche?”
I still remember that day and how my mom distracted me with ice cream and pizza, all in secret, of course, so my dad wouldn’t know.
What if . . .?
My gaze snaps up to Frederico’s, and I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “Did you ever tell my mom I should leave you alone? After you started working for my dad?”
At my question, he stalks over to me and gets in my face. “Is that what she told you?”
I nod, unsure how to react anymore. Anything I do or say can set him off, but I have no way of knowing what it could be.
“Figures that’s what she told you. I shouldn’t be surprised.” He lets his head drop and stares at the floor before he goes back to pacing the room. “She caught me a few times staring at you and said it was inappropriate. But I couldn’t help myself, so she kept me away from you. Should have killed that bitch sooner.”
My whole body freezes, a coldness creeping into every single one of my pores in a way that’s both suffocating and excruciatingly painful. The pressure of it pushes on my chest, and my breaths come out shallow.
No, no, no, no. That can’t be right. I must have heard wrong.
“You—” I press my lips together, and my eyes burn like they’re on fire. “You killed my mom?”
He looks at me with wide eyes, like I’m the crazy one, and says, “Of course I did. She wouldn’t let me see you.”
“You broke into our house.”