Page 54 of Exiled Love
“The man didn’t have friends,” I explain as the memories flood back.“He had acquaintances.Contacts.People he could blackmail.”
Sitting up straight, I take a deep breath, looking him in the eye.“The family is waiting for us, so I’ll keep it short and sweet.Believe me if you want, don’t, it doesn’t matter.I have no reason to lie.”
He considers this for a moment before nodding.“Go ahead.”
“Federico Romano made his money through human suffering.You said the yacht wasn’t deserted when it was found.That’s true.There were thirteen underage girls below deck.Weren’t there?”I ask.
He sighs, then nods.“Thirteen exactly, my sources in Italy recently informed me.”
“They were his stock and trade.He met people, got to know them a little, figured out what they liked.Their weaknesses.It’s absolutely sickening how many of those would-be friends of his were into underage girls.”No amount of whiskey will burn away the disgust.“He provided generously, but he kept records, videos, and photos.He thought he could get me that way.I don’t know why,” I add.“Little girls aren’t my thing.Still, he knew… I was not welcome back home.And I had no allies.”
“Putting it mildly,” Luca mutters.
The prick just can’t help himself.
“So, he decided to try another tactic.He offered me a partnership.It would be like printing our own money.”I can still remember his confidence, his arrogance, how casual he was about the whole thing.
“And you said no.”
A laugh bursts out of me.“I said hell no and go fuck yourself.We were there on the yacht, so maybe he thought he could convince me if he brought me along to one of his parties, which was really a means of delivering the girls to the men who paid for them.He was trying to incriminate me,” I muse, still furious at the memory.“I refused to go along, we argued, and the stupid fuck pulled a gun.I guess he knew he was never going to convince me, and he couldn’t trust me.His reflexes were shit,” I conclude.
“You took the gun and killed him with it.”
“Then I shoved him overboard,” I answer.“There was only one crewmember aboard, and he knew how to pilot the speedboat docked to the yacht, so I convinced him to get us the hell out of there.He wasn’t part of it,” I point out.“Just some poor kid Federico knew needed the money.The second we made it to shore, I called the authorities and gave them an anonymous tip.According to the reports I read, the yacht was located within an hour, and the girls were rescued.”
Luca heaves a sigh.Did he hope for more?A reason to justify his hatred?“That’s the way I heard it.His whole operation was exposed because of that rescue.”
“He would’ve gotten away with it.You understand that, right?”I ask.“All the people he had in his pocket?He would’ve been home the same night the police brought him in for questioning, if they brought him in at all.He had to go, and now he’s gone, and there’s not a doubt in my mind the people who were under his thumb danced with joy when they found out he was dead.”
“So that’s why you were in a hurry to get out of there.”Arching an eyebrow, he murmurs, “Don’t pretend it wasn’t convenient for you to come home when you did.”
“It was convenient timing,” I admit.“Still, I wasn’t fleeing for my life with bullets flying past my head.My dad died believing I was, only because I couldn’t see wasting my breath trying to explain why I would turn down such a lucrative offer.It was more a matter of never having to face the people I met out there.I don’t need them knowing that I know their secrets.They could’ve gotten away with silencing me much easier than they could ever have silenced Frederico.That was the issue.”
He finishes his drink, and I’m satisfied to let him think it over in silence.I have nothing to prove.
“The whole thing is plausible enough,” he decides after a few moments, rising.“And I can’t blame you for what you did.The bastard deserved it.”
I don’t need his understanding, but having it doesn’t hurt.With time, he might be able to openly get along with me, perhaps agreeing with me on things.Not yet.So long as he doesn’t try to stand between Giulia and me, I’m fine with it.
“I don’t want to keep everybody waiting.”He checks his watch, waiting for me to stand before holding out his hand.It’s a Christmas miracle.“I never did officially thank you for what you did for her, did I?”
“I don’t need your thanks.”Though I accept his handshake.“And for what it’s worth, I wish I could go back and undo a lot of things.Mistakes.”That’s as close to an apology as he will ever get from me.I do want him to know there are things I would have done differently, though.And what I did to Emilia is one of them.
If I’ve learned anything since then, it’s how misguided I was.How lost.I can’t help but reflect on it as we leave the study, heading for the dining room, where happy, loving voices ring out.Growing up in this loving home, it could be hard to understand being given every imaginable weapon but no guidance on when or how to use them.It’s like training a dog to attack viciously, then setting it loose with no limits or guidance.Now I understand better why Dad always held such a grudge against this family.It wasn’t only business, it was deeper than rivalry.Dad hated Rocco for being a family man.He couldn’t relate, and anything he couldn’t understand, he tried to destroy.
He was not successful in destroying this family.They’re thriving as I follow Luca into the dining room, where Christmas trees decorate all four corners.It’s extravagant, over the top, the way the holidays should be.
“Finally.”A smiling Sophia sighs when we enter, taking her seat next to Dante.I wonder if she’s thinking along the same lines as I am, spending her first Christmas with the family.I wonder if she can’t help but compare the loving extravagance to the empty, hollow façade we grew up with.It was pretty on the surface but rotten underneath.
“Everything all right?”Giulia meets me at the table, frowning a little.Even the worry lines between her brows can’t do anything to ruin her perfect beauty.In the glow from so many candles and twinkling lights, she looks like an angel.
My personal angel.
My salvation.
“Everything is better than all right.”I kiss her forehead, reminding myself to soak in every moment.I’ve spent my life holding grudges, forgetting nothing, and forgiving even less.There was nothing to look forward to but my eventual succession, nothing to cherish.
All of that changes now.It changed the minute I came to work here.That might have been Dad’s last, unwitting gift.It’s a shame I never got the chance to thank him.I doubt he would have understood.
It has to be enough now to smile down at the woman I love and to soak in the love reflected at me.By the time dinner is over, she’ll know about the house.She’ll know her family has accepted us and expects us to last.
The way I do.Always.I’m never letting go of the best thing that’s ever happened to me.The reason I wake up every morning.The reason I’m able to sit down at this lavish table and raise a glass to the future.
A future we’ll write together.
THE END.
