Page 127 of The Serpent's Bride
My pulse roared violently in my ears. No.
Images flashed through my mind. Papa collapsing on the front steps. Sweat soaking through his clothes. Begging Leo for help. And Leo standing there cold and unreadable while Sienna slept safely against his chest.
“You’re lying,” I whispered desperately.
Angelo laughed softly. “Am I?”
I couldn’t breathe.
“He poisoned him with a slow acting drug,” Angelo continued almost conversationally. “That’s Leo’s favorite method. He enjoys watching people realize too late what’s happening to them.”
Horror twisted through my stomach.
“But Papa…” My voice broke. “He…”
“He hurt your mother?” Angelo interrupted smoothly. “Beat you?” A pause. “I’m aware.”
Confusion crashed into terror. “Then why are you telling me this?”
“Because if he can do that to your father,” Angelo said quietly, “what makes you think he won’t eventually do it to you?”
My blood ran cold. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” His tone sharpened slightly. “Chiara, you’ve known Leo for what? A few weeks? And already he has you isolated in a penthouse, dependent on him, emotionally attached to him. You should be frightened by how quickly he got inside your head.”
Something awful twisted in my chest because part of me already was frightened. Not of his violence. Of myself. Of how much I wanted him despite everything.
“He’s obsessed with control,” Angelo continued. “Right now he wants you obedient and pregnant, so he’s soft with you. But what happens when you disappoint him?”
I thought about the terrifying coldness in Leo sometimes. The effortless threats. The possessiveness. The way everyone around him seemed just a little afraid. Even Sergio.
“He’s dangerous,” Angelo said quietly. “Far more dangerous than you understand.”
Tears burned unexpectedly behind my eyes. Because I already knew that. And still I wanted him. God, what was wrong with me?
“You sound scared,” Angelo murmured.
“I’m not.”
A cruel little laugh slid through the phone. “Chiara, I can hear you shaking.”
Humiliation burned through me because he was right. My fingers trembled violently against the marble counter.
“I can help you,” Angelo said softly now.
My stomach tightened harder. “What does that mean?”
“It means I can get you out. I have houses Leo doesn’t know about,” Angelo continued. “People loyal to me instead of him. You disappear with me tonight, and he’ll never touch you again.”
The offer slammed into me like a wave. Freedom. Escape. Safety. Everything I’d wanted when Leo first took me. But instead of relief, all I felt was panic. Because the thought of disappearing from Leo hurt.
That realization terrified me so badly I almost dropped the phone. Angelo noticed my silence.
“You don’t want to leave him,” he realized softly.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to,” he sighed. I pressed a trembling hand against my mouth.
