Page 18 of Bound in Vengeance
Is that what my future will look like?
A life where I learn how to smile through my pain?
I press the thought down hard.
At least Alessandro isn’t old.
That should be comforting.
It isn’t.
He’s worse in other ways.
I think of him and my stomach tightens in that irritating, traitorous way it always does. I set my brush down harder than necessary. Camilla will probably be crying again by the end of the day. Rosalia already looks half gone.
I miss Eleonora, she has always been the glue. But she can’t make it today. She’s traveling with her husband, Nico. They’ll be back for the wedding in two weeks.
With an annoyed sigh, I turn away from the mirror and open my drawer. Inside, tucked beneath folded silk and old jewelry boxes, is a small black case. I pull it out. There’s a tiny recording device inside.
I plan to put this on as soon as I have the chance to do so today. He carries himself like a man who hears everything but says nothing. Which means he’s exactly the kind of person who should be watched.
Just a little more patience.
That’s all I need.
A knock sounds at the door and I freeze.
“Sienna?” It’s Camilla.
I snap the case shut and shove it back into the drawer a second before she enters. Her eyes land on me immediately, searching my face like she’s afraid of what she might find there.
“They’re here,” she says quietly. “He has arrived.”
My heart gives a small, uneasy jump.
“Okay, I’m coming down,” I say, standing. I smooth down my dress once. I have a feeling that today will change not just me, but all of us.
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER FOUR
ALESSANDRO
I know lunch will be a disaster if I’m not prepared. The Gallos and Carusos in the same space is already a problem.
Add Luca, his brother Pietro, and two Gallo elders who don’t think I deserve my position, and you’ve basically built a bomb and called it a meeting.
The elders I can tolerate. Barely. But they have experience and decorum. They understand silence. They understand timing.
Luca and Pietro don’t understand either.
Luca hates my guts, and he’s made it known. He thinks my brother Matteo’s death left a gap he can walk straight into. He’s wrong. He can only get my position when I die and I’m not planning on dying anytime soon.
Pietro, on the other hand, is noise in human form. Too much confidence. Too little discipline. He laughs too loudly at things that aren’t funny, drinks too much, and mistakes disrespect for courage. He’s a waste of space.
I don’t trust him. I don’t need to. He’s already chosen Luca anyway, but just hasn’t had the balls to say it out loud yet. He believes Luca will rise to the position of Don, and will hand him power when that happens. I don’t know whether to laugh at that or pity him.
We are heading toward the back of the mansion as we’re led by a Caruso maid.
