Page 72 of Secrets of the Brother
“I’m twenty-two years old. I don’t need your permission.”
She pulled something from her pocket. “I thought you might say that.”
She held my passport and my birth certificate in her hand.
“Where did you get my passport? Did you go through my things?”
She flicked open her gold-plated lighter and held the flame just below the open booklet. “Of course, I did.”
I stretched out my arm. “Mother, no!”
It was too late.
She set my passport and originalAtto di Nascitaon fire.
She tossed the now useless documents into the cold grate of the fireplace where I watched in horror as they burned to ash. Brushing her palms together, she turned to face me. “I’ll pick out the gown I want you to wear. We want to make sure you make a good first impression on your future husband.”
CHAPTER18
BIANCA
Iyanked on the bodice of my dress.
It figured my mother would choose the Tom Ford Gucci dominatrix dress. The champagne silk corset dress with its black bodice piping hid very little from the imagination.
The woman had no shame.
Neither of my parents did.
It turned out this wasn’t just any party at the villa.
It was Milana and Cesare’s engagement party.
The outright gall it took for them to insist on attending after what their daughter did was staggering. I hated that I was playing any part in it, but I had no choice.
Until I could figure a way out of this twisted web I found myself in, I had to play along.
My so-called date was chatting animatedly with my parents as I came down the front staircase. He sounded vaguely familiar.
As I crossed the threshold, he turned.
It was the man who had rescued me that day at the market.
Dressed in a Brunello tuxedo, his black hair slicked back with perhaps a bit too much gel making it look still wet, he smoothly stepped forward and took my hand.
My father made the introductions. “Nevio Zettici, this is my daughter, Bianca.”
He raised my hand to his lips while his gaze remained steady on mine. “I am charmed by your beauty.” He then kissed the back of my hand.
I pulled my hand free and pressed it against my lower back. “Thank you again for helping me that day in the market.”
My mother frowned. Her laugh was high-pitched and shrill. “You already know one another? You must tell me all the details, at once. Right now. Immediately.”
Nevio straightened and stood next to me. The acrid smell of his aftershave burned the inside of my nose.
“Your daughter and I met at the market a few days ago. I had the pleasure of playing the knight in shining armor by rescuing her from a fiery death.”
My mother gasped, causing her to choke rather unattractively.
