Page 180

“You little bitch. It was you, wasn’t it!” Corrado directs his anger toward Allegra. “Spreading your legs for the enemy and giving away my secrets!”

He lunges toward her, but I land a fist in his face, knocking him to the ground.

Allegra screams.

I jump on top of Corrado just as he’s trying to get up to go for her again.

I throw another fist in his face, stunting him, then follow it with another series of punches that knock him breathless.

“You fucking bastard. How could you do that to your own child? Make her pretend she’s dead. How could you blame her and make her believe what happened to her sister was her fault? It was yours. You didn’t protect your family.”

“Get off me!” The worm tries to wriggle free, but I hold him down. I’m not finished with him yet.

He gets another round of punches, covering my knuckles in his blood. “You vile bastard. You’re a poor excuse for a father. You made your daughter take her dead sister’s place for a business deal.” Punch, punch, punch. “But why am I fucking surprised? That’s what you do. You steal people’s lives. It’s your fault my mother and sister are dead.” The words tumble out of my mouth.

I’m no longer worried about my wife knowing the truth.

Corrado’s barely conscious. Another punch or two just might kill him. I’m tempted until Allegra rushes to my side, pulling me back.

“Lev, stop. You’re going to kill him.”

That’s the idea. But… I would never do that in front of her.

Her father is one evil son of a bitch, but I would never kill him in front of my wife.

So, I stop and I remember the one thing that’s kept Corrado alive for so long.

I still need him as bait. I still need him to lure Moretti back to me.

Moretti is the real killer here. The head. Corrado is just the body.

I push to my feet, leaving Corrado’s battered body on the ground, and I spit on him.

He winces, groaning.

“Your days are numbered, Corrado D’Auria. Mark my words. Your days are fucking numbered.”

I grab my wife’s hand, and we march out of there. As we head to the car, I hope we never have to return to this place.

It may have been Allegra’s home, but it feels more like a tomb. A tomb of lies. Secrets, lies, and the control of a man who should never have been a father.

We get in the car and drive away.

Allegra’s eyes never leave me. I dropped a bomb back there about my mother and sister, and she wants to ask me about it.

She’s just holding back because the rage is still rippling from me.

Instead, she rests a dainty hand on my thigh and we head home in silence.

The silence follows us inside the house when we get back. I march into the living room and head over to the drinks cabinet. I need something strong.

I clean the blood off my hands then pour myself a glass of scotch.

Allegra hangs back, a few paces away from me, observing me. “Are you okay?” she asks, her voice gentle.

I meet her gaze. “I have to be.”

We stare at each other. Her assessing me. Me just trying to keep my shit together while I wait for the real question on her mind.