La Sposa

by Sienna Mynx

  “And then what happened? How much time passed before you found out where she was?”

  “A year, a little over a year.” Mancini said. “I was later told by Capriccio that she returned to Chicago. That my enemies picked up her scent. They murdered her and Marietta. Her body surfaced days later in a warehouse. I had her brought home. Marietta’s body wasn’t recovered. You have no idea how much guilt I’ve carried over my dead daughter. And now you tell me she is alive?” Mancini wheezed. He turned up the oxygen and took down another deep breath of air through his scarred lungs.

  “Did you ever try again to see Mira?” Giovanni asked.

  “Years later. She was eight years old, and I was in control here in Bagheria. I told Rosa about her and she wanted me to bring her to Italy. Rosa always wanted a daughter. She would have loved Mirabella. I came for her. Again, I was met with a shotgun. I couldn’t take her from the only family she’d ever known. But I never lost contact with her. Now you sit here and tell me that Marietta is alive. I never knew. I brought Mira to Italy to start her business. I found a weak man in her company. A gambler. I laid a trap for him. When his debt could not be paid I had him brought to me. Theodore Tate was going to make the introduction. I only put her in your building to give her a chance to be settled. But you acted immediately. When I found out that you knew her, it was too late. It was after the bombing. I thought she was dead. And she shows up with you. This was never about you or revenge. Why would I seek revenge on you? Our families’ truce has lasted since the Ciaculli war divided the Camorra and Mafiosi over three decades ago.”

  “So you don’t blame my father for any of this?”

  “For what?” Mancini asked. “For my weakness? For me abandoning Lisa, and losing my daughters. I don’t even blame my own father. It is my fault. I should have never taken Lisa.”

  “What about Caruso? Why did he leave the mafia?”

  “He failed to protect her. He is lucky I let him live. I banished him to Milan.”

  “And that’s all you know of his involvement?”

  “Is there more I should know?” Mancini asked.

  Giovanni wiped his hand down his face. If Mancini didn’t know of Capriccio, then it was possible he didn’t know about Tomosino’s role in it. Capriccio and Gemma hid the baby and then Capriccio later claimed Marietta as his own, to keep the secret of what happened to Melissa from Mancini. There was something he was missing. He could feel it in his gut.

  “Where is Marietta?” Mancini asked, almost in a begging voice.

  “Gone. She’s gone back to America. You and I are done.” Giovanni picked up the bracelet and necklace.

  “Give them to me!”

  Giovanni kept walking. Mancini, in his feeble state, couldn’t capture his arm in time and dropped back in his chair. “Where is Marietta? I have done many bad things in my life. But loving my daughters to seek peace between us was not one of them.”

  “You are sick as Tomosino. You don’t even know what happened to Melissa Ellison. You never even tried to protect her. Who put her on drugs?”

  Mancini blinked. “I’m not sure…”

  “Who ordered the hit on her after your return to Sicily? The one that gunned her down in Chicago.”

  “She wasn’t shot.” Mancini said. “They killed her another way.”

  “Who? Did you ever try to find out who?”

  “It was a different time. We had enemies everywhere. How was I supposed to know which one went for my weakness, my Lisa?”

  “Then I’ll tell you, you old fool. It was Caruso Capriccio who killed her.”

  “No. He wouldn’t dare.” Mancini wheezed through a coughing fit. “He knew what she meant to me! He wouldn’t dare!”

  “You turned her over to her murderer. That’s why she ran from Chicago. She knew Gemma and Caruso were going to kill her. And you didn’t bother to lift a finger to help her!”

  “No!” Mancini clutched his chest.

  Giovanni felt his lips curl in a snarl. “She was sixteen when you trapped her in your hell. You destroyed her. Do you think that I would sit back and let you destroy my wife? Never!”

  “Mirabella will learn the truth!” Mancini shouted at him. “And if you keep me from her she will hate you for the secret. Give me a chance to make this right with my daughters and I swear to you, no harm will come to her.”

  “Save your swears. I’ve already shown you how far I’ve gone to protect her. And that’s what makes me different than you. It took me a week to uncover this story, and after twenty years you haven’t learned shit! If you do or say anything to tell her who you are, I’ll consider it an act of war.”

  Giovanni turned and left the garden, leaving a wheezing Mancini shouting after him. When he marched back into the villa, Armando was the first to greet him. “We’re leaving.”

  “So soon?” Armando asked, looking him over. Giovanni ignored him. He gestured to Lorenzo and Dominic. They both walked out of the Mancini’s home to their cars after having their guns returned to them. Armando didn’t see them out of the gates.

  “Is it true?” Lorenzo had to ask.

  “Yes. She’s his daughter. I have no doubt of it. But I do have good news. Mancini doesn’t know shit. He doesn’t know that Tomosino turned him in to his father, or that Tomosino had Caruso keep tabs on Mira’s mother and kill her. I’m sure Patri did this to make sure Mancini never returned to America for her. All these years, the truce between them has been one of ignorance over a stupid mafia war with the republic. Mancini didn’t bring Bella to Italy to undermine me—he wanted to be reunited with her before he died,” Giovanni smiled.

  “This makes you happy?” Dominic asked.

  Giovanni nodded. “It does. Bella will never know of him. None of it. And more importantly, she will never know my father had her mother killed.”

  “What about Marietta? They are sisters.”

  “Oh, and yes, there is more. Mancini believed Marietta died with her mother. If I think on it, Caruso backed down from having to kill the children. It’s not the way of the Mafiosi. He has tried to bury the secret of their existence by changing their birth certificates so Mancini and Tomosino both never discovered the truth. This is what makes Rocco so afraid. If we open the Pandora’s box we reveal a conspiracy that dates back to the first mafia war. And we go to war with Mancini. Something that Armando has been itching to do since I’ve taken more control over the Camorra.”

  “But they are sisters, Gio. Surely you believe they should be reunited?” Dominic asked.

  “No. Not yet. I’ll decide on it later. For now, Bella is to not know any of this!”

  “Giovanni, I have to tell Marietta something,” Lorenzo said.

  “You tell her nothing,” Giovanni said. The finality in his voice was clear and concise. “You have royally fucked the entire Capriccio incident up. I still haven’t had a full accounting of how Carmine died on your watch, and where the fuck is Carlo? You are in no position to make any requests of me.”

  Dominic cleared his throat. “I understand your way of thinking. Telling Mira that her mother died indirectly, or directly because of Tomosino, puts your marriage at risk. Gio, you tipped your hand to Mancini. He knows that both Marietta and Mira are alive. What’s to stop him from coming forward? You can’t control the Mafiosi.”

  “Can’t I? Mancini is doing this behind his son’s back. He is still the coward who denied her existence and let her mother die. He won’t go public. I think we should wait until after Eve’s birthday. Bella has another doctor’s appointment. Afterwards, I will make a decision on when and how the sisters will be reunited. Understood?”

  Lorenzo and Dominic both agreed.

  Giovanni relaxed. For the first time since the entire ordeal began, he found the situation manageable. He would make sure the secret of Melissa Ellison’s death stayed buried with her. And he’d succeed. No one would ever come between him and his wife. Not even his dead father and her dead mother.

  Sorrento Italy –

&
nbsp; Marietta lifted the tray carefully. She carried it out of the kitchen, balancing its weight. A man sat on the sofa, playing cards with himself. His gaze lifted. She believed his name was Antonio. She wasn’t sure. He rose and hurried over to help. “I have it. No worries. I have it.”

  He looked at her and then the door to Carlo’s room. He walked over and opened it for her. She walked inside with the dinner she prepared. Carlo sat up in the bed. The television blared with some Italian talk show. He switched it to a sports channel and tossed his remote. The bruises to his face looked worse by the day. She guessed that was a sign of healing. What was once reddish- yellow swelling around his eyes and jaw, had now turned blackish purple. And one of his eyes was still swollen shut.

  “I brought you something to eat,” she said. She put the tray down over his lap. Carlo frowned at the food and then her.

  “Don’t look at my cooking like that! You ate it yesterday just fine.”

  “I’m not into American food!” he snarled.

  “So what? You need to eat. Beggars can’t be choosy.”

  “I’m no beggar!” Carlo frowned. “I didn’t ask you to make it.”

  “Oh, it’s a joke. Eat the damn food or flush it down the toilet. What do I care?” She started to the door.

  “Wait!” Carlo said. Marietta paused. “It’s been a rough week. Have a seat and join me.”

  Marietta considered the invitation. She’d rather watch paint dry than sit and talk to this guy. But waiting for Lorenzo to return was killing her. She desperately wanted to learn the truth about her parents in Sicily. He said he’d explain it all to her. Soon, she’d have the answers that had escaped her all her life. And it was because of Lorenzo. Crazy as it seemed to her, she was falling hard for him.

  Taking a chair from under the desk, she brought it over to the bed and sat on it. He ate, slowly chewing on one side of his mouth. His gaze returned to the television and he seemed focused on the sports show broadcasting. He didn’t address her at all. Why the hell did he want her to sit in the room with him?

  “Why is it Lorenzo doesn’t want me alone with you?”

  Carlo stopped chewing. His gaze slipped over to her. “Is that what he said?”

  “Yes,” she nodded and crossed her arms over her breasts. “Gave me the impression you were dangerous.”

  Carlo took another bite. He chewed slowly and then swallowed. “I can be.”

  “To women?”

  He lifted his gaze back to the television. He didn’t answer. Marietta changed the subject. “Who beat your ass?”

  “Beat my ass?” he frowned.

  She pointed to his face. “Yes. Did that to you. Who?”

  “Your boyfriend,” Carlo smirked. “Maybe you should check to see if he is dangerous.”

  “Oh, I know he is,” Marietta sassed back. She parted her lips to say more when she heard the door open. She looked to the living room through Carlo’s door and soon Lorenzo appeared. He was damn handsome in his dark suit and brooding scowl.

  “What are you doing in here?” Lorenzo asked, his tone sharp with disapproval.

  “She cooked for me.” Carlo said with a sly smile.

  Marietta stood. “You’re home. I, ah, I just fixed him something to eat. Since he can’t move around. Hi.” She went to him and gave him a kiss. He squeezed her ass. Marietta hit him playfully and broke free of his embrace.

  “Go upstairs and wait for me,” he whispered in her ear.

  Marietta nodded and walked out. She was barely through the door when Lorenzo closed it on her. His voice rose loudly behind it. He yelled at Carlo to stay away from her. It was strange. She glanced over to the man on the sofa who had stopped playing cards with himself. He looked her in the eye, shook his head, and then he resumed his game. Marietta started up the stairs.

  “Yay!” Mira cheered. Eve grinned and stood up from the tiny toilet she sat upon, bottomless. She clapped with her mother. Mira knelt and encouraged her to sit back down. Eve did.

  “Mommy is so proud of you. You go pee-pee?”

  Eve nodded.

  “After we are done with the pot-pot, we are going to get rid of your pacifier.”

  Eve blinked at her and continued to suck on her pacifier.

  “What’s going on in here?” Giovanni said, behind her. Mira’s head turned and she was surprised to see him standing behind her. “You’re home?”

  “She’s going to the toilette now?” Giovanni asked.

  “She did. I’m so proud of her.”

  “Brava, Lucciola!” Giovanni clapped.

  Mira picked her daughter up and wiped her butt. She then located her diaper and put it on her. “So glad you made it back in time for dinner.” Mira said, unable to look at him. The fight they’d had the night before still hurt. She tried not to think of it, only to focus on the sweet call he’d made this morning. But seeing him again, her disappointment in him was there.

  “It’s almost after eight, you haven’t eaten?”

  Mira washed her hands. “Oh we ate. You haven’t eaten. And I’m going to make sure we all sit down to together. Eve and I would like to join you to make sure you are properly fed.”

  When she turned, he was directly in front of her. He now had Eve in his arms. “Bella?”

  “Yes?” she smiled, looking up at him.

  “Have I told you that I love you?”

  “As a matter of fact you said it this morning in the note you left for me on the pillow, and when you called me from the plane,” she smiled.

  “I love you,” he repeated again. Mira rose on her toes to kiss him. Eve pushed at Mira’s face to stop the kissing. She and Giovanni chuckled. “I’d like to sit down and have dinner with my girls. And then tonight, I’d like to make up with my wife.”

  “Good, because your wife needs you.” She wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked out together.

  Later –

  The ringing phone brought Lorenzo out of the bathroom. He snatched it up, putting it between the side of his face and his shoulder. “Pronto?”

  “It’s me.” Giovanni walked out of the bedroom to his balcony. He closed the door behind him. Mira was in the bed resting. Eve slept peacefully in her arms. The dark robe he wore protected him against the chilly night. “Can you talk?”

  Lorenzo glanced back to the bathroom. “Marietta is waiting for me. She had a lot of questions, Gio. I told her that we hit a dead end in Sicily.”

  “Good call. Because we did.”

  “What?”

  “I want you to take her away for the next two weeks. Just get her the hell out of Sorrento. I don’t need Mancini locating her with you. Not yet.”

  “For how long?”

  “Two weeks. Mira has her doctor’s appointment. I want to hear from the doctors how she is with the baby before I introduce stress into her life.”

  “Gio? Learning about her sister may not be stressful; it might be good for them both. Marietta really needs to know about her mother and what…”

  “I don’t give a shit about Marietta! Fuck the puttana! This is my wife we are talking about! Take her away. Eve’s birthday is in two weeks. See me then and I will tell you how we deal with this! Do you understand?”

  “Yes. I understand. I promised to take her to Bellagio. We’ll leave in the morning.”

  Giovanni ended the call. He heaved a deep sigh and stared up at the crescent moon. The right thing to do would be to tell his wife everything. Give her the chance to make a decision about whether or not she wanted a life with a man who was tied to her mother’s death. But that would mean putting his family, the love of his life, and their future at risk. Taking a chance, when history had shown she’d ran from him in the past for less. He stuffed his hands down into the pockets of his robe. He had to think of something else. There had to be something he could say to explain that the women are sisters without sharing the truth about Mancini. In two weeks, he’d come up with something. He’d talk to Dominic. They’d figure out something.

&nbs
p; “Hey you! Keeping me waiting?” Marietta said. Lorenzo set the phone down. He turned and looked at her. She wore nothing but a towel and a smile. “I was thinking that maybe it’s time you wash my back.”

  “My pleasure.” When she turned to go back to the bathroom, he caught her hand. She stopped and cast her gaze back at him. “You do know that I feel awful that I couldn’t find the answers for you in Sicily,” he said.

  She returned to him and touched his face. “Don’t. In a matter of weeks you have changed my life. I am beginning to believe that the past is not my friend. But you, Lorenzo, you are my friend. You’re becoming more than a friend to me.” She let the towel drop and cupped his face. “I’m okay with what comes next.”

  “Good,” he said, feeling over her curves. Damn woman had the body of a goddess. He smiled as he pulled her up against him with both halves of her ass, crushing her breasts into his chest. “We will return to Milan tomorrow to sign your paperwork for the courts to release your money. Then, I’m taking you to Bellagio.”

  “Really?” Marietta gasped. “What about Carlo?”

  “I’ll make sure the boys take care of him here. He’ll be fine. You care?”

  “About Carlo? No. I find him interesting though. You and him make a strange pair.”

  Lorenzo lifted her by her ass. Marietta’s arms went around his neck and her legs circled his waist. “So you are taking me to Bellagio?”

  “Yes. I never take anyone there,” he lied. “It’ll be special for us. We will sail and eat by the lake.”

  “It’s cold this time of year there. Isn’t it?”

  “I’ll buy you a mink. I’ll buy you two.”

  Marietta smiled. “Why, Lorenzo? Why are you becoming my prince?” she joked.

  “Because I’m falling for the princess!” He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed.

  Epilogue

  La Fine – The End

  Two Weeks Later

  “Are you nervous?” Giovanni asked.