Chapter Twenty-One

"Are you sure you still want to marry him?" Caelian asked.

No, she wasn't sure. Not completely. All she kept remembering was the devastation on his face.

"I don't know," she admitted truthfully.

"Can we trust him?"

"I don't know," she said again.

"What if he warns his father?"

"How many times do you want me to say I don't know?" she snapped. Then she immediately felt bad and sighed. "I'm sorry. I want so much to believe him. You didn't see how devastated he was after he found out what happened."

He laid his hands on her shoulders. "I know you still love him, and I know you want him to be innocent. But he's not, Gianna. Even if he didn't know about what happened to you, he's hurt others."

She nodded. "I know. But I'm also thinking he was in the dark about a lot of things. I'm thinking he might be just as much a victim of Pietro Romanelli as we are. And I'm remembering our time before the basement. That everything he did and said was real. He didn't want to replace me. He wanted to marry me."

Caelian's lips thinned as he cast his gaze upward, as if seeking a higher power.

"You can speak," she said quietly. "Be honest."

He looked back down at her. "I believe you're thinking with your vagina."

"Oh," she said, eyes widening. "Ouch."

"This isn't what Orianna would have wanted."

"Well, she's no longer here, and we're continuing with different information. I think she'd want me to be happy."

He shook his head, muttered something under his breath, and then turned and stalked away.

"He's right."

Gianna turned and saw Seth in the archway. "You, too?"

"Doesn't matter if we have different information. Matteo Romanelli isn't a good guy."

"Are any of us good guys?"

"We don't kill innocent people."

"No, but we are planning to kill. We're all in this for revenge, no matter how we try to spin it. And you know what? I believe Matteo and I want to marry him."

"So, you're walking away?" Seth demanded.

"No," she answered. "I'm going to recruit him to our side because he's a victim, too. I know you might not like that, but I say we give him a chance."

Seth blew out his breath. "Whatever. Anyway, I found the money."

Excitement lit her up. "Where?"

"I'm funneling it back into a private account."

"Awesome." She smiled. "Thanks, Seth. You're a genius. And now, excuse me. I have a wedding dress to find."

****

She hurried across the street and entered the small ristorante, noticing right away that Matteo sat with Rocco. Matteo rose to his feet and leaned over to kiss her, his gaze caressing over her face. Rocco had also risen to greet her. When she sat, they followed, and a server came over to take their order. She ordered melanzane alla parmigiana, winking at Matteo.

"Is it true?" Rocco asked as soon as she sat down.

"Is what true?"

He narrowed his eyes as he studied her. "Are you Macy?"

"Still drinking those salted caramel lattes?"

"Holy. Fucking. Shit balls." Rocco stared at her like she was some sort of bug under a microscope. "Wait. Your eyes are brown."

She reached up and pulled one contact down to reveal their real aquamarine color.

"I said it once and I'll say it again. Holy. Fucking. Shit balls." He looked at Matteo. "What the hell happened?"

Matteo told him the entire story, including how she planned to obtain revenge not only for herself, but for others Pietro had wronged.

"My father has to pay for this," Matteo said quietly.

The server appeared with their dinner. After replenishing their drinks, she left them alone once more.

"I've got some upsetting news," she said.

"More than discovering you're back from the dead?" Rocco asked.

She nodded and kept her gaze on Matteo. "My place is bugged and I was able to record a conversation your father had when he walked into my office to answer his phone."

Pulling up the recording, they listened to Pietro's conversation. Matteo and Rocco came to the same unbelievable realization.

"That fucking bastard," Matteo muttered. "Everything is a lie. Everything he ordered me to do. A great big fucking lie."

"I need to know if you're with me," she said.

He took hold of her hand. "I never want you to doubt my devotion to you. Whatever you plan, I'll follow your lead."

"We'll follow," Rocco stressed. "Count me in, too."

Relief poured through her. Despite everything, she still wondered if he'd side with his father against her.

"This is the idea I've come up with," she said, and she launched into her game plan.