The party came to an end, and even after lying on my bed for a few hours, I was still unable to sleep. I rolled to my side and stared at the empty spot where the lamp once was.Why had Michael given me the lamp?Obviously to spy on me, but was it to get information about Lorenzo or just keep tabs on me?Both were possible.Michael hated Lorenzo's gut, so maybe he thought he could get secrets about him during any of our calls.But what if it was simply to watch me?He did have a twisted obsession about me. Could it be that he was watching everything I did to feed his madness?How much did he watch? Did he have pictures? What kinds of pictures?My chest tightened at the ugly thoughts of him having nudes of me in a secret folder. It was a far stretch to assume, but given the type of man Michael was, it could be possible.And the thought sent bile to my throat.I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it would quench my anxiety, but it didn't.I thought Beatrice was the one to fear, but
"What the hell?! Why the f*ck did you do that?!" I snarled as I grabbed Natalie's shoulder."Because of this." She picked the broken head of the lamp, holding it up to me, and my blood ran cold."Is... is that a... a...""A camera? Yes, it's a camera.""That's... that's f*cking crazy. Michael gave me the camera... Was he... do you think he was... spying on me?" I whispered, and a bitter cold crawled through my bones when she nodded.I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. Michael was f*cking spying on me!He had been seeing and hearing everything I had been doing in my room. I had gotten naked countless times in front of that teddy bear. Had he seen that too?I wrapped my arms around my body, feeling like I had been stripped bare in front of the entire world, and I collapsed to my knees."Gwen. Are you ok?" Natalie gasped as she knelt beside me."Of course not. My stepbrother has been spying on me for who knows what reason? I feel so f*cking violated." I yelled
While Natalie washed her face in my bathroom, I sat in my bed, thinking about what happened.Lorenzo had almost killed a girl because she wanted him to cheat on me.That was so f*cking crazy, but was it bad that I found it sweet? Which girl doesn't want a faithful boyfriend? Mine did hurt the other girl, but he's a f*cking don! Threatening someone's life was any regular day."I'm done." Natalie whispered as she came out of the bathroom."Should I do your makeup for you, or do you want to do it yourself?" I asked as I held up my makeup box."I can do it myself." "Ok." I handed her the box, and she pulled out my foundation."You want to talk to me about what happened, right? You probably think I'm a slut, and you're not wrong. I think I'm a slut too.""No, I don't think so. Michael forced you to do so, didn't he?" I replied, and she stopped applying her makeup."Not technically. I could have said no, but I didn't.""You didn't, or you couldn't?" I asked, and she pressed her l
Lorenzo can't cheat on me.Lorenzo would never cheat on me.Then why were he and Natalie in the garden, hidden from the rest of the party?"What's this?" I whispered to Michael."I told you I would expose Lorenzo as the lying, cheating son of a b*tch. Natalie was the perfect tool, given their past history. It was hard getting her to try to seduce the Diavolo, but she agreed after a little convincing." He smirked."Convincing? You threatened her!" I gasped."I like to call it negotiation with confidence. She does owe me one for helping her keep a secret.""You're twisted. I'm going to stop this—""Why? Scared that he'll cheat?""I... No, I—""Then sit back and enjoy the show.""I—""What are you doing? You said you had something important to tell me about your father." Lorenzo asked Natalie, and though he looked completely unfazed by what she was doing, he didn't push her off his body."Don't act so coy, Lorey. You know what I'm doing." Natalie giggled and bopped his nose."I've warned
"So you are hiding something?" I hissed as I yanked my hand away from André. "Better spill, or I will scream and falsely accused you of trying to hurt me.""You can't do that!" He scowled."I can and I will. And God helps you that Lorenzo gets here before Pablo does. I promise you it will get ugly. So tell me, why the strange interest in kicking me out of my father's house if it isn't because of Beatrice?""It's because I care about your safety." He sighed."Right, and I'm the queen of France." I rolled my eyes."I'm not joking. I honestly care about your safety. I might be part of a mafioso, but I do have my morals. I don't like seeing innocent people being hurt. You didn't do anything wrong; you don't deserve to be caught in the crossfire.""You really expect me to believe that?" I snorted."Yes.""Oh, really? Then tell me why you care about my safety. Are you trying to imply that something is going to happen in the Vipers and I will be harmed?""I can't tell you some things because
"Not here; too many prying eyes and listening ears. You'd be surprised how nosy people in the mafia world can be. Anything to blackmail an enemy." André said as his eyes darted around like everyone was staring at us."You want to move me to somewhere private so you can kill me." I scrunched my nose as I took a step back."I won't dare. I'm a member of the Vipers, and just like the others, I have sworn an oath to protect the Boss and family. It's the first rule of the mafia world.""Even if your sister asks? You're delivering a message that she could have done herself. Who's to say that you can't kill me if she asks? Blood is thicker than water.""It's actually the blood of the covenant that is thicker than the water of the womb. My oath to the Viper is greater than a siblings' bond."Like I would believe him. If my hunch that Beatrice was trying to kill Pablo was true, then André was also involved.If he was planning on betraying his own boss, who was I that he couldn't kill without b