3

Several rounds of drinks later, it was the dead of night.

Luca suddenly looked uneasy and set down his glass.

"Why haven't we heard anything from the estate?

"Knowing Millie, once she heard we were dead, she'd either cry until she passed out or come tearing out with our men to find my body."

My father waved a hand, unconcerned.

"Nothing will happen. I told the guards to go in and check if they heard anything strange, then send someone to tell me."

Nico checked the time, looking uneasy.

"Nonna has a bad heart. Anna's been weak and nauseous lately. Mia's only five, and she scares easily. What if the scare is too much for one of them..."

Marco asked, "What about Millie?"

"What could happen to Millie?" Nico said. "She can handle anything."

I stared at him, stunned.

They'd worried about everyone else.

No one worried about me.

At the other end of the sofa, Bianca kept her eyes down and said nothing.

But I saw her discreetly signal to the maid by the door.

The maid left the room at once.

I followed her into the fire stairwell.

The "badly wounded bodyguard" was leaning against the wall, smoking. Three hours earlier, he'd been sobbing at the estate as he pressed the silver box into Nonna's hands. The blood was still on his face.

It was pig blood.

The maid kept her voice low.

"Did the box get in?"

"It did." The bodyguard flicked ash from his cigarette. "I said exactly what Miss Bianca told me to say. The old lady believed me and gave the women a dignified way out."

The maid pulled a stack of cash out of her bag and pushed it into his hand.

"What about the guards?"

"They got the message too. Miss Bianca said to make it look real, they had to ignore whatever they heard inside."

"And they'll listen?"

The bodyguard snorted.

"The Don and Mr. Santangelo are both playing along with Miss Bianca. Who's going to cross her?"

They looked at each other and laughed.

The truth hit me, and my spirit shuddered.

I lunged at him like a madwoman, trying to get my hands around his throat.

But my hands passed right through him.

That box of cyanide. Bianca had planned every bit of it.

Nico's voice came from the living room.

"Bianca, the men you sent to pose as Moretti gunmen know where to draw the line, right? Don't actually traumatize anybody."

Bianca's eyes welled up at once.

"Are you blaming me?

"I went to all this trouble setting up the show for Luca and Millie's sake! I never wanted to hurt anyone. If you can't stand it, I'll go back right now and let them out."

She started to get up.

Nico quickly grabbed her arm. "That's not what I meant."

Marco pushed her back into her seat.

"Don't be ridiculous! Bianca meant well. We're halfway through. There's no reason to stop now."

My father nodded too.

"We'll all go back tomorrow morning and apologize to my mother first. At worst, she'll hit me a few times with her cane and get over it."

Luca laughed and joined in.

"Okay, stop crying. I'll handle Millie.

"I'll bring her favorite cannoli and sweet-talk her. She's soft-hearted. Once she knows I'm alive, she won't stay mad for more than three days."

Bianca finally laughed through her tears.

"Then we'll all go back tomorrow morning, and I'll apologize to Millie myself. We'll make it up to Millie, Nonna, and everyone else with the biggest Thanksgiving dinner ever."

Luca refilled her glass.

"Deal. First thing in the morning, we'll get them out and have Thanksgiving all over again."

They raised their glasses again.

But the Valenti family's Thanksgiving dinner would never make it to dawn.