Chapter 5

FELIX

"Who was that? Is that Gia and that boy? I just got home; I'm in no mood to deal with those two right now…."

"I told you to have a seat. I'm having a drink; why don't you join me?"

"Felix, I'm serious. Because of them, I spent a week in jail for an honest mistake."

"Mistake? What kind of mistake was that? Who gave you the right to sell Gia's car?"

"I admit I was a bit hasty there; I was just upset at what they did to Victoria. Besides, it was that Russo kid who burned her car; it's only fair."

"I see. What about the rest of it?"

"The rest of what? It's all nonsense. You yourself know how hard I've tried to be a good mother to Gia. I was her mother's best friend… Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason, go on."

"What do you want to hear? I still don't know what's going on. Something happened between Victoria and Gia, a silly prank with her hair, and everyone's blowing it out of proportion."

"Was that all?"

"Of course, it was. What else could it be?" My skin crawled when she came further into the room to stand beside me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Well, they're on their way here; I guess we'll get to the bottom of it once and for all. She sounded pretty serious on the phone just now. Oh, by the way, I seem to recall you spent a lot of time with Adrienne before she passed. Was there anything strange about that day?"

"What? Why are you bringing that up now? How can I remember what happened that day? It was so long ago."

I almost flinched when she threw herself in my lap but caught myself in time. I have no idea why Gia is coming here now, it could be as simple as letting me know she's back in the country, but I have some questions of my own. Funnily enough, it's the dance that snapped me out of whatever fog I've been in these past few years.

When I wasn't sitting here looking at her mother, I've been watching the recording of my daughter dancing that the Russo kid had given me and my eyes opened further each time. I'm not sure that was his intention, but who knows. When I think back on all my interactions with him, I'm apt to believe he's smarter than the average teen.

The more I watched Gia; the more questions arose in my mind. Why would she give up dance, something she once loved and aspired to excel at, because it was one of the things she shared with her mom? Only to use the dusty old room at school to practice away from prying eyes.

That and a whole lot more went through my head in the ensuing days, and I got to looking at things differently and seeing things that I'd overlooked in a new light. I haven't spent the whole week just gazing off into space either, not after that cryptic message about Adrienne's death.

But I had to be careful with Victoria still in the house. I took some time off from going to the office and spent my days outside of the house visiting old friends. Those who didn't close the door in my face were only too willing to talk, to share their thoughts on my now wife and what they knew of her true character.

It wasn't the first time I'd heard some of the things they said, but it was the first time I listened without bias and without Becky's whispers in my ear. Most of them only spoke up now because of recent events, and I'm certain the Russo men had got to them in some way since they were willing to talk freely without fear of repercussion.

They'd opened my eyes to some things, but I still need to hear Gia tell me from her own lips what all had been done to her. I let Becky prattle on and on with that sing-song voice that grated on my nerves when it never had before. The anger that had built up over a week was barely contained as I nodded as if agreeing with her assessment that Adrienne's death had been so long ago, and as her friend, it pained her to even remember it.

"If Gia's coming here, I don't think you should have that picture hanging there. You know how she is; she's not ready to deal with seeing her mother like…."

"You mean to say she's still too young to deal with the loss? I seem to recall that's what you said when you had me remove all traces of Adrienne from the house."

"Why are you saying it like that? We both decided that don't you remember?"

"Of course, I remember. I agreed with you at the time, seeing as you were the one who spent the most time with her; I thought you knew best."

"That's right, and since she's been acting out lately, I don't think she's in any state to deal with this. She seems to be having some kind of mental break. Maybe we should…."

"It was Gia who brought the portrait home." She got up from my lap and walked around behind me, I guess, in a futile attempt to hide her anger. The look on her face reflected in the glass that covered my wife's portrait made my guts turn.

She hadn't realized I guess that I could see her. It's odd, when I had the portrait encased just a few days ago, I didn't give any thought to this added benefit, but in the last couple of days, I'd seen both mother and daughter's reflection as they stood behind me and what I saw made my blood run cold.

***

GABRIEL

***

"You ready?" She nodded her head silently and gazed out the car window with a sigh. She might be, but I'm no longer sure that I am. I'd convinced her to go in there alone because I knew we stood a better chance of Becky slipping up without me there. It's been my plan all along, not only to show Gianna that she had the strength to stand on her own but because I knew Becky wouldn't dare show her ass with me in the room.

But now that we're here, I feel like a dad dropping his kid off at the school gate for the first time and dreading his precious baby being bullied by the other kids. I took her hand and brought her attention back to me. "Tell me, do you really want to do this? If you're not sure, I'll think of another way."

Nothing could've reassured me more than the giggle she gave me or the way she leaned over to kiss my cheek. "I'm sure; stop worrying." The lamb is comforting the lion. I grabbed and hugged her like she was going off to war, but that too was twofold. When she's distressed, her heart beats in a certain way, which I could now feel, but at least it wasn't as bad as I'd have expected.

Whereas in the last few days I've been rushing to get her life together so I could move on to my own problems, I was now wishing I could turn back the clock, give her more time to get herself together, more time to deal with all this until she was truly ready. But I don't have the liberty.

This trip to Paris is the chance I've been waiting for. Pop has me under lock and key when it comes to getting that close to Sicily. Even without either of us acknowledging that the other knows what the other is thinking, we've drawn our lines in the sand. He doesn't want me anywhere near Ma's past, and I can't let him handle what's mine to do.

He doesn't know that I'm aware of the lengths he's gone to to protect me or what I'm willing to do to protect him. But now, she's in the mix, messing with my head as usual. "Okay, go on in there before they realize I'm out here. Remember, I'm right here, and I'll be able to hear you with this." I ran my finger over the diamond stud I'd admitted to her was bugged.

I had to have some way of explaining how I'll know what's going on in there. She doesn't need to know I've had eyes and ears on the place since forever. "Okay, I'm ready." She breathed out hard before opening the door and stepping out, and I had to refrain from calling her back and taking her home. We could just let Greta go in there and do her thing when she gets here in a little bit; that should be more than enough.

But Gianna needs this; I need her to have her moment, to take some of her power back. If it were me, I know I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less. So, I watched her walk inside while I stayed hidden in the car, hoping that everything went as planned. If Felix has been following the crumbs I left him; he should be more than ready to accept the truth.

I'm not so much worried about his dumb ass as I am about her reliving some of the shit that had been done to her. Not to mention having to listen to what had been done to her mother once again in the presence of the ones responsible. Last time she'd been a wreck.

***

GIANNA

***

You can do this; you can do this, you… I repeated that mantra in my head as I walked into my family home. I almost looked back, giving the fact that Gabe was here away. "Hi Ella, can you do me a favor? Can you make me those brownies I like?" I smiled when she looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"Sure, sure. The turtle ones, with the caramel?"

"Yes, I've missed them."

Not really, since Gabriel had browbeaten Sheila into making me some when I told him of my fondness for them, and now they're an added staple in the Russo home since everyone else had fallen in love with them as well. It was Gabriel's idea to get her out of the way, something I didn't question, but I think it's his way of protecting me from prying ears. Or maybe he knows I'd be more relaxed knowing that the woman couldn't overhear the darker aspects of my past. Then again, Becky and Victoria don't like witnesses to their bullshit, so he could be thinking of that.

She won't be that careful with dad, not when it comes to making me look bad. It just goes to show how well she believes she's poisoned my father's mind against me, and that's just what I want. I want her to be just the way she's always been behind his back. I want him to fall for her lies like he always does so that when the truth is revealed, his pain will be doubled.

The deeper I walked into the house, the angrier I became, but I hid it well. Gabriel was right; I just have to pretend like this is a play, and I'm about to go onstage. "Where's Victoria?" Only my dad and Becky were in the room when I walked in. I was almost surprised to see my mom's portrait still hanging, having believed Becky would've tried her best to get rid of it as soon as she walked through the door. There's hope for dad, yet I guess.

"She's upstairs; why?" Dad turned to look at me. Did he always look that tired? That beaten? My heart almost hurt for him, for the forlorn look on his face. But I pushed it aside; this is his doing, not mine. It's too late, too much water under the bridge. Forget everything he'd let them do to me; I won't ever forgive him for marrying the woman who murdered my mother.

My mind tells me this, but my silly heart still felt that bond that had been forged between us before my world went to heck. I looked away from his gaze before he made me falter. This is the only time I'll do this, it has taken a lot to shore myself up for the task, and I never want to deal with this mess again.

"I think she should be here for this; it concerns her as well."

"Where's that boy? Your new shadow? Has he caused enough trouble in this house? Do you know what he did to me? What both of you did? I can't believe after everything I've done for you.…."

"Not now, Becky, come and sit down, Gianna. You have a tan; it looks good on you. I've watched your dance all week; I didn't know you were that good."

"Dance? What dance?"

"I've been meaning to ask you about that? Didn't you tell me that Gia was no longer interested in dance? You even convinced me that it was her idea to quit. You said she didn't want to do it any longer because it was something her mother did, that she was mad at her mother for leaving. Don't you remember? I do; it was the first time I hit her."

"It's what she said she wanted. Isn't it Gia?" I ignored her, not even looking in her direction. "Felix, why do you keep bringing up things from before? I can hardly remember what I did yesterday. Gia, this is not a good time; I just got home after spending a week in jail, thanks to your boyfriend."

"Dad, can you call Victoria down here, please?"

"Why? What do you plan to do to my daughter now? Haven't you done enough?"

"I'm not talking to you, Becky, dad."

"Excuse me? Who do you think you're talking to?" I just gave her a look and waited for the fallout from dad, but there was none coming. He just got up from his chair and walked to the entryway to call up the stairs to Victoria.

I felt some of my unease leave me. I thought Gabriel was nuts when he told me to take this approach, believing my dad hadn't changed one bit. But he was certain that my father wouldn't react like the norm.

It wasn't much, but just that little show of support stopped my heart racing as sickeningly as it had been since walking in here. I felt the glare of Becky's gaze at the side of my head, and where before I would've cowered or done my best to escape it, this time I turned to look at her directly. Did you flinch, witch? Good, I've only just gotten started.