AngelicaThere was no point arguing with him. If he was trying to use my identity as leverage, he had done enough research to be certain he was right. He wouldn’t risk it blowing up in his face. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to admit the truth or keep denying it either.“What gave me away?” I asked. He smirked. “I must admit, you are quite good at covering your tracks. Not even I could dig them up. But then, there is no skeleton in any closet that would stay hidden for long if I’m doing the digging.”“But it took you a whole month, Giancarlo.” I mocked. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do right now, and I also knew he had only managed to uncover it because The Viper let him.However, he proved me wrong.“And you have your dear aunt to thank for the fact that I discovered it.”I frowned. Aunt Aria? That couldn’t be right.He must have been reading my mind because he laughed. “No, silly. Your other aunt. Dahlia St. Clair. Ring a bell?”I blanked out. I didn’t even know I had an aunt called

AngelicaI felt sick. I should be enjoying the picnic Curtis prepared but I could barely stomach it. He wanted to take me out on a date but I made up something about promising to have dinner with Nana, so he opted for a picnic in my favorite part of the backyard. The gazebo was my favorite part of the mansion and quite possibly my best place in the whole world. It overlooked the fountain and was close enough that I could hear the roar of the water while I sat or slept on one of the plush couches. It reminded me of home, especially with all the flowers and plants nearby. Curtis was sitting next to me on one of the couches. When he took out the assortment of cookies he had packed into the basket, I wanted to heave. “Are you okay?” He asked, probably seeing how restless I was. I nodded and lied. “Just tired, that’s all.” I watched as he opened a bucket with a hefty amount of ice cubes and a bottle slotted into the ice. I blinked. “Champagne?” “We didn’t get to celebrate our weddin

Lyra “Come with me.” Angelica urged me. When we made it to her car, she had floored it out of the Arciero mansion’s garage and only stopped about half an hour later. We were far from the Arciero mansion and certainly not being followed. How nice of her to ask if I wanted to leave with her after grabbing me without much choice earlier. I was yet to figure out why we were running away. Wasn’t Curtis her husband? So what if her maiden name was a little different from what everyone thought? “Why?” I asked. “You said your life is in danger. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She said frantically, and I knew she was hiding something. “Curtis might just take his anger out on you.” “I’ll be fine.” I assured her. Samantha was my cousin. Not biologically, but if the Carlo she always talked about was Giancarlo Arciero as I was starting to think, Curtis wouldn’t hurt me. And Andre…well, I wasn’t about to put Angelica in more danger than she already was in. “No one wants to mess with

The Viper “Angelica left.” I glared at Spider. “What do you mean she left?” He shrugged, letting me know there was nothing else to explain about it. She ran away. “And you let her?” He scrunched his nose. “You know there’s no such thing as ‘letting’ with Angelica. You could lock her up in a cage with an active electric field all around it and she would still find a way to leave.” His words conjured up a memory of that feisty little kitten she once was. She’d been looking for me for a year and I knew every bullet she put between a target’s brows, every throat she sliced was to get my attention. She did get it, but it was way too much than she bargained for. She ended up in my dungeon after putting down one of my most loyal men. I made sure the shackles were way too small for her to wiggle her hands free, and the chain was too short to be of any use. I was going to decide whether she was worth keeping that night but I walked into the dungeon only for her to head-butt me and make

AngelicaI felt like crap. Where the hell am I? I wondered. I forced one eye open and squinted, wincing from how horribly my head hurt. I patted around for my phone and remembered dropping it the night before. I hadn’t stopped to pick it up. I was too busy running for my life with Curtis hot on my tail. I didn’t know how he found me but I wasn’t going to be able to hide from him forever, I guess. My plan was perfect if I do say so myself. I ran around the city, leaving Curtis a trail that would make him think I was headed for Arcron, then I circled back and returned to Silverwood, where I rented two apartments; one in my name and the other under Klara Arciero. I stayed at neither. I spent every night at a different motel far from both apartments. The apartments were only a way to keep Curtis busy if he found out I was still in the city. Which is why I couldn’t understand why the fuck I thought it was a good idea to check out my fake apartment. I was yet to enter the building when