The women were getting along better than I thought. Klara had only been in Silverwood for a few hours but she had charmed my wife away. The two of them were currently lost in some discussion about some celebrity women had a huge crush on. I may not know much about Angelica but I knew my sister, which is how I knew what she was doing. She was roping my wife into discussions about men to make me jealous. What I hated most was the fact that it was working. It was already enough that she had disappeared for hours last night and I had to battle the urge to go looking for her. I didn't even know when she returned, she'd been out so late. It was infuriating that I didn't even have the right to know where she was or who she was talking to. And just when I thought I couldn't possibly be angrier, my evil nephew climbed onto Angelica's lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. I would have thought he was only doing it because he liked her but when Angelica showered him with attention and fon
Angelica Klara was a darling. I couldn’t believe I would ever think that way of any Arciero but there was no other way to describe her. For a woman of her beauty and qualifications, I had expected a grumpy boss lady—maybe those only existed in movies? Whatever this was, the last thing I needed was a reason to think an Arciero could be nice. I had already made that mistake once and no matter what, I couldn’t lose myself this time. Not even to the charm of the two cutest kids I’d ever met. To be fair, I had never really allowed myself to be this close to kids. Maybe they were always cute and I just didn’t have the chance to find out. Lizzie was currently painting something at the table while I subtly drilled Klara for as much information about Curtis as I could get. I would have learned to learn more about the rest of the family but I would be treading on dangerous grounds. “What’s the deal with Curtis and the kids, anyway?” I pried. I had realized how stiff their relationship was.
One year ago. “What’s a woman’s greatest weapon?” The Viper asked me, hovering over me with his intimidating frame. It wasn’t how tall or bulky he was that terrified me, but the thought of what he would do if I got his question wrong. I had to think about it for a while. If he had asked that question a year ago, the answer would have been different. But after spending two and a half years getting me ready for an inevitable battle, he soent the last six months teaching me how to learn a man and get under his skin. He certainly wasn’t looking for answers like “her skill” or “her wits”. “Her beauty?” I tried, trying not to cower away when he inched closer. “Her tears, silly.” He brushed past me and sat down in the seat exclusively reserved for him, which looked more like a burgundy throne and was also the only chair in the room. “It’s time for you to master the art of crying. I want you to be so good at it that you can cry on command and stop on command.” That was the most ridiculou
Curtis“I knew it.” I cursed when I caught sight of my open bedroom door. I knew Giancarlo wouldn’t be able to stop himself from confronting Angelica. Was he out of his mind?Sure enough, by the time I entered my room, Angelica looked like she was seconds away from passing out while Giancarlo had his arms crossed before her. He turned and eyed the fruit platter I was carrying in my hands with a mocking grin. I glared at him, daring him to say a word.It wasn’t what it looked like—I wasn’t taking his advice about the way to a woman’s heart. I was only feeding my wife because it was the least I could do after what she’d been through.While he didn’t say a word, his reaction was in sync with Klara’s when she caught me trying my best to make the prettiest platter I could come up with.“Get lost.” I shooed him off and placed the platter on the bedside table beside which Angelica was standing. When he finally left, I nudged Angelica to sit back on the bed, stabbed a mango piece and brought
As soon as I pulled into the parking lot of Silverwood Psychiatric Hospital, mother sprinted over and practically wanted to jump into the car when I didn’t get out fast enough. Her illness had turned her into the purest version of her I had ever seen.Instead of smiling and pretending to be alright while the world crumbled down on her, she wore her emotions on her sleeve now with the innocence of a child. She allowed herself to feel things she wouldn’t let anyone see before, to whine about not liking it here because it kept her away from me. Sometimes I thought of it as a blessing in disguise—only if she was honest could I truly take care of her.“Curtis!” she punctuated her screech with a warm hug and went on a rant about how much she missed me. It didn’t take long for her to take notice of Angelica who had just gotten out from the passenger door. “Is this your wife? Heavens, she is more beautiful than in the video call. Come on closer, dear.”Angelica’s cheeks flushed as she walked
AngelicaJust when I thought nothing about the Arciero family could faze me, I turned out to be my own enemy. It had to remain that way—I couldn’t tell Curtis the real reason why I wasn’t in any danger for killing Miles. That was not all. Curtis was fascinated by me. He didn’t say it out aloud but there was that hint of admiration in his tone when he spoke of the Angel of Death. Would he feel the same way if he found out the real person behind that nickname? It did make me wonder why he thought he was talking about a woman. When I learned about my nickname, I had made sure everyone thought the Angel of Death was a man so they wouldn’t make the connection between my name and that nickname. No one knew who I was except Spider and The Viper.“Why do you think she’s a woman? Have you met her?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious about it. “No one has seen her and lived to tell the tale.” He didn’t flinch. “But she kills like she has all the time in the world to do it, doling out th
Curtis“What kind of results do you hope for?” Klara asked as soon as I arrived at the hospital changing room. I had made my way over earlier so I would have an unhurried conversation with her before she got ready to go into the OR. I reclined against the table without answering her. The last thing I wanted was for her to make a prank out of it once she knew what I was hoping for. “It’s not my business. Just spill it.” “Alright.” She gave me a white envelope, which I frantically opened and let my eyes trail to the end of the document. I had no interest in the genetic mumbo jumbo filling the rest of it. “Less than 1% DNA compatibility?” I read aloud, glancing at Klara. “What does that even mean?” “They could be total strangers and the tiny percentage is because of how low the quality of their samples was.” Klara took off her wedding rings with a mischievous grin. “Or, it could mean they originated from the same clan. Distant relatives. Have you ever randomly met a stranger and they
Angelica I woke up with a start and gasped for air. My heart was racing a mile a minute. It was the same feeling I had when I woke up from a nightmare. I didn’t care to remember what I had dreamed about. I shuffled off the bed, frowning at the prickling sensation of a needle poking against the back of my hand. It took moments to register why I was in a ward that looked identical to Nana’s. The last thing I remembered was feeling light-headed. I pulled the IV off and dashed out of the room and toward the recovery ward, where I was relieved to see Spider lurking. “How is she?” I asked. “Resting. She wanted to talk to you earlier but you were on your way to hell.” Even though he was joking and teasing me, his expression portrayed the opposite. I didn’t think much of it. “How long have I been asleep?”“Thirteen hours.” Thirteen hours? No wonder my head felt like it’d been passed through Nana’s meat grinder. I didn’t want to wake her up and disturb her rest, so I crept into the recov
Angelica"What is it like being a mother?"Klara paused with a spoon of chocolate ice cream halfway towards her mouth. I only realized how odd my question was when I saw how she was looking at me. I dug into my ice cream and shoveled a spoon into my mouth to calm myself down."Why would you ask?" she asked. "Are you planning to have kids?"I was glad I wasn't looking at her so she wouldn't read my mind—not that I still believed shrinks could read minds but it was awkward nonetheless."Maybe," I gave a vague answer. Considering Curtis's stance on kids, her surprise was understandable. However, I didn't want to tell her I was pregnant yet. It didn't feel right to tell anyone else before Curtis."Well," she shrugged. "That's a broad subject. But I had all these plans for my kids. Rowan and I always wanted two, close in age, and we planned everything including what parenting methods we would use, which schools they would go to, what kind of friends we would allow around them, how I would
Angelica I groaned as I forced my eyes open, adjusting to the blinding light that had just been flickered on. I didn't know how long I had slept. Hell, I wasn't sure if it was day or night. There was no window in this dingy cell and the door was a solid hank of metal that didn't allow any light through it. The only source of light was the offensively bright bulb above me, which had been kept off until now. I had alternated between sleeping and pacing in the dark the whole time and it was driving me crazy. The only thing I could feel was the chains around my wrists and ankles, reminding me that I wasn't dead yet. I didn't know how long had passed since Curtis interrogated me about The Viper. It could be a day, a week, or a year. Hell, it could be ten years for all I knew. I looked down at my stomach and my lips twitched. At least there was a way to know if months had passed. My belly would bulge out. This was Curtis's idea of torture.To be fair, solitary confinement was one of the
Curtis“Angelika Giannelli, Angel of Death…is there any other identity I should know of?” I mocked.“Tell me everything about The Viper,” I demanded.She averted her gaze, dragging the long chains with her so she would walk up to me. I smirked when she stopped, her radius finally running out.“Is this necessary?” She bit back.Yes, it was. This woman killed Miles right under our noses and we didn’t think she was at fault. She played us all like a violin with that innocent smile on her face, all while taking out one Arciero after another and pitting us against each other. However, that was not why I was here.I pointed at her chains. “That will be the least of your problems. Answer me.”She shook her head. “I can’t tell you anything. You’re going to kill me anyway. Just do it.”“I knew you would say that.” I grinned. Someone with her skill could endure a lot of pain.Besides, I couldn’t bring myself to torture her. At least not physically anyway, which was odd, considering how willing
Angelica I needed my head examined. Was I seriously considering having this child? I had bought a dozen pregnancy test kits in the hospital’s pharmacy and couldn’t wait until I got to my hotel room, so I took the tests right there in the hospital washroom. Unsurprisingly, all of them came positive. It was unbelievable. I didn’t know what I thought pregnancy felt like but this was not it. I had expected a little more drama. Aside from my boobs feeling like they were about to fall off, the doctor mentioned I was lucky enough to have a morning sickness-free pregnancy. Maybe that was why I still couldn’t believe I had an actual baby inside me. It sounded like a joke—until I remembered I had to tell Curtis. Between upgrading and downgrading my way through as many cars as possible in the last two months, and spending each of those nights at a different hotel, I had about a thousand dollars to my name. It was a drop in the bucket in relation to how much I needed to bring up a child. I
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
CurtisTwo months later. Why was I still on this wild goose chase? I hadn’t caught a whiff of my wife even though I felt I had searched the whole of West Auburg. She couldn’t have left the country. There was only one person capable of helping her get a fake passport and he was currently on our side. Sometimes I could swear she was leaving me a trail. Though when I got to it, she was gone like a puff of smoke. I was more frustrated by the realization that the longer it took to find her, the farther away she could go. If she found a way to get a fake passport from somewhere else, she could be halfway across the country and there was nothing I could do about it. But I wasn’t giving up. I meant it when I said I would tear down the whole world to find her. I was not giving up now. I was still staring at the road with my hands gripping the steering wheel. What if I was approaching this from the wrong angle?I took a U-turn at the next exit and returned home. Klara was visiting, which was
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
CurtisLyra Giannelli, now known as Eloise Dalton, was as hard to find as her sister. I already knew she was Samantha’s cousin from overhearing their argument but I still couldn’t find her, not even with Giancarlo’s help. Eventually, I had to ask Samantha and I had to promise not to harm a hair on her head before I got any useful information.Good, because I didn’t plan to hurt her. She was more useful to me alive, anyway.I watched as the debate played out on her face, if she would be able to run past me if she tried. She decided against it. Smart girl. I didn’t track her down just to let her escape.She sat down opposite me. “Make it quick. I have to get home.”“Of course.” I let her settle down before I asked what I knew she was already expecting. “Where is she?”“Who?”“Don’t play dumb with me.”She crossed her arms at her chest. “What do you expect me to tell you? That I know where to find your wife? Why would I know that if you don’t?”I knew what she was worried about. “Look, I
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