Curtis“Hey, baby.” I snaked my arm around Angelica’s waist and pulled her closer to kiss her when I got back home. It had been four days since Autumn was arrested and I had spent most of my time at either Inferno or Arciero industries. Giancarlo was slumped with work too—Autumn had more influence in the company than we thought. We had ignored her presence earlier but now that she was behind bars, Giancarlo’s already hectic workload had significantly increased. Unless I wanted my brother to end up replacing my mother in SSP, I had to help him out. Not that my workload at Inferno decreased any. Instead, aside from finding a vial I recognized all too well in Autumn’s dresser, I also discovered Giancarlo had found out something he wasn’t telling me. I had a feeling it was related to the assassin I was trying so hard to find, the Angel of Death. Knowing him, he was waiting until he was certain of the information he had before telling me about it. Not that it made me any less on edge.
Angelica Crystal Yenin? The feud between the Arciero family and the Bratva was starting to make sense. Crystal’s maiden family was the Yenin family? The Bratva? I certainly had lived long enough. I had come to Crystal’s gallery to check out what other clues I could have overlooked in my previous search. I scoured the paintings and I did find something. Every time Crystal had painted something against the starry night sky, they were the same stars in each of them. It was easy to assume that was her impression of the stars—it wasn’t easy to find a relationship unless you were looking for a pattern. And this particular pattern was tattooed on my torso. It was the same constellation—Lyra. The very constellation my sister was named after. I didn’t know Mama knew so much about stars. There were many names related to stars that she could have given my sister but knowing her, there was a very high chance she researched what constellation was in the sky that night if she wanted to give h
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
Curtis “I shouldn’t have snooped.” She bit her lip. I ran my thumb across it to free it from her teeth. She knew it drove me crazy when she did that and I needed my mind clear for this conversation. “You shouldn’t have.” I agreed with her. “I’m sorry,” she said again. She was not going to reveal who she was working for, was she? But again , I wasn’t certain she was working for anyone. It was just an assumption I had made to explain how suspicious she’d been acting. There was a chance she was on her own. But what would she gain from that, exactly? “Who do you answer to? When you snoop around and get secrets about the Arciero family, who do you tell them to?” “No one.” She looked hurt that I would even ask. “I’m not working for anyone.” I thought of a possibility. “But Spider is working for someone, isn’t he? Do you tell him all your findings to make his work easier?” She shook her head.“Tell me the truth, Angelica.” I demanded. “I’m not a spy.” She insisted. I looked into he
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
Curtis “The woman you love…Curtis, that woman doesn’t exist. You don’t know me.” “How fitting…Fergus, dead in a cathedral.” “My parents had a bit of a whirlwind relationship. They were cheesy as fuck…why do you think they named me Angelica?” “I vowed to only marry a man if he loves me as much as Papa loved my mother.” I replayed snippets of my conversations with Angelica on a loop and couldn’t believe how blind I’d been. If I paid attention, I would know ages ago that she wasn’t who she was claiming to be. “What happened to Giancarlo?” I asked Samantha. I had the choice to either go after Angelica or find out what was happening with my brother. I chose the latter, not because he was more important. It was the practical choice. Angelica had bolted out quite fast but she wasn’t going far, anyway. I would track her down later.That snapped her out of her thoughts. She didn’t know much of what was happening either. All she knew was that he didn’t want her to go to his house on her
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
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