Page 94 of Stalking Ginevra

“I need to see Mr. Montesano,” I rasp.

She arches a brow. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, but?—”

“Call in the morning,” she snaps, dismissing me to turn her attention to a man on my left.

Humiliation burns under my skin like firecrackers, and desperation claws at my throat. The sensation tightens with each second I’m kept away from Benito.

But I can’t back down. I can’t wait. After all the shit I’ve escaped, this woman doesn’t get to brush me off. As the crowd closes in around my personal space, the words burst from my chest. “I’m Benito Montesano’s fiancée!”

Heads turn, eyes narrow. Whispers rise like a hiss.

The receptionist’s smile falters, and her fingers freeze above the keyboard. She sweeps her gaze down my disheveled form, her lips tightening with disbelief.

“Excuse me?” she says.

“You heard me.” I raise my chin. “Now, get my fiancé.”

The reception falls into a hush, and eyes bore into my skin like blunt daggers. My stomach twists, and every instinct screams to crawl into a ball, but I straighten my spine.

The woman picks up the phone, her gaze never leaving mine, and whispers something into the receiver. Seconds drag until a security guard appears at my side. He grips my arm like I’ve been caught counting cards.

Hope flickers in my chest as we thread through the casino, passing the glittering lights and glamorous patrons. The furtherwe go, the dimmer the atmosphere, the more the plush carpets give way to cold tile.

My pulse quickens, unease gnawing at the edges of my mind. I stare at the man’s profile. “Where are you taking me?”

“Waiting room,” he mutters, not meeting my eyes.

We reach an unmarked door at the end of a narrow hallway. He opens it and shoves me inside. I stumble forward, catching myself on the edge of a metal table. Then the door slams shut, sealing my fate.

Turning, I take in my surroundings—bare walls, no windows, a single chair, and a table bolted to the floor. This isn’t a waiting room. It’s a cell.

I rush back to the door and pound my fist against the cold metal. “Let me out! I need to see Benito!”

Silence answers. No footsteps, no voices—just the suffocating quiet and the thunder of my pulse.

I slump into the chair, my mind reeling. It’s all too much—Mom marrying a murderer, the cold detachment Benito showed me at the boutique, getting fired, Julian’s grabbing hands, Brisket ripping him into bloody shreds. My stomach churns at the memory of his lifeless eyes, his blood pooling across the floor.

Then there’s those fucking sharks.

Tears burn behind my eyelids, threatening to blur my vision. I’m in the worst trouble of my life, utterly alone, and it’s entirely my fault. I walked away from Benito to avoid pain, but all I found was trauma.

Chest tightening, the fear, the regret, the horror of today bubbles from the pit of my stomach until I can no longer hold back. Wet trails streak down my face, but I don’t bother to wipe them away. For the first time in years, I let myself break.

My chest heaves with sobs I can’t control. I’ve lost everything—my job, my dignity, and now, my last shred of hope. The pain is too much, the regret too sharp.

Benito used to make me French toast and strawberries every morning before class. He’d carry my books, take my notes, and draw lavender-scented baths every night. I can’t believe I allowed Dad to tear us apart.

Now, I’d give my soul to be his again. To be safe in the warmth of his love.

My sobs turn into wails, and I collapse to the table, wishing I could disappear. Every breath hurts, every thought is a knife twisting in my gut.

This is what I deserve for betraying him.

As if summoned by my guilt, the door creaks open. Benito stands in the doorway, looking like a Roman god. I scramble to my knees, every instinct driving me to beg for forgiveness.

But my words come as sobbing gibberish. I can’t form a coherent sentence, but I tell him about everything that’s happened since someone murdered Dad in his bed. The words spill out in a mad rush. How I met Bob Brisket, his late night visits, Valentino Bossanova’s plan to murder Mom for the insurance money.

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