Page 89 of Sinner's Vows

Until now, where they’re unravelling at speed.

“Were you there at the birth?” Dominic asks.

“Yes. I was there every step of the way.”

“Did she suffer? My mom?”

Arturo shifts in his seat, clutching his coffee cup. “She was sedated. There were complications as the doctors predicted. Even a rushed C-section wouldn’t save her. She just…slipped away, minutes after Gabriella was born. Her body was broken. She wouldn’t have survived any type of birth.”

I glance at Dominic where he’s settled next to me around the corner of the kitchen island, his face stoic as he keeps himself together. When I slip my hand to his thigh and give him a soft squeeze, he reaches for my hand and wraps it in his. He’s trembling, and his leg jolts up and down with tension. I wish I had the right to put an arm around him, but I bet he wouldn’t like that in front of Arturo.

“Did he ever hold his daughter?” Dominic bites out, his knuckles white as he clutches the small white espresso cup with his other hand. A little bit more pressure, and he’s going to crush it to smithereens in his fist.

“No.” Arturo sighs as he pushes his own cup away. “Don Scalera didn’t hold women in much esteem. He was happy to let Gabriella go and being rid of the burden of protecting a woman in the Mafia. But he was even happier that the last terms of his agreement with Randazzo was met. Peace was finally guaranteed and given how Randazzo had become a powerful man in Italy and in Europe, it was for the best.”

“Fucker,” Dominic grunts as he leans back. “Building his army of boys to fight Randazzo if either of them ever broke the fucking truce.” He takes a deep breath and sighs. “Did he even care what happened to her afterwards? Ever visit her in Providence?”

I catch Dominic’s gaze. His eyes seem bloodshot with simmering rage.

“No.” Arturo leans into the counter, making sure to get his point across. “I was there and kept an eye on her. And then, she went to Italy.”

“And what do you know about that time?” Dominic asks.

“Nothing. Don Scalera got seven years and Don Randazzo’s word that he won’t put her to work until the time is right.”

“And what the fuck do you think that means?” Dominic growls as he shoots up, his height immediately menacing. “Put towork? In that fucking psycho’s world? Randazzo was running the biggest fucking sex trafficking ring in Europe! Where everything fucking goes!” He leans over me, into Arturo’s space, and grips the man’s shoulder. “Why the fuck didn’t you talk?”

It takes me a second to register that Arturo has tears running down his cheeks. Quiet tears, exactly like mine, trained to keep emotion in check until he couldn’t anymore.

“Don Scalera had my wife and my own darling daughter in his hold, right here in this very house,” he says as he stands, shrugging Dominic off. “If you ever become a man to be in that exact position, you’d understand you’d rather let him slice youinto pieces, bit by bit, than speak a word of what was going on in Don Scalera’s inner circle. I kept quiet to keep Portia and Rosalia safe, because just like you, Dominic, sir, I know exactly what Don Scalera was capable of.”

Arturo’s gaze drops to Dominic’s hand, where it’s now pressing on the countertop, his fingertips white with restraint, but his pinkie, his rogue little pinkie, obstinate and out of place with the rest of his perfect manicured fingers as it points, quivering, to the side.

Oh. My. God.Holy Mother of Jesus. Don Scalera. He cut Dominic’s finger off. And had it stitched back. Oh myGod. Why? I’m not even sure why I’m wondering, given what I’ve seen of what he’s done to his son. But this?—

“Fucking long game.” Dominic sinks back into his chair, driving his hands into his hair. “He always played such a fucking long game.”

For a long while, it’s quiet around the kitchen island as I get to grapple with what I’d just deduced and everybody else just digesting what had happened decades ago. When I finally come to my senses, I lean closer to Dominic.

“He might have played a long game, but it doesn’t mean he gets to win,” I murmur, still struggling to keep my own anguish and anger in check. “There’s still a chance she’s safe, Dominic.”

I was safe with Franco’s uncle until Franco acted on his own agenda. What Franco did to me was outside of Randazzo’s plans. I’m not sure what Randazzo’s plans for me were, but I was never trafficked as a girl, not from Randazzo’s side. And then, I cut myself off from his world and made my own destiny the day I stole ten thousand euros and fled to Milan.

“Randazzo is dead. This means everybody is in danger, especially those connected to him,” Dominic says. “People are going to kill for that network of his, for his money, and wherever Gabriella is, she isn’t safe. We don’t know who knows what in thebigger scheme of things.” He leans back in his seat. “There’s only one thing to do. Go to Italy and figure it out from there.”

My stomach turns as my pulse beats in my temple. “How soon?”

Dominic stands and takes his phone from his jacket’s inner pocket.

“Today still.” He gives my arm a squeeze. “Our men cleaned out Franco’s truck, and Matteo has the passport Franco used to get you into the country. You’ll get out with it, too.”

So easy. Everything I wanted most since landing in this mess on this side of the world is right on my doorstep.

“But what about the DNA tests?” I’m not sure why I want to stall us, even if for just a few more days.

“I’ll get those via email. We have WiFi on the jet.”

“Jet?”

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