Page 63 of Family Secrets

Chapter Twenty-Five

“You surround yourself with some interesting characters, Mr. Vitale.” Killian remarked as he slid a sheet of paper across the table. “I had to call in a few favors, but I think you’ll find what I discovered for you informative.”

Reading the document twice, Gino couldn’t believe his eyes. “Are you sure this is real?”

“As real as you and I are sitting here, but there’s more.” The ringing of Gino’s phone shattered the silence, Killian nodded for him to go ahead and answer.

“This better be fucking important!” Gino barked into his phone.

“She’s gone, Boss. Ms. Smith is gone.”

Jumping from his seat, the pages with such damming evidence completely forgotten. “What do you mean gone?”

“Gone, gone. Listen, Boss, you better get over here, there’s something you’ve gotta see.”

Gino burst through the door of his penthouse, Niko and Smidty fast on his heels. “What the fuck happened?” Gino roared, pinning Tony to the wall by his throat.

Tony pointed toward the bedroom, gasping for air, his feet dangling off the floor.

Niko ran passed Gino and Tony, rounding the corner of the bedroom, stopping hard as he laid eyes on the stain next to what looked to be jeweled lady’s panties.

“Giovanni!” Niko yelled, picking up the note written in Elizabeth’s handwriting.

“Did you…” Gino’s question trailed off as he took in the scene before him. Niko handed him the letter before disappearing into his ensuite.

Gino,

You once asked me to tell you something no one else knew about me. I mistakenly told you the truth, when I should have followed your lead and lied through my teeth instead. I know I don’t belong in your world, I never did. You need someone like Felicia, a woman, who like you, lacks a moral compass. You should marry her; she will serve you well as she turns a blind eye to the women you take to your bed like you did Lisa. I’m not that girl. There will never be enough money, cars, or closets full of clothes to make me one. Enjoy Lisa and her panties. Oh, and good luck getting the wine stain out, I was too busy getting reacquainted with myself to clean it.

Elizabeth

Letting the letter fall to the floor, Gino took in the room. What was left of his comforter hung from the bottom of the bed, the large red stain sitting on top.

“Hey,” Niko called from the door, his voice low and sorrowful. “You need to see this.”

His bathroom looked more like a murder scene than the place where she’d helped him with his tie not long ago. White towels, stained orange, were strewn on the floor. Black streaks, from what he assumed was hair color, based on the two empty boxes, on the faucet of his sink.

“Pull up the cameras, I need to know what the fuck happened here.”

Gino stood with his cellphone in hand as he watched a now dark-haired Elizabeth leave the building and climb into a taxi.

“According to Tony, she didn’t want to watch the fight with them. When he sent out for dinner, she had them stop at the pharmacy down the block.” Niko recounted the story he’d obtained from the guards.

He stared blankly at the still photo on his screen, Elizabeth glancing over her shoulder at the building before jumping into the back of a taxi. He pressed speed dial and held his phone to his ear.

“Want to tell me why I have a pair of your fucking panties in my bed and a note asking me if you’re worth it?”

Laughing, “Well, asshole, come to the warehouse on Fifth, and find out for yourself. Oh, and if you want Elizabeth’s head to remain attached to her body, leave your fucking goons at home. I happen to know there’s an excellent replay of the fight from a few months back on repeat in the blu-ray they can entertain themselves with.”

Spinning on his heels, Gino dialed another number, “Tell me what else you found on my brother.”

* * *

Pain,like she’d never felt before, woke Elizabeth, her vision blurred, and she was unable to breathe through her nose. Searching her memory, she recalled being in Gino’s shower, then visiting her father, and then…

Sucker punched by…Sully?

The memory crashed forward, causing nausea to join forces with the pain in her head, sending her body to the left as the contents of her stomach hit the floor.

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