Page 55 of Family Secrets

“Well, she was half right. My father wanted me to marry a Vittorio, and I’ve dug my heels in, flat out refusing to marry Felicia. Until now she’d been the only option. Now, we have proof there is a rightful heir. One I very much want to get to know better, and one day, with her father’s permission, I’d like to marry.”

“You mean, me?”

“Yes, Elizabeth, I know this is a lot to absorb, and I don’t want you to think you have to accept any of this.”

“Gino’s right,” Emilio added. “Except for one other person, no one else knows about this. I agree with Gino, we should keep it that way until—"

“Why?” Elizabeth interrupted her father. “If what you say is true and you know who is behind this, why not go to the police and have them arrested?”

The words were out of her mouth before she could think them through. Both Gino and Emilio shared a look before bursting into laughter.

“We police our own, Elizabeth. Unfortunately, the individual responsible for sending the photos of your mother was never found.”

* * *

As Gino helpedElizabeth with her coat, Emilio reached into his pocket for his money clip. He’d seen the size of the check and while he knew Gino had her in one of his apartments, he wanted to do everything he could for his daughter, including giving her all the money she would ever need.

“I want to get to know you…”

The sound of tires screeching against the pavement silenced him, his attention on the dark car approaching from his left.

Elizabeth followed his gaze as something hard hit her from her right side, slamming her to the wet sidewalk. Chaos roared in her ears, the sound of men shouting, and several popping sounds, echoed down the street. Shattering glass rained down around her.

Strong hands pulled her over, Gino’s dark eyes staring down at her, his body heavy on hers. At first, she could see his mouth move, but no sound. Slowly the haze cleared and she could make out what he was saying.

“Are you all right?”

“I think so,” she admitted, as Gino pulled her into a seated position. Dazed, she looked around, car alarms were blaring on the street as several of Gino’s, and who she assumed were Emilio’s men, raced up and down the block, their cellphones pressed to their ears, screaming profanities. Moving her focus back to Gino, she found him barking into a cellphone with one hand, a black gun clenched in the other.

A groan from behind her gained her attention. Her heart sank to the ground as she took in Emilio’s body slumped against the wall, his head lolled to his chest, three red stains growing on his white shirt.

---