Page 34 of Shattered Choices

The blood rushes back to my hands, and I touch my wrists and rub them. He passes me the knife and I free my ankles.

I offer him the knife back, but he raises his hand, refusing it. “Keep it. Consider it a gift. You are going to need it if you want to get out of here.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because I want my daughter to be happy. To live her own life and be in love. I want to see her happy before I die.” He shrugs. “She didn’t tell me, but ever since you came back, she keeps looking into the distance. Sometimes I hear her crying at night. She is unhappy.”

“But she’s moved on,” I argue.

“You mean Pino?” I nod. He shakes his head. “Oh, they grew up together. He is like her older brother. And besides, ifthey were together, he wouldn’t dare spend his nights in our housekeeper’s daughter’s bed every night.”

“Then why would I kill him?”

“It was just a question. There will be no killing. If you want to have Isabella back, you need to show her your love for her. Killing Pino isn’t that.”

“Everybody keeps saying that to me and no one is explaining what it means.”

The old man chuckles. “You will learn, but if you want any help, you just need to ask.”

“Who? You?”

“Who else?”

I look at him and shrug. “Would you consider helping me get Isabella back by showing her that I love her?”

He gives me his hand and I take it. “We have a deal. Now, we don’t have much time.”

“What do you mean? Is someone coming?”

“No, my time is running out. And the sooner you get back together, the sooner I have more time to live happily.”

He starts walking again, leading me toward the corridor and into another room in the basement. He pushes an empty box to the side and a small metal door comes into view. Domenico pulls a key from his pocket and opens the lock.

“This is a tunnel. It will lead you outside the villa and to the other side of the road.” He pulls out another key. “This is the key to the door there. I will give you two keys, so you have access to the villa. If you repeat a stunt like last night again, you will get yourself killed.”

I look between the keys and him and then at the tunnel. “I don’t understand what you want me to do.”

He shakes his head. “The only time Isabella is alone is when she is here, in her room. You spent months together. I assume you know some things about my daughter that she likes.” I nod.“That is your answer. And a freeway to the villa is so you don’t get killed on the way.”

With one last look at the old man, I take the key, and like a man on a mission, I walk into the tunnel.

fifteen

Isabella

Iwake up with a start, my eyes hurting from the light when I open them. I squint and groan. And then it hits me; I should have been awake hours ago. Before sunrise, to be at the docks to meet Mauro.

I probably passed out from lack of sleep since Salvatore showed up here. Thinking about his determination that I forgive him, about how his proximity makes me want to forget my pain and act on my feelings of lust has made it hard for me to rest.

I keep thinking about what he said to me, how he will do anything to get me back. About how he regrets everything that happened, and how he did a lot of reflecting. In some paralleluniverse, that might work, but I live in the real one. The man I married and got to know isn’t the one he is pretending to be.

I groan and turn over, where I’m greeted with a perfect red rose and a note.

I sit up and take the rose, inhaling the smell. My thoughts transport me to the rose garden and back to some other time.

I open my eyes and take the note.

I hurt you, broke your heart, and I paid for it.

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