Page 140 of Plunge into Obsession

According to the pictures, the years turned Gabriel’s brother from a sad and angry little boy to an angry teenage boy. While Gabriel’s look of protectiveness slowly disappeared from his eyes, only to be replaced by an emotion I knew well.

Wariness.

Until the last picture.

It was no longer wariness in Gabriel’s eyes, but suspicion.

My eyes went back to the box, and I realized I had missed a photograph.

Slowly, I picked up the picture of a couple.

I was guessing these people were Gabriel’s parents.

The boys obviously took after their dad, with their dark eyes, dark hair, and rough features.

But Gabriel had his mom’s mouth, as I was sure that was who the woman in the picture was.

She was beautiful.

And sickly thin.

And so fucking sad, my eyes stung looking at her.

I traced my finger over her face.

Even in the picture, she wasn’t smiling.

She no longer looked like she was living.

Or surviving.

No, in this picture, the woman was simply existing.

I wondered if I would look like her in a few years’ time.

Would Gabriel have drained me of all my energy and will to live?

Would history repeat itself? Was I stupid for not leaving right now?

I could call Kaia. We could empty our bank accounts and leave.

Start somewhere new. Somewhere no one knew us.

I blinked.

Just how powerful was my husband, and would he be able to find me?

One thing was clear, though.

Another puzzle piece had fallen into place.

I didn’t know how long I sat there with all the pictures spread out in front of me, but it must have been a while. By the time I heard the door to the room opening, my legs were numb.

Elena carried in a tray of something that smelled like pasta, and found me in the closet.

She saw all the pictures, and her mouth gaped in surprise.

“Mr. Cadorna won’t be happy about this, Bianca.”

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