Page 98 of Niccolo

I nodded and went back to the phone as Fausto left the room.

Suddenly, the microphone picked up the sound of a door opening.

A second later, voices overlapped each other frantically.

A deep, commanding male voice cut through them all.“Silence. Massimo, shut the doors. Everyone else, have a seat.”

From the authority in his voice, I guessed it was Dario.

The same voice continued.“Bianca believes that the mystery man we’ve been searching for is Aurelio. She recognized him when he came up to her at the reception.”

Gasps and murmurs from the others.

Called it,I thought.

I shot a look of triumph at Aurelio, who was staring at the phone in wide-eyed shock.

A voice I recognized spoke up – but he was no longer playful and mischievous.

“Are you sure Aurelio was the same man you saw with Bautiste Agrella?”Niccolo asked.

A woman’s voice answered,“I’m positive. I could never forget his eyes.”

“Still think she didn’t see you?” I asked Aurelio sarcastically.

He flushed bright red and fixed me with an even more hateful look than he’d given Fausto.

“Keep listening,” I ordered as I stood up. “I have to tell your father.”

I quickly walked out of the library.

As I approached the front door, I could hear Fausto talking. “Once the job is done, youcannotcome back here. It’s also a bad idea to go to Florence. I suggest you drive to Rome and book a flight from there. We’ll provide you with cash to make the purchase.”

I walked into the foyer, where both Fausto and Rachel looked over at me.

“I just confirmed it – the bride recognized him from Florence,” I said.

“Thank you,” Fausto said, then turned back to our assassin. “Tomorrow morning it is.”

“Does it have to be completedby a specific time?” Rachel asked.

“No,” Fausto said with a sinister smile. “Just as long as it gets done.”

Fausto and I returned to the library.

“What’s going on?” he asked his son.

Aurelio looked up warily like he was afraid his father might kill the messenger. “Niccolo figured out you’re behind it all.”

“…shit,” Fausto grunted. “Of course he did.”

“Should we confront Fausto and Aurelio?”an extremely deep voice asked.

Niccolo laughed bitterly.“Why – so they can deny it? All they’ll say is, ‘No, that’s absurd, it’s all a big misunderstanding!’ And if we tell them what we know, we give away our one advantage: the fact that we’ve figured it out, and they don’t realize it yet.”

“Yes we do, FUCKER,” Aurelio sneered at the phone.

Fausto shot him an ugly look, and Aurelio retreated back into silence.

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