Page 255 of The One
“Aww, sweetie. Friend? Please. Someone like me doesn’t have friends.” Sofia’s voice is saccharine, dripping with mock sympathy.
I shift my position subtly, tugging Mari’s hand, trying to maneuver us. But Sofia catches it immediately, her eyes narrowing.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I wouldn’t try that,” she warns, widening her stance for stability. Her grip tightens around the gun, switching to both hands, her posture almost bored in its confidence.
“As to why I’m doing this?” Sofia scoffs, eyes glittering with disdain. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to claim the De Marco throne. And I need something you have.”
The words are so absurd, I can’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
So Sofia really is who Antonio was referring to in his dying moments.
“A Molinaro on our throne? Never.”
Sofia’s eyes snap to mine, and her smile morphs into something darker, more malicious.
“What? You think just because I’m a woman I can’t lead your preciouslafamiglia?” she sneers, her tone dripping with mockery.
“Newsflash: women arebetterleaders. I learned a thing or two from my dearpapà. He underestimated me because I’m a girl, but I listened. I learned.”
She points the gun at Mari, a sharp jab that cuts deep.
“And your father,” she spits the words like poison, “was all too eager to share his little secrets with us for years.”
She looks at me, her expression twisted with satisfaction. “I heard about his death. Did you have anything to do with it, Loverboy?”
My blood boils, my fists clenching, but I don’t show it. I keep my cool, barely.
“And how do you plan to takethe throne, Sofia?” I ask, dragging her name out mockingly. “You think you can waltz in and claim it without an army behind you?”
“You’d be surprised how many men would follow me,” she says, grinning like a cat with a mouse. “But I won’t need them. I won’t need an army, because there won’t be a war. Iamgoing to waltz right in.”
Her grin grows wider. “I know all about your magic necklaces and the power they hold. With all the De Marco heirs gone, whoever holds them controls everything. And luckily, you’re wearing two of them.”
I freeze. How the hell does she know that?
“So I just need the location of the third one,” she says sweetly.
“And why would I give that to you?” I challenge, my voice steady, but the tension in my body is thick.
“You’ve already made it clear you’ll kill us. So you can get fucked.”
“I am going to kill you,” she smirks, eyes glittering, “But the method I choose will depend on how cooperative you are.”
Before I can react, another figure jumps from the shadows, wrapping a heavy arm around Mari’s neck in a brutal chokehold, pressing a cold gun against her head.
My heart stops when she screams.
“Just as I was saying, Signor De Marco,” Sofia giggles, gleeful, “Methods…” She draws the word out, her eyes flickering between me and Mari.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t want your precious wife to suffer too long, would you?” Her voice drops low, every word poisonous. “There’s so much I can do to her, or my beloved Davide can.”
The man holding Mari is Davide?
Red-hot fury explodes inside me, threatening to consume me whole.
He yanks off his balaclava and winks, smug like his mistress, as if he’s already won. Then he presses the gun harder against Mari’s skin. She winces, her breath hitching while my pulse stutters.
“I could shoot her kneecaps,” Sofia suggests, her voice sickeningly sweet. “Make her scream for you. That would really get you moving.” Her eyes gleam with sadistic glee.
