Page 33 of Marco DeLuca

“I accepted the money your father paid me to send my child to America to get rid of your seed.”

My heart shatters on the floor. When I turn back to look at Maria, her eyes are downcast.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you lie and say that you were going to visit your grandmother for a few days?”

“I had no choice,” she says softly.

“You had every choice!”

“Your father is a bad man, Marco. A scary man,” she cries.

“I would protect you from him,” I grunt.

“You weren’t here! You weren’t here! I did only what I could,” she cries.

“Getting rid of what belongs to me...you just cut my fucking heart out!” I grunt and turn away from her.

As I expected, Maria’s cunt of a mother is nowhere to be seen when I leave. My only choice is to face the man who did this to me. Maria’s cries and pleas for me to forgive her fall on deaf ears.

I can’t deal with my father or anyone in this situation. I head straight for Graziella.

CHAPTER 9 – PIPER

“What’s wrong?” I ask, looking over Kenneth’s shoulder as he looks through the proofs of the pictures on his desk we took for the magazine.

He’s been rattled since I stepped foot in his office. I didn’t knock, I just entered, and he had the phone on loudspeaker. I guess the woman was a city council member although I thought I heard a child in the background.

“Nothing,” he mutters.

“Then why are you frowning?” I ask, handing him a glass of wine I’ve just poured him and swiveling his chair just enough so I can sit on his lap.

Kenneth looks up at me and forces a smile to his lips. “Are you happy, Piper?”

My face contorts just a bit as I try to control it, wondering where this line of questioning is coming from.

“Of course I’m happy. Why would you ask me that?”

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