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“Massi is right,” I sigh reluctantly. “You have nothing to apologise for, but we can talk about this later, okay? Matty, can you call some guys to come do the clean-up? We need to get out of here and back to the hospital -”

“Hospital?” Francesca looks down at her uninjured body assuming I am suggesting we take her for treatment.

“Dad has had a stroke,” I explain. “Look, darlin’ we are just relieved you’re okay. We can talk about the rest of it later. Don’t stress.”

She nods and steps forward into the arms I didn’t even realise I had opened for her.

It takes us some time to get back to the cars with me helping Francesca and Matty dragging Stefan along. He hasn’t said much since we left the storage unit, but his scowl tells its own story.

“Why are we bringing him with us?” Massimo asks, nodding towards Francesca’s brother with a look of distaste.

“The unit would’ve been too hard to clean up. The guys already have to get rid of the guys in the corridor…” Matty responds and alarm explodes in Stefan’s eyes. He begins to drag his feet and pull away from the firm hands on the rope used to bind him.

“I’m on camera! I’m on camera! They’re all over the building!” Stefan screams, his body thrashing so wildly that Elio steps in to help Matty and Massimo drag him past the dead security guard and into the dark carpark.

“Do you think we would all be here if their security system hadn’t mysteriously crashed tonight?” I reply. My arm is wrapped around Francesca and the fact that Stefan continues to draw breath after what he has done is making my thoughts very dark.

“I’ll leave! Never come back! I’ll leave Australia!” His desperation is just irritating.

“Mate, you aren’t in a position to negotiate or beg,” I tell him. “You sealed your fate the moment you tried to undermine us. You sped up the process when you decided to fuck with Francesca.”

“It was David!” He twists to try to catch my gaze as he rolls the dice again.

“Don’t you worry,” I mutter darkly. “David is right at the top of my shitlist too.”

His futile begging and bargaining continue across the empty carpark and I simply stop responding. He isn’t worth the breath.

“Massimo, take Francesca to the car,” I command as we reach Elio and Matty’s SUV.

Elio rams Stefan’s head into the side of the vehicle and holds him while Matty makes quick work of laying plastic drop sheets inside the trunk. Together they drag the skinny man kicking and screaming around the back of the car.

“Cameras are out. Just do it,” I bark impatiently. “He’s making too much fucking noise. Get it done and get rid of him.”

They toss him in the trunk and in one fluid movement Matty bends to swipe a knife from the inside of his boot and lunges at Stefan allowing Elio to quickly step away and avoid the mess. It is over in an instant. Dark steel slices through Stefan’s throat and a crimson spray hits Matty in the face before he has the chance to direct the blood flow into the plastic.

All of a sudden there is silence.

Matty straightens and turns to meet my gaze. His eyes are slightly wild and unfocused and the splatter of blood across his face only adds to his appearance of a feral madman.

I nod once at him and we stare at each other for a minute or so as he battles to slow his heart rate and centre himself. Finally, he swipes the back of his hand across his forehead, smearing blood into his skin, and nods back at me.

“See you back at the hospital when you’re done,” I look from Matty to Elio as I walk back towards my car.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Francesca

After a quick shower, I tug on clean sports leggings, a cropped lightweight sweater, and Nikes. With wet hair and no makeup, I rush to Sydney Hospital with Massimo and Giovanna.

It is the middle of the night now so traffic doesn’t slow us down. We drive without talking, cranking one of Massimo’s playlists, and I ruminate, torturing myself with thoughts unable to be drowned out.

Even pushing aside the guilt that has been curdling in my stomach since seeing the relief on all four Marino faces when they found me, Sandy’s stroke has thrown a whole lot of other emotions into the mix.

The sad truth is that I am more worried about Sandy than I would be if it were my father in the hospital.

Sandy has done bad things, without a doubt, and he was involved in sending me away, but he redeems himself as a father. He loves his children and has done his best to equip them with everything they need to take over from him. He has shown his children affection and treats them as if they are of value.

Paul Rossi, on the other hand, has never made me feel loved. The only time he has taken interest in my life is when it has benefited him.