Page 14 of Amadeo (Dark Legends #4)

Gia

“She had always been a dreamer and sort of fragile in a way,” I spoke quietly, unsure if I could get through this without breaking down completely.

I stared down at the table as I went on, “We saved up for that trip to Italy. Our father and mother are from there. Ella loved fashion, she even made her own designer outfits. She really wanted to go there to see what they all were wearing and have some fun too. She had just turned twenty-one…” My voice cracked.

“She was set to graduate from college in just a few months. Her whole life was ahead of her…” I halted and lowered my head.

Amadeo rubbed my shoulder. “You don’t have to do this,” he whispered softly.

I raised my head as I sniffled through tears.

“Yes, I do. I need you to know why I…” I shook my head and continued, “Ella had big dreams of having her clothes on runways all over the world and she even told me that visiting Italy was paramount to her success in fashion. I couldn’t see it, but I wanted to go to Europe anyway.

We had never been there before. I had a month long break in my internship, so we did it.

At first, it was great. We had a few days at the start where it had been just us.

We ate well, shopped and Ella loved Italian design in everything from clothes to public buildings.

So we had plenty to see and do. Then she met…

” My voice faltered again as I looked up at Amadeo.

“Oh, my God, Deo. I am so sorry that I accused you!”

He looked confused as he shook his head.

“W-what happened to her?” Valencia asked in a quiet, shaky voice.

Zia dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “It was so awful… My cousin told me about it.”

I looked up to meet Amadeo’s concerned gaze and answered Valencia’s question, “She must have found out that…the man she loved had dumped her? A bellboy from his hotel floor had said he was with another young woman and that my sister had a fight with him over that.” I paused and sighed.

“So if that really happened, he was cheating on her right after their engagement. I do know that it was too heartbreaking for her to accept. He had fooled her and lied about being in love with her. I feel like now I will never know the truth.” I paused to wipe my eyes again as I finally said it aloud, “She overdosed and I found her.”

Valencia gasped.

I could also hear Amadeo taking a deep breath.

I needed to finish telling this before I totally cracked.

It had been two years, yet it felt like it happened just yesterday.

“I-I got an ambulance and got her to the hospital. They wouldn’t allow me to do anything for her medically since I was obviously her sibling and I was upset of course.

She didn't die, but she never woke up…S-she went into a coma.”

Amadeo grabbed my hands and held them. “My lord, Gia. No wonder you…”

I nodded. “She might have made it through but in that province, they believed in God working miracles and not as much for humans working the same.”

“Very Catholic, si, si.” Zia nodded. “Sacralità della Vita. The Catholic Church holds that life is a gift from God, and humans are stewards, not owners, of their lives.”

Nodding, I swiped at my tears again which was useless as more rolled down along my face.

“That is what they said. The Sanctity of Life. I wish I would have understood the total meaning of that at the time. I stayed with her for a straight week in the hospital as I refused to leave her there alone. I ordered clothes for myself to be brought there and I washed up in the bathroom of her room. Then I had to go to get our things from the hotel, they wouldn't allow anyone else to claim our belongings. The hotel kept calling the hospital over it. I wouldn’t have cared except our passports had been in our hotel room. There had already been the scandal of her attempting suicide there, so the hotel was not happy as it was.” I did cry in earnest now.

I finally cracked. I’d never gotten to talk about this before now.

I actually refused to talk about it. I shoved it down and allowed my hatred for Amadeo to fuel me.

Now, I didn’t have that and I felt like I was falling apart.

Amadeo scooted his chair over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I trembled and fought to get myself together as I went on in a strained voice, “She was so young! I mean why would they just do that? End her life. Take away her chance to fight? Why? I raised hell as I flipped out on them, telling them they had no right to do that. I threatened to go to the American Embassy and file a complaint. So they had the police come in and take me to jail.”

“Oh, no,” Zia murmured. “So awful.” She handed me another tissue. “I am so sorry you went through all that alone, dolce ragazza.”

“They expelled me from the country and put me on a plane,” I added. “And I admit it when I returned to America, I went right back to school and changed my major in Neurology.

“Specializing in coma patients,” Amadeo added in a gentle tone.

“Yes,” I replied. “I never got to help her but I would help others and unplugging is not in my handbook. Not unless it has been years and their body is failing.”

“So all this time, you believed Deo had been the man who…” Zia asked as she shook her head.

I broke out into fresh tears as I cried out, “Yes!”

“Gia, please don’t cry over that. I understand, I do,” Amadeo pleaded with me as he squeezed my shoulder.

“Si.” Zia nodded. “There is no one kinder, more warm and caring than Deo.”

This did not help my weeping. “I know!” I cried louder. “I believed he was this horrible heartbreaker.”

“He could break them by ignoring the women who follow him around, which he does a lot.” Zia nodded. “But I can see he’s done with ignoring.” She gently smacked Amadeo on the back.

He nodded at her then looked back at me to ask, “So my father knew about this?”

Nodding, I sniffled. “He did.”

“But he had to have known I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

I shrugged. “I’m unsure. He insinuated it had been part of the family who’d been responsible. But we never mentioned your name in particular.”

“That is most likely what he believes as we all heard about it. He wouldn’t think Amadeo had done this.” Zia stood again and grabbed the dustpan as she explained, “When the local law tracked Claudio down, they pressed murder of the second degree on him.”

I snapped my head up and turned to look at her. “What?” I hadn’t heard about this.

“Si.” Zia nodded at me. “The laws are a bit different over there but I think it would be like manslaughter here. Maybe they took you seriously about making a complaint? He got ten years.”

Amadeo scoffed. “Not long enough.”

Zia seemed to agree, “His family was saddened by him having to go to jail but they knew it had been true. He had been known for doing the same thing to many young women. Even the engagement rings weren’t real.

He used fake names and addresses. He plotted these sorts of things and they were crimes in a sense.

Even if he didn’t steal their money or belongings, he stole their hearts and often their innocence.

But that incident went further than he’d counted on and he deserved to be sentenced for it.

So finally after…” she paused and gave me a nod. “He got put in prison.”

I sighed and felt glad my tears had dried up. It wasn’t death by castration but it was the best news I’d heard in a while.

Amadeo had been staring at me.

I looked up at him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he never wanted to speak to me again. “What?” I asked nervously. Waiting for him to tell me off.

“What is the deal you made with my father?” he asked as he looked intense.

“Deal?” I asked although I knew what he meant.

“He said today that you and him had a deal and that you violated it. And a few minutes ago, you said you made a deal with the devil. I know he’s my father but most think of him as the devil.”

I let out a sigh.

“My brother never makes a deal unless it is best for him, tesoro.” Zia came back over and placed her hands on her hips then asked me, “He cornered you? Then made you agree to what?”

Oh, wow. I sure didn’t want to cause any more waves in this family. I glanced over at Amadeo.

He gave me a nod. “I need to know all of it, Gia. I plan to confront my father with this and I cannot do that only half armed.”

“Just ask her who else was fully armed.”

We all looked over at the doorway.

Stephano stood there.

“Do you practice that?” Amadeo asked his father. “Sneaking up on people and then asking some offbeat question?” He raised his hand up. “Never mind, what is this about, Father?”

“It is about revenge…Purely revenge.” He never took his eyes off of me as he spoke.

Amadeo looked very confused. “Revenge? You mean coming from Gia? For her sister?”

He shook his head and walked further into the kitchen. “No, her father tried to kill Dante and Della in the parking garage.”

Amadeo’s head shot up in surprise. “I thought that had been Pippo? You know, Fillippo Grazzi that did that?”

“It was and it wasn’t,” Stephano quipped as he stared at me.

I turned my head to look at Amadeo as I told him what had happened, “My father never got past her death. He refused to accept…” I paused to swallow heavily and went on, “He went downhill after Ella died. He hated you and your family. One day, he snapped and yes, he got into that garage at Descalia Corp and took shots at a limo. He didn’t even know what you looked like.

” Again, tears came to my eyes but I was determined not to cry in front of Stephano.

“He suffered a mental breakdown and he believed that if he did not get justice…” I paused to shake my head.

“Ella wouldn’t pass through heaven’s gates.

She committed suicide and being Catholic, my father couldn’t accept that.

He somehow believed he could cleanse her sin if he did his job as her father and finally protected her.

” I glanced from Amadeo to Stephano. “Just like you were doing when you forced me to come here in exchange for not pressing charges against my father.”

Zia gasped and glared at her brother. “You didn’t! You made her come here by using blackmail? You awful horrid—”

“I did what I had to do,” Stephano cut her short. “Mr. Ribisi was mentally unstable. He needed to be institutionalized.”

“Wait, wait.” Amadeo raised his hands up at his father. “You mean you tossed him into some mental institution, then threatened charges if Gia didn’t accompany Deacon here?”

Shaking his head, Stephano denied part of it, “No, Gia chose Larkspur and she committed him. But yes, I did tell her I would forgo charges if he got help. That is not unfair. After all, he tried to kill my family members.” Then Stephano looked over at me again to add, “I paid her a healthy fee to come here and be Deacon’s private physician.

She was already his doctor when he arrived at the hospital. ”

“You always make it sound like your dealings are innocent or that you are not to blame!” Zia again interjected. “You are very clever about it as well. But this time you have gone too far. This poor woman did lose her little sister due to someone in our family. It wasn’t Amadeo but—”

“Wait!” Stephano interrupted her as he was the one looking confused now. “Amadeo? How could he have done it?”

I decided I needed to explain this one, “My sister believed his name was Amadeo Descalia. She told me that was his name. Then when I asked Deo if he was in Italy two years ago, he told me he was.”

“Fucking Claudio,” Stephano swore. “He pretended to be you, Deo?”

“Stevie!” Zia reprimanded him. “Lingua…There are ladies present.”

Amadeo nodded. “I never knew this. But I also never knew you used threats and bribes to force Gia…” He raised his hands up as he looked disgusted and shook his head. “But what am I saying? Of course, you did that.”

“Si, and to protect my family, I will always do that!” Stephano looked around at us all.

“I will never apologize for doing so. Deacon has become a real danger to us.” He stared at Valencia.

“I cannot allow anyone to carry on that way. Being a threat and attempting to harm our family. You may be saddened for him, but he was a danger when he attacked my son on that freeway, then when he was meeting with Pippo…I still believe he made a deal with him to kill my family.”

Looking upset, Valencia stood from her chair. “You cannot prove that.”

“Why should I have to? He met with Pippo who then came after Dante and Della two days later.”

“Father,” Amadeo called to Stephano. “You need to understand this. Valen is Deacon’s sister. She was raised by him. You cannot expect her to cheer you on in your endeavour to end him.”

“Si,” Zia spoke up again as she nodded. “You do realize that if you harm Deacon, it will split our family.”

Stephano looked over at her. “What nonsense are you talking about now, Maria?”

“Oh, no, you cannot be so dense. No!” Zia went over and poked his chest with her finger. “Tito is in love with this girl.” She motioned to Valencia. “You know this. If you kill her brother…” Zia’s eyes filled with tears. “He will leave and if he leaves, I leave.”

Stephano stared at her. “Cosa ti succede? What are you saying? Are you pazzo?”

“I tell the truth and you’d better face the truth soon brother, or you will be living here in this mansion…ALONE!”