Page 23 of Die for You (Kiss or Kill #2)

“Father Merry often told me I looked just like my mother. Sister Margarette. That she was to blame for my suffering, for she knew what she was doing when she left me on this doorstep. But she wasn’t my mother. So why did Father Merry think she was?”

We both know the answer to that.

Gianna appears to manipulate every person she meets, crafting a story to support her claims. “I suspect Gianna is a benefactor to the orphanage. This was the only one where she could keep an eye on you. Because of her friendship with Sister Margarette, she could fabricate a story and tarnish her name. And Sister Margarette couldn’t defend herself because Gianna had her committed, but not before cutting out her tongue. ”

“I was really, really mean to her,” Valentina confesses with remorse. “I was just so angry. Gianna had told me so many lies. So when I went to see her, I exploded. I wish I could take it back. What happened to her?”

“She’s dead. A heart attack, apparently. But I believe Gianna just finished the job.”

Valentina shakes her head, her fury evident. “I need to hear it from Gianna.”

“You’ll never get the truth from her.”

“Do we have a plan?”

I do…but she’s not going to like it.

Here goes nothing.

“The urge to torture her will be unbearable, but until we find out if she is involved with Lettie’s disappearance, we need to play her at her own game.”

Valentina exhales slowly. “Do we tell her I know the truth about…everything?”

“No,” I reply without pause. “She cannot know. As far as she’s concerned, you’re still on her side.”

Her mouth falls open. “What?”

And this was the plot twist no one saw coming.

“The plan is we pretend you’re going to overthrow me and my empire, and I will surrender.”

“She’ll never believe that.”

“Yes, she will. She’ll believe it because you’re going to tell her about Lettie.”

“Lennon…have you gone fucking mad?” Valentina’s eyes are wide as she attempts to decipher what’s going on.

“Madam Gazella, the old strega you told me about. She’s Gianna’s mother, and the fact she’s your grandmother, a minor detail she didn’t deem fit to share with you, has me believing she’s just as evil as her daughter.

“Gianna knows about Lettie because her mother told her.”

Valentina simply stares at me. I know it’s a lot, but I don’t have time to divulge all this over scones and tea.

“Gianna was the one who told me where you were in Italy. I always wondered why she would do that. And I now know the reason is because she knew you were pregnant and that you wouldn’t leave because of the baby. She wanted me to believe that you were lost to me.

“And I did. But now, I know the reason.”

Valentina clenches her hands into fists atop her thighs. “It makes sense.”

“So the plan is you go into the orphanage on the ruse that you believe I have Lettie and you need Gianna’s help in finding her. You’ve tried on your own, but failed.

“You’re going to beg for forgiveness for lying to her, and you’ll do anything to earn back her trust. Play on the fact that you never knew your mother, so you wanted to provide a stable, safe environment for Lettie. You wanted to be the mother you never had.”

“This will not work!” she exclaims, her cheeks reddening. From anger or fear, I’m not sure.

“It will. Gianna knows you’ll do anything for Lettie, even betray her. So tell her you’ll give her what she’s wanted all these years…”

“And what’s that?” she asks in a small voice, knowing the answer.

“My head.”

I am ninety-nine percent certain Gianna has Lettie. She knew Lettie would always be Valentina’s Achilles’ heel. Gianna is sick of waiting. She is sick of Valentina and me playing this game of cat and mouse. Gianna would have killed me herself if she could.

But I’m smarter since she raised me. I know her.

However, having Lettie is the ace up her sleeve—just as she used Valentina—and it ensures her victory. And my throne.

“This is insanity! She’ll see straight through this.”

I’m certain this will work for the mere fact that…” In her eyes, you betrayed me once before. You must do it again. And she will believe it because there’s so much more at stake for you now. You cannot let on that you suspect she is the one who has Lettie.

“You must say that you believe I want revenge for keeping my daughter a secret. You believe I have kidnapped her, waiting for you to come begging because I know you can’t win against me.

Your men cannot match mine. But you’d rather die than surrender to me.

Therefore, you need Gianna’s help to find Lettie.

And in return, you’ll kill me, and my kingdom will be hers. ”

Valentina sighs, turning in her seat to look at me. “She’ll believe it because that’s what I deserve.”

I stop myself from reaching out and touching her, reminding myself that I’m still furious at her. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to remember that.

“It’s going to be really, really hard to pretend I don’t know the truth. Just saying her name makes me want to—” She doesn’t continue because no words could ever sum up what we both want to do to Gianna.

“I know, but we don’t have a choice. You said Gianna is planning a takeover so big that I won’t survive. We could fight her, but I won’t risk our daughter’s life that way.”

“Gianna’s contact in Italy let it slip that she is planning something big. I don’t know what, but he was confident she would win. And I believe him. That’s why I think she has Lettie. She is the only thing we would both die for. It’s why I came here. I needed to tell you the truth.”

“And if none of this happened, would you still make the same choice?”

Her silence speaks volumes, which has my anger returning tenfold.

Any sentiment I feel for Valentina dissipates. I remind myself I’m here because she needs me. I shouldn’t mistake this as her desire to be one big happy family once this is done and dusted. She has that in Italy, with Nico.

The urge to punch the windshield is debilitating.

But I quash down my need for violence and focus on what’s important.

“Gianna won’t let me out of her sight once I go in there.”

“I know. Whatever she asks, you must do.”

“So this was your plan all along? That we fight on opposing sides once again?”

“We’ll never be on the same team, Valentina.”

She flinches.

Harsh, but true.

She has Nico.

And I’m married to Bria.

Valentina and I will never just be friends.

We can’t.

We will learn to coexist because of Lettie, but that’s all it’ll ever be.

Loving Valentina hurts.

It’s destructive and appears to only cause pain.

A part of me is disappointed when she nods. I suppose I had hoped she would defy me, as she always does, and fight for what I want but can’t have.

“Goodbye, Lenny. I’ll be in touch when I can.” She opens the door, and I watch as she walks away from me…again.