Page 29 of Die for You (Kiss or Kill #2)

ONE WEEK LATER

“W ill I find a mommy and daddy?” Elena asks as I tie the elastic around the end of her pigtail.

She’s in a light blue pleated dress. Her white socks are pulled high.

Her black shoes polished bright. She looks like a cherub you’d see on any chapel ceiling.

Although she looks adorable, it sickens me that Gianna has chosen the “pretty ones” to support her bogus sham when she’s not doing this for anyone other than herself.

Ten children are dressed in their Sunday best. Gianna plans on showcasing them off to her guests in hopes they believe her bullshit and give her their money. They believe this money will go toward the orphanage, but it’ll be pocketed by Gianna.

She grows more powerful each day. I assume the new faces I see are men who have jumped ship, getting wind of Gianna’s flourishing reign. These men were once loyal to Lenny, but in this world, loyalty is a thing of the past.

Only greed remains.

“Valentina?” Elena prompts, alerting me to the fact that I need to get my head back in the game.

Tonight, Gianna dies.

As does Bria.

I have a plan, one which Lenny will not like.

But it seems easy enough—I hand over Bria. I get Lettie back.

I’m giving Gianna the benefit of the doubt, not that she deserves it. If I’m wrong, then I’ll wear it. But I don’t think I am, and the reason is that she loves playing the martyr. She sees a good deed as just another thing to hold against me, and why I should be at her beck and call.

Lettie is the ultimate thing to hold over my head if I ever dared question her authority.

But she has misjudged me if she believes I’m going to roll over and be her little bitch a second longer. The moment I have Lettie, I’m going to slaughter Gianna in front of her peers, but not before revealing what a monster she truly is.

And I have Francesco to back me up.

He has come through for me in more ways than one. I’ll never call him Father, but he’s all the family I have. God forbid if something ever happened to us, he’s all the family Lettie has.

This may seem like a family spat, but when I reveal the Riccis’ dirty little secrets, killing Gianna will be a mercy.

But I don’t intend to show any compassion toward someone who does not deserve a lick of it. Instead, I will deliver back to her every ounce of pain I suffered because of her.

The thought of slaying the real dragon in my story is liberating, and perhaps that new life I have dreamed of may be within reach. With Lettie’s return, anything is possible.

My future with Lenny is still unknown.

But after everything I’ve done, and will do, I doubt we’ll go sailing off into the sunset together. That’s a risk I’m willing to take, though.

“Will you be my mommy?” Elena says, her big blue eyes slaying me where I stand.

Dropping to a squat, I gently stroke her cheek. “I promise that whatever happens, I will keep you safe.”

Her lower lip trembles before she throws herself into my arms, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck. She holds on tightly, afraid that I’ll disappear. I know the feeling too well because once upon a time, I was Elena.

I was every orphan in this place.

I’ll ensure the money raised tonight goes to the orphanage and that no child will suffer the fate I did. I feel responsible for each one.

As a tear rolls down my cheek, I finally realize that I am not bad.

I always thought I was.

But I was made to believe that I was beyond salvation, that feelings made you weak. But Gianna is wrong. It’s because of my feelings that I will happily destroy her and won’t feel a thing.

The door opens, and I quickly wipe my face, not wishing Gianna to see me crying.

I come to a stand, and Elena runs behind me. Children seem able to sense evil more readily than adults.

Gianna looks stunning in a peacock-colored sequin dress. The plunging neckline complements the mermaid silhouette with a sweeping train. It hugs her slender form, leaving nothing to the imagination. But it’s tasteful.

She wears pearl earrings and a large sapphire ring. Her hair is twisted into an elegant chignon and fastened with a diamond clip. Her makeup is light. But she wears her trademark red lips with pride.

“You’re not dressed yet,” she says, her annoyance clear.

“It doesn’t take me long,” I reply smoothly, an intentional stab since she’s been getting ready all day.

She looks down her nose at me, her lips tight. She’s looking for any signs of deceit.

She can look all day because she won’t see a thing. I’m the master of hiding my emotions, thanks to her teachings. Everything she drilled into me has been life lessons I have used against her.

And I cannot wait to rub the fact into her face. Not before I smash her head through a mirror, of course, wishing for her to see the ugliness she truly carries within herself.

I take Elena’s hand, but Gianna shakes her head. “Leave the girl. I must speak with her. I have something special planned for her. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, sweetie?”

Elena squeezes my hand, begging me to take her with me. “She’ll help Sister Gina in the cloakroom. I thought a beautiful face is what you wished the guests to be greeted by.”

Gianna smiles. “Yes, you’re right. That’s very smart. Let’s tug at their heartstrings so they open their wallets and donate vastly.”

I don’t dally and lead Elena from the room.

When we’re far away, I whisper, “Never trust that woman. Promise me.”

“I promise,” she whispers back.

When we arrive at the kitchen, Sister Ursula, who I trust, takes Elena’s hand. Elena looks over her shoulder, apprehension plaguing her, but I nod with a smile.

She eventually follows Sister Ursula.

This entire affair makes me sick, and when I enter the private bathroom and see a red ball gown hanging from the towel rack, that sickness threatens to choke me. I cough past the bitterness lodged in my throat and quickly shower.

Once I am clean, I wipe down the mirror and stare at my pale complexion.

I remind myself that this is almost over. Just a few more hours.

Gianna has left everything I need on the vanity. Even as a grown woman, she still thinks she has a say over how I dress. God forbid I think for myself. But in the past, this is what I have done. She has controlled me, which I stupidly mistook for love.

So I apply my makeup one last time.

I style my hair in a low bun, fastening it with a jeweled clip.

And I dress in the sequin ball gown with the intention of never wearing another like it again.

It’s a beautiful dress, featuring embroidered patterned sequins over a red underlay.

The dress is a tight-fitting halter neck with crisscross straps at the back that hold it together as the dress plunges all the way to my waist. The thigh-high side split complements the flare shape and sweeping train.

This is the last time I’ll ever wear something chosen by anyone but me.

Gianna has controlled every aspect of my life.

And tonight, it stops.

For she will cease…to breathe.

The thought of sullying this perfect dress with her blood has my skin prickling with goose bumps.

I step into a pair of heels as it seems Gianna wishes for us to be stiletto twins. She knows my tactics well, for she taught me. Usually, I wouldn’t opt for a dress with a split because where am I supposed to hide my weapons?

This means she anticipates we’re at an advantage.

I need this to be over with.

The bell in the clock tower chimes six times—it’s showtime.

Tipping my face to the heavens, I inhale deeply, before an exhale slowly leaves me.

It’s time to put my game face on.

I force myself to smile, practicing my peopling until I look convincing. There’s no room for error. Lettie’s life depends on it.

Gathering my dress with both hands, I saunter out of the bathroom and down the hallway toward the ballroom. My heels stab at the linoleum, in sync with Gianna’s customary trot.

This place was once opulent and thriving, until Father Merry and his predecessors desecrated something beautiful with their depravity.

However, Gianna has managed to transform this ballroom in just one week into a vision from the past, as I envision it once looked.

The crystal chandelier is something you’d expect to see in any Disney Princess movie. It adds elegance and wealth. Servers wear white and black, carrying silver trays topped with flutes of champagne.

A quartet plays classical music in the corner of the room.

Men and women in suits, furs, and jewels mingle around the room, laughing and engaging in small talk. They look to be having a grand time.

But I see the way the men’s eyes follow other men’s wives. Or the wives’ ogling the young, handsome servers.

This charade is all for show.

There isn’t a single shred of decency here. All I see is greed. All I smell is depravity.

And when ten children are ushered into the room and sit on the small stage, it confirms that every person here is a predator, waiting to catch their prey.

Elena catches my eye, and I nod subtly.

She sits tall, sniffling back her tears.

I snatch a glass of champagne from a passing tray, needing to blend in. Also needing to do something with my hands other than choke the life from these perverted snakes.

Soon, the ballroom is filled. Gianna couldn’t throw a party without it being the biggest this town has seen. It reminds me of the one we attended when I was a child. When Gianna knew of the man who I met as a child was in attendance.

The need to hurt her only grows stronger.

When the crowd gushes and carries on dramatically, I know our host has made a grand entrance. Gianna does stand out from the rest. But her beauty was never questioned. It was her heart that was.

But it was soon realized by many that she does not have one.

Everyone rushes over to Gianna, wanting a piece of the ice queen. She laps up the attention, for she knows she’s now top dog. I don’t know how she’s done it, but she’s respected how she once was. Lenny is now the underdog.

I gulp down my champagne before placing the empty glass on a passing tray.