Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Cristo.
“Keep the package and note. I want to see it when I get home.”
“Va bene,” she replies, saying okay with a worried tone.
“Grazie, Mamma. I’ll stop by after work.”
We end the call, and try as I fucking might, I can’t focus on work. Getting up, I walk to Franco’s office.
“Hey, I need to go home. I’ll be in early tomorrow morning to make up for the time I’m away from work.”
Franco gives me a worried look. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. An asshole is sending my wife gifts. I need to check if she’s okay.”
He lets out a chuckle. “I’m sure she’s okay. My ex-wife rubbed that shit in my face before I killed her lover and left her without a dime.”
“Good for you,” I say. “I’m going to kill the fucker when I get my hands on him.”
“Good luck.”
Heading out of the building, I get into my car and drive from Teviso to where I always park my car. The fifty-minute commute tests my fucking patience, and I start to picture all the ways I will kill whoever’s sending my wife gifts.
I’ll fucking slice his dick off, piece by piece, and feed it to the bastard.
I’ll strap a bucket of rats to him and watch as they eat through his guts.
No.
I’ll bury the fucker alive and put a camera in the coffin with him so I can watch as he pisses and shits himself while he suffocates.
Stopping in my reserved space in the car park, Piazzale Roma, I get out and walk to the area where I catch a tram to Venice. It’s only a ten-minute commute, but it feels like an hour.
By the time I stalk into my mother’s house, I’m struggling to keep control of my temper.
“Mamma,” I call out as I head to the kitchen.
She comes hurrying toward me, concern etched deep on her face. “Come. I’ve put it in my bedroom.”
Entering her private space, my eyes lock on the box that’s lying on her bed. I rip the lid off and see a smaller box, nestled on a bed of rose petals.
Picking it up, I flip it open and look at the diamond earrings that could easily cost over two thousand euros.
What the actual fucking fuck.
I drop the jewelry in the box and pick up the note.
My lovely Tiana,
I still can’t believe I finally got to make sweet love to you .
The way you moaned while I filled you over and over will forever be my favorite sound.
Wear the earrings the next time we meet.
Only the earrings.
I want you naked and spread out on my bed as soon as the bastard leaves for work.
xxx
Your one and only love.
I crumple the note in my fist, seeing fucking red. My breaths speed up, and when Mamma tries to lay her hand on my back, I step away from her.
“Give me space,” I growl.
“Armani,” she whispers. “This can’t be true. Right?” I hear her voice tremble.
“I don’t know what it is.” Rage burns in my voice as I look at my mother.
“Would Tiana–”
“Don’t say it,” I snap. I suck in a desperate breath of air. “Tiana didn’t do anything.”
She wouldn’t.
Confusion flutters over Mamma’s face. “But?”
“It’s a sick fucking joke, Mamma. That’s all it is.” I sit down on the bed and drop the note in the box while trying to regain control over my temper.
I need to think.
What the fuck is going on?
Resting my face in my hands, I focus on my breathing, and when I start to calm down, I can think more rationally.
I’ll send the package and note to St. Monach’s and ask them to check it for prints. I’ll find out who’s behind this and fucking kill them.
Now that I have a plan, I stand up and pull my concerned mother into my arms. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of this shit.”
“I don’t want you to suffer like I did,” she sniffles.
Like she suffered when my father fucked everything in sight. It broke her heart.
“Tiana is faithful to me,” I say with certainty strengthening my voice.
Mamma pulls back and nods. “You do what you have to do. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
I cup her cheek and lean down. “I won’t get hurt.” I press a kiss on her forehead, then pick up the box and leave her bedroom.
On the short walk to my apartment, I try to process the bomb that was dropped on me.
It’s the second gift.
Is there a fucking stalker I have to worry about?
Deciding to check with some of the neighbors, I knock on every other door and ask whether they’ve seen someone hanging around. Or whether they saw who put the package on my doorstep.
My investigation turns up empty-handed, though. It puts me at ease because our small community would notice anyone who doesn’t belong on our streets.
A stalker would hang around. He’d take every chance he could get to watch Tiana. With that suspicion debunked, I’m left only with the hunch that it’s a sick fucking prank.