Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
"Slow and careful, like everything else he does." Nan's voice was rough with old grief. "By the time anyone noticed the pills..." She shook her head. "Your daddy tried to warn her. That's when Vittorio decided Marco had to go."
I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to think past the nausea that never quite left these days. "So what now? We can't exactly walk out the front door."
Nan spread the blueprints wider, her flashlight catching neat notes in familiar handwriting. Of course she'd been preparing for this. Nan never did anything without a plan.
"There are three ways out." Her finger traced routes through the maze of hidden passages. "But since those boys of yours tried their rescue..." She sighed. "There are guards everywhere now. Too many eyes."
"Christ." My head hurt just thinking about all that security. "We'll never make it alone."
Nan was already pulling out a battered flip phone, her mouth set in that stubborn line I knew too well. "I've got detective Santos handling the legal side, but..." She met my eyes. "You trust those boys of yours?"
My men. Just thinking about them made my heart ache. Their fierce protection, their gentle love—each one different but equally precious. My hand drifted to my stomach before I could stop it. Would they be happy about the baby? Scared? Both?
Focus, Pearl. One crisis at a time.
The phone felt ancient in my palm as I dialed Giuliano's number from memory. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"Who is this?" His voice hit me like a punch.
"Jules." It came out barely a whisper.
The silence stretched forever. Then, "Pearl?" Like he couldn't quite believe it.
"I need you." My voice cracked. "All of you."
Movement on his end—I could picture them gathering around the phone, my men ready to destroy the world if it would keep me safe. My eyes burned with tears.
"Where are you, tesoro?" Enzo, his usual charm stripped down to raw worry.
"Hidden passages in the tower. Nan's got maps, she knows all the routes." I tried to keep my voice steady. "But there's so much security now..."
"We're coming." Angelo's calm cut through my rising panic. "Just tell us where."
Nan took the phone, giving rapid directions I could barely follow. Twenty minutes. We just had to stay hidden and reach the west service entrance before they breached.
A door slammed somewhere close by. I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Easy now." Nan's hand found mine in the dark. "Time to move."
The passages were cramped and treacherous. My silk blouse caught on everything as we moved, and I cursed myself for not changing into something more practical.
We made it down three floors before the radio static nearly gave me a heart attack.
"All units, Miss Pearl missing from her floor. Full lockdown initiated."
The alarms blared, red emergency lights bleeding through cracks in the plaster. Somewhere above us, boots thundered against hardwood.
"Damn." Nan yanked me toward a narrow junction. "Back way through maintenance—"
More footsteps ahead. We were being boxed in.
"Only other route's behind his study." Nan's voice was tight. "It's that or—"
A crash echoed through the corridors. Flashlight beams swept the darkness.
We pressed into an alcove as guards rushed past. My heart hammered so hard I was sure they'd hear it.
The passage seemed to shrink as we neared Vittorio's domain. How many times had I sat in that study, playing the perfect daughter while he made calls that ruined lives?
Voices approached from both directions. No way forward. No way back.
"Pearl." Nan's eyes found mine in the dim light. "Panel here leads straight into the study. Only chance we've got."
"Are you insane? I can't—"
"Don't you dare argue with me, Miss Pearl." Her voice shook, but her eyes were steel as she pressed something cold into my palm. "I've watched over you since you were in pigtails. Now it's your turn to live."
Before I could stop her, she was moving away, footsteps deliberately loud. Drawing attention. Buying me time at the price of her own freedom.
My hands trembled as I found the hidden latch. The panel swung silently on well-oiled hinges— how long had Nan been preparing for this? I slipped into the study, heart in my throat.
That damn Picasso loomed on the wall, all violence and barely contained rage. Had it always looked so much like blood?
I had barely closed the panel when the main door opened.
"Well." Vittorio's voice was chilling. "This is unexpected."
He stood in the doorway, elegant as always. But something was cracking beneath that polished surface. Behind him, Alessandro's perfect smile showed too many teeth.
I lifted my chin, channeling every ounce of strength my men had taught me was there. "Really?" The word came out steady. "Because I think you've been expecting this since the day you killed my father."
His mask slipped, just for a second. But it was long enough for me to see it, to see what he'd tried so hard to keep hidden—the monster beneath.