Obsession

Chapter Twenty-Two - Ventidue

"You're lying!" 

I've never been one to lie, except that one time Lorenzo caught me stuffing Prosciutto in my pockets. 

"Staci." I look out into the hall where Rico stood. His face scrunches. "What are you doing here?" Rico looks from her to me. "Sorella," he greets. I caught a slight nervous hint to it as he scratches the back of his neck and side-eyes the woman, who I now know as Staci. 

It's twice I've heard that name. I look her over, and then it clicked. This redhead woman, with porcelain skin, was the same person in Vince and Ana's wedding photo. The woman who kept her gaze on Alessandro. 

I pushed away the negative thought and kept up the charade. A smile plastered on my face, and I greet Rico back. I turn my gaze back to her. 

Staci quicks a brow. Her bright red lips smirk. "Oh," she hums. Her blue eyes glisten. "You're their sister."

"That's one way to put it," Rico mumbles, and lightly scratches his face. "Sofia doesn't have lessons with you today," he attempts to change the topic. 

Hang on... I cock my head. This woman is Sofia's tutor? 

Staci brushes her hands down her skirt. "No, this is a personal visit." I notice how she looked my way as she said personal. 

Rico snaps his fingers. "Drats. You just missed him." 

Staci looks from him to me. Her brow presses together. "Then why was she in his office?" 

"I think you know why?" He tells her. I didn't miss the slightly amused smile he gave her. "She is Mrs Rivera." 

Staci takes a step back. She shakes her head, seemly confused. "I don't understand." 

Just as Rico was about to tell explain it to her, a loud explosion was heard from downstairs. 

"What was that?" Staci whimpers out. She wasn't alone in the fear. I turn my frightened gaze to Rico, asking him the same question. He slips his hand under his jacket and pulls out a gun. 

"Oh my god, why do you have a gun?" Staci screams and takes another step back.

"Angela," Rico implores. I sighed. I knew the drill. 

Go hide until I get the all-clear. 

I spin around walked into Ales's office; stopping when a hand grips my forearm. I turn around to see a frightened redhead. "Don't just leave me here with them!" She pleads. Her blue eyes, glisten with threatening tears. I glance to where Rico was, only he had gone, and his emptiness was replaced with gunshots. 

"Get in here," I nod my head toward Ales's office. Staci didn't need to be asked twice. She pushed past me, and I shut the door, locking it for further protection. I spun around. Not expecting to see what I'm witnessing. 

"Stefano was right." Shaking her head. "The men are too pussy minded, and you..." She scoffs. My eyes stay fixed on the black gun her fingers tightly wrapped around. Which is also aimed in my direction. 

"You were going to help me after I acted like that." She scoffed at my kindness as though it was stupid. 

It turns out, it was. 

This woman could act. She really had me fooled. I take a step to the side, heading towards the sofa. Staci fires a shot, which purposely missed me, and hit the wall behind; making me cower. "Don't move," she sneers. Her hand grips tighter around the handle, and she kept her finger over the trigger. 

I stood there and watched her walk around his desk. She quickly scans over the papers, that Ales was yet to file away. She looks up; I swear I saw hurt behind those eyes, and I briefly wondered what it was between them. Alessandro told me he had three women to go between, and from what I see- Staci must have been one of them. She tucks the papers into her pockets and runs her hands under his desk.