Emilia

38: Emilia

-Vincent-

I looked up from the floor and at the doors that had slid open as Salvatore entered the hospital. He had scanned the room as he stared at the guys before he set his gaze on me. His eyes flashed with concern that I knew was for Emilia. There were a series of questions he had managed to ask me with just one look to which I shook my head at all of them. Then, relief took over his posture as I seen his shoulders relax.

He walked over before sitting down on the seat right next to me, sighing as he leaned back into his chair. He ran his hand through his hair as we sat in a small amount of silence.

"Thanks for leaving me in Italy to clean up the mess in your room by the way." He broke the silence between us and I rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore him.

"Orlando's dead?" He asked and I nodded my head.

"Good." He responded, digging in the pocket of his slacks as he pulled out a pack of gum. He offered me one and I shook my head no, waiting for the nurse to come in and tell me that I can go see Emilia.

"You wanna tell me exactly how she got here, or are you going to keep that little secret to yourself?" He asked, looking over at me as I played out the whole situation in my head.

If I told him how, it would start off with me telling him everything I learned that day from Orlando, including the fact that my father was the one who was behind the deaths of our mother's. I know him better than anybody else. Telling him would only make that last piece of sanity left in his mind chip and chip away until there was nothing left. He's a ticking time bomb that I do not want to see explode.

But if there's anything that I've learned from my past with Emilia, it's that keeping secrets isn't always the best decision, even with the intentions of protecting the other person.

Letting out a sigh, I finally spoke.

"Those two months we were away in Italy, Bruno sent Emilia back to Ryan's apartment. While she was there, we were searching for Orlando when we should have been searching for my father instead." I started.

"Orlando kidnapped me the moment we arrived in Taormina. When I woke up, he told me about his past. He knocked up Emilia's mother and another woman at the same time, resulting in Mario, also known as Emilia's half-brother." My words seemed to have taken him by surprise as his eyebrows raised.

"I killed him, just like I did to Orlando. Mario and Bruno had created a plan to get rid of Emilia and they almost would have succeeded with that plan had I not gotten to the apartment sooner." Now, he looked serious as he sat up straight in his chair, all of his attention on me.

"Why the fuck did Bruno work with Mario? He is a Vasquez. He fucking hates their guts for what they did to his wife and sister. For what they did to our mothers." He growled, his eyes starting to darken as I shook my head.

"He lied, Salvatore. The son of a bitch has been lying to us for years. He was the one who was behind their deaths. He hired Orlando to kill them in order for him to be free of the debt that he had with our family. I didn't want to believe Orlando at first, but he said that Bruno thought that our mothers were the reasons why we were 'weak' and that killing them was the only way to make us strong. You of all people know what it was like to grow up in a household with my father. You of all people understand the things he used to put us through in order to make us 'strong'. All the beatings and torture he used to inflict on us. It just makes sense."