I'm finally back :)
Idek know if it really matters but I was too tired to censor it... sorry.
Lucas and I were lead through a long maze of thorny rose bushes and a cluster of leafless trees before we finally reached the vine infested mansion.
Silvio Di Stefano and I had never formally met. Enzo spoke about him quite often, I had seen pictures, I even saw him in person once at the Five Star Hotel at around the same time that a man named Nicola Grisanti tried to destroy him. I didn't introduce myself though. I saw him pacing in the lobby and like a coward, I ran in the opposite direction.
Enzo loved drama, but he followed that story extra closely. He came home with a huge smile on his face after he found out about the trouble that his former mentor had gotten himself into. He took credit for how close Nicola came to wiping out the Di Stefano Family. Enzo believed that Silvio had lost his touch after he left.
But nervous wasn't the right word to describe what I was feeling as we walked up to the front doors of his estate. I was far from excited, but unlike Lucas, I was not afraid.
The blue-eyed man stood beside me practically trembling in his shoes. When I asked him about it he blamed it on the weather.
"It's really not that cold." I replied.
"Sorry that I'm not some cold blooded psychopath like you are." Asshole!
"Don't be a pussy." In my defense, I hadn't slept in over twenty four hours.
Lucas could dish it out but couldn't take it. Instead of calling me another name, he remained silent.
"These men live off of fear, Lucas. Hide it." Dread. That was the word. I was dreading what awaited me.
The guard who pretended like he didn't know any English lead us through the massive front doors and into the foyer, he then handed us over to a maid. I expected to see Silvio waiting for us but he was nowhere to be seen.
Once we made it up the grand staircase and into the guest wing, I asked her where Silvio was. Rather than answering me, she looked down at the ground and then ran the other way.
"This place is amazing. Is this what your house looks like?" Lucas asked once we were alone.
"Huh? Yeah, kind of." I didn't find Silvio's home to be too magnificent because mine was weirdly similar to his. It wasn't my first time in Italy either. Enzo and I would fly over multiple times a year. But what really distracted me was the fact that Silvio hadn't introduced himself yet. It was suspicious and it made me even more desperate to tell him my version of the story. Alberto promised to help me, but that didn't mean I trusted him. Who knew what kind of bullshit would spew out of his mouth while he was talking to Silvio alone.
"Are you okay? What did that woman say?" Lucas asked.
"I'm fine. She was just showing us to our rooms. This one is yours and that one is mine." I pointed to the next door over.
Lucas peeked his head inside of the bedroom and then said something about how big it was... I wasn't really listening.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again.
"I'm just tired."
"So go to sleep. Unless you're scared..." He teased. "Don't be a pussy, Evelyn." I had no idea why he suddenly felt the need to irritate me every chance he got.
"Oh, shut up. You were quaking with fear the moment our plane landed. If anyone is going to have trouble sleeping tonight, it's gonna be you."
"Psycho."
I didn't hate the word so much as I did the way he said it. Lucas always stated it with absolute certainty. It wasn't just his opinion of me, no. I was a cold blooded psychopath and that was a fact.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm psycho!" I opened my eyes really wide. "I'm fucking insane so don't mess with me!"
"Am I interrupting something?" A deep voice asked from behind me.
Silvio!
"About time you showed up. It's rude to keep your guests waiting, you know?" He was shocked by my ballsy response. We all were.
"My apologies." He said after a moment. "I was on the phone with Alberto." Mr. Di Stefano's voice was unbelievably smooth.
"And what did he say?" I didn't trust a soul.
"May I speak with you in my office?"
"Of course."
Before I followed him down the hallway, I turned around and shouted, "Psycho!" One last time.
If they wanted psycho, I'd give them psycho.
***
"I understand that you've gotten yourself into quite a difficult situation." Silvio said, taking a seat behind his desk.
"Yes, I have." I smiled. "I cheated on my husband and I proved you right. Women were created by the devil and our sole purpose in this world is to destroy strong and powerful men."
"I wouldn't go as far as to–"
"Oh but you did. I know all about you, Silvio. My husband tells me everything. I know how you feel about love and marriage. It's an abomination!"
"You really are psychotic."
"Incredibly." My eyes were wide and filled with lunacy. "But aren't we all? I mean, there's no way you can honestly tell me that you're sane. No sane person would do the things you do."
"But you–"
"I what? I proved you right. Enzo made a mistake when he left you to marry me. I know it, you know it, and now so does he."
"What are you proposing, Evelyn?" He was falling for it.
"Alberto's Empire was crumbling and I gave him what he needed to save himself. You have no one. Dante would kill you before ever coming back. He holds nothing but contempt for you and everything you've built. Enzo however, Enzo adores you. He always has and he always will. When you die, everything you've worked for is going to be in vain. You need Enzo back. You need someone to keep your legacy alive."
"But Matteo–"
"Matteo is an easy fix. You're responsible for plenty of accidents. What's one more? Hell, if you help me, I'll do it for you."
"But Enzo wouldn't–"
"Enzo would. I ruined that man. I made him love me with every fiber of his being and then I ripped his heart out of his chest and crushed it. I tainted his reputation, I stole a deal worth millions and I gave it to his sworn enemy. I'm his worst nightmare.
"Image what you could get him to do with all of that rage." I was breaking my own heart into a million irreplaceable pieces. "You'd be unstoppable. Isn't that the dream?"
"Well–"
"I know you don't slaughter people for fun, Silvio." At least I hoped he didn't. "You have a purpose. You do what you do for a reason. You want wealth and power. Enzo does too."
"What would you like in return?" I had him just where I wanted him.
"Let them go." I breathed.
He knew who I was referring to. I could see it in his eyes.
"And you?"
"Don't concern yourself with my irrevocable fate, Mr. Di Sefano. All I ask is that you set them free."
***
I refused to believe that I was actually psychotic. Admittedly, some of the details of my plan were a bit hazy, but overall I knew what I wanted. I wanted Silvio to help Lucas, and I wanted him to leave Dante alone. Promising him Enzo was the only way I could get him to do that.
Granted, once Enzo found out that Silvio had helped me, he'd most likely want nothing to do with either of us, but that was a problem for another day.
As I laid in bed, desperately trying to tie up all of the loose ends in my head, this giant cloud began to form above me. It was a nice mixture of stress and anxiety and dread, and it made it impossible to fall asleep. My mind was racing a thousand miles per hour, thinking about all of the terrifying ways this would end. Who would make it out alive? Who wouldn't? What would happen after everything blew up in my face... It was bound to blow up in my face. I was so incredibly exhausted but sleep refused to come and save me, so I just laid there, letting the demons have their way with me.
Lucas was in the next room over and as badly as I wanted to wake him up, I was afraid that he'd see right through me. He'd see that I was nothing but a scheming fraud just like the rest of them. I was afraid that he'd once again confirm my suspicion that I was insane.
In a way, I was holding myself captive. I was tired of being a prisoner but at the same time, I couldn't let him go. Why couldn't I let Enzo go?
I'd need some sort of time machine to answer all of my questions and solve all of my problems, but obviously that's impossible. The only way that I would ever have any chance of winning, whatever that meant, was to charge forward without stopping. If I wanted to play with the big guys, I had to become one - soulless, ruthless, selfish. I'd have to lie and cheat my way to the top and I couldn't, for the life of me, look back.
***
"Evelyn. Evelyn. Evelyn!" He desperately tried to shake me awake.
"What?" I gasped, sitting up in bed. "God, Lucas, you almost gave me a heart attack."
"You wouldn't wake up."
I didn't get up because although it was seven o'clock in the morning, I had just fallen asleep. "What's wrong? Did you hear a monster under the bed?"
"No, but a helicopter just landed on the front lawn. Do you think it's Enzo?"
The maid had taken all of my clothes so I rushed to the window wearing nothing but a skimpy nightgown, not that there would have been any time to change if Enzo was outside.
"You are such a coward." I whispered while trying to see who showed up in a helicopter.
"And you're-"
"Don't you dare say it." I warned.
"Psychotic." Lucas whispered into my ear.
Okay.
"Oh my God!" I cried. "Oh my God, he's here! How did he find us so quickly?"
"What? Who?" He wasn't very good at hiding his panic.
"Enzo! Who do you think, you idiot!"
"But I thought you said we were getting help from-"
"I also told you that we couldn't trust them. Oh my God, you need to hide."
"Hide where? He's in the fucking-"
"It'll buy us time. Get in!" I shoved him into the closet and slammed the door shut, sticking a chair underneath the door knob.
"Evelyn! What are you doing?" He asked, banging on the door.
"Say sorry."
"What?"
"Apologize!"
"For what?"
"For calling me psychotic." Maybe next time he'd think twice before pissing me off.
"This just proves it! You're insane!"
"Say sorry!"
"Tell me who was really in the helicopter." Lucas demanded.
"Dante Di Stefano. Now apologize to me."
"No way."
"Okay." I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess we'll get to see how long you last without anything to eat or drink. I'll be back by dinner to see if you've changed your mind." I probably was fucking cracked but in my defense, so was everyone else I knew.
"Wait!"
"For...?"
"I'm sorry. I don't think you're psychotic or cold blooded."
"And...?"
"I won't call you crazy again." It sounded more like a question than an actual apology but I accepted it anyway. The look on his face was priceless as I opened the closet door, letting him out.
He scowled at me as he asked, "Who's Dante?
"Haven't we had this conversation already? He's Silvio's son. He and his family were invited to stay here for a couple of weeks."
"Why?" Lucas's eyes were glued to me as I walked over to the little night table and picked up a pink card that read, Brunch - 11:30 in the dining hall.
"It's all very complicated. I really rather not go into it right now." Besides, I was positive that Silvio had bugged every room inside of his castle.
I tossed the note which was written on a piece of fancy stationary to the side. "Silvio expects us to have brunch with him."
"Is it mandatory?"
"I could throw you back in the closet if you'd like."
"That's fine." Lucas's snarky grin disappeared and it was replaced by a very worried expression. "Are you sure it's just going to be brunch? Nothing weird is going to happen, right?"
"I've been to dinners where instead of using the knife to cut a piece of chicken, it was used to slit someone's throat. So no, I have absolutely no idea how this afternoon is going to play out."
He just stared at me in silence.
"As a matter of fact, that's exactly what got us into this mess." I lead him over to the door and said, "Go get ready. We're expected to be downstairs at 11:30, sharp."
Poor Lucas. He was too sweet and innocent to understand and comprehend what really happens in my world.
But to be entirely honest, I was glad he left. Lucas's constant fascination by the mansion and his fear of things that no longer phased me was beginning to get extremely irritating. I needed to stay focused. Silvio believed me when I said I was ready to give Enzo back to him. He believed me when I said that I would take care of Matteo for him. He believed I was psychotic and I needed to keep it that way.
I stepped out of the shower to find a short pink dress lying on my bed. I didn't have time to pack a bag before leaving, giving me no choice but to put on the girly dress and high heels. I then sat at the vanity and stared at my bare face in the mirror when once again reality hit me like a fucking truck.
I didn't know her. I was nothing but a stranger, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, thousands of miles away from a toxic home that admittedly, I missed so fucking much. I missed it. In that moment I missed everything about it. I missed waking up with someone by my side. I missed falling asleep in someone's arms even though the hands that were attached to them were responsible for more tragedies than I could count. The very thought of spending another night alone in Silvio's estate was enough to drive me insane.
Looking at myself in the mirror was like looking into the eyes of my worst nightmare, and being alone just reminded me of how sick I was. I missed him. I depended on him more than I'd ever care to admit. Somewhere along the way Evelyn Woods had disappeared. She was rotting away in a grave miles and miles away. It felt like I hadn't seen her in life times.
As for Evelyn Granucci, I was convinced that her life was far more tragic than anyone else. Her intentions were always to avenge Evelyn Woods, but she failed miserably. In the worst way possible. She fell in love with her murderer. She fell in love with the man who mercilessly stripped her of everything she ever was. The man who buried her. And not only that, but it took her five whole years before she even realized it.
"Ahh!" I Yelled into the empty room. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" I didn't know who I was crying for at that point but I couldn't stop.
Being forced to marry Enzo had become my excuse. I didn't have to confront my reality. I didn't have to admit that eventually I stopped hating him. I was forced to be his wife, but I willingly fell in love with him. I willingly accepted his ways, I let him brainwash me into seeing past his flaws. I let him over power me.
And I know, you're supposed to let go of the anger and find peace, but peace doesn't necessarily mean acceptance which is the mistake that I made.
I thought I had a knack for manipulating and getting what I wanted from people, but I was no match compared to Enzo Granucci. How could I have compared myself to him when he had taught me everything I knew?
I was alone. I had no mother, no father, no friends. I had no one but him and he took advantage of that. He knew I craved love and acceptance more than anything else in the entire world and he gave it to me.
He destroyed me. We destroyed each other.
***
I ended up having to use almost every single makeup product that was in the vanity to cover up the damage that the tears did to my poor face. Silvio couldn't know. He wouldn't help me if he found out that I still had some of my soul left. He needed to believe that I was just as cold-blooded and psychotic as him, even though according to Lucas, I could just act like myself.
He wanted his partner to be strong-willed, sick, twisted, and vicious. Going home wasn't an option. I had to finish what I started and the only way to do that was to fully embrace Evelyn Granucci. I had to embrace her darkness and all of the things that her husband had taught her over the years. So I walked into the dinning hall like nothing had happened. I smiled at Lucas, I introduced myself to Skyla, I said hello to Dante, and I boldly took the seat beside Silvio.
The conversation was dry and the small talk was painful. Silvio wanted to get Dante alone and I wanted to get Silvio alone. Skyla and Lucas were the odd ones out. If they weren't sitting at that table, I was sure brunch would have ended similarly to The Dinner of 2013. I was more than convinced that at least one of us would get wiped out by the other. Three criminals with three different motives... there was no way in hell we were all going to have a happy ending.
Thankfully, brunch ended fairly quickly. Silvio suggested that Lucas sit by the pool, and then he had the fabulous idea that Skyla and I got to know each other while he caught up with Dante. We all agreed, even though no one wanted to. What else were we supposed to do though?
Lucas was the first to leave and then Silvio and his son made their way to his office. Skyla and I were left alone with her daughter, Alessandra.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Skyla smiled, her eyes refused to meet mine.
"Why did you come here?" Hopefully Silvio hadn't bugged his patio too.
"I didn't want Dante to come alone and he was determined to make this trip."
"Really? I spoke to him a while back and he didn't seem like he wanted anything to do with Italy."
"You're the reason why he changed his mind, Evelyn." Skyla confessed. She didn't seem upset with me. I think she was just a very honest person. "He was reluctant about accepting Silvio's offer until the night you guys ran into each other at the hotel. I don't know what you told him but he came home that night furious. The next morning he called Silvio and officially told him yes. I only tagged along because I don't trust them alone together and I was hoping that my presence would ease the tension."
It was my fault. Everything was my fault.
"That's not a bad idea." I admitted. "But-"
"But what?" Skyla finally looked me in the eyes.
I wasn't sure how to tell her. "Silvio has motives. He has plans for his son, and you're in his way."
"You think he wants to make me disappear." She didn't ask. It came out as a statement. A fact. She knew.
"Yes." Now I couldn't look her in the eyes.
"I don't doubt you, but Dante would never let him."
"I know, but just think about what would happen if it gets to that point. Dante may seem like this gentle little butterfly surrounded by a bunch of fire breathing dragons, but he's capable of... of turning vicious. I mean, I know he left to get away from it all, but for the first half of his life he was surrounded by the unimaginable horrors that come with being a Di Stefano. I've only been a Granucci for five years and I know for a fact that I will never be able to live a normal life. I've seen too much to ever consider myself normal again."
"I know. God, I know." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm so afraid that I'm going to lose him here. I have this feeling that one of them isn't going to make it but I'm not sure who, and I don't think I would be able to handle it again."
Again.
How could I forget? Skyla understood what happens in our world. She nearly married Nicola Grisanti. That's sort of how she and Dante met. Nick ended up kidnapping her. He used her as leverage and almost killed her in the process. Dante took a bullet for her, and Silvio put a bullet in her ex boyfriend's head. She watched him die. She saw so many people die that day.
Enzo helped clean up that mess, but only because Anthony asked him to.
And as for Silvio, I don't believe he shot Nick to save the love of his son's life. He did it to save himself and his reputation.
"Try not to worry too much."
"Easy for you to say." She shot back.
"Not easy. If I don't die before this shit ends, I'm either going to have to face whatever sick consequence that Enzo comes up with or become Alberto Santoro's whore." I couldn't imagine why else he'd want me.
"Sorry." Now neither of us could look the other in the eyes.
"If anyone knows how stubborn these men are, it's me, but Skyla, you really shouldn't have come."
"And let Dante come alone?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes. If I was you, I would leave right now."
"But you're here." No shit.
"I am here, risking literally everything, but the difference between us is that I have nothing to lose. Who am I really leaving behind if something tragic happens to me?" No one. "You have a daughter and a husband and a family who loves you. They depend on you."
"Don't say that, Evelyn." She looked horrified and I didn't blame her, but sometimes the truth hurts.
"I'm not hoping that I die, but I'm a realist and I know that things are going to go wrong." Horribly wrong. "I'm trying my best to help you guys get out once and for all. Just don't let Dante out of your sight, okay? You're probably our only hope at keeping him sane."
"Why would you help me when you have so much going on?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I am so fucking miserable. I wouldn't wish this feeling on anyone."
"How... how are you going to do it?"
By promising him Enzo.
"I have a plan." I smiled. "And hey, if you get tired of standing in the middle of Dante and his father, I will convince Lucas to take your place."
Skyla laughed even though there was still this look of sadness in her eyes. "What is your guys's deal?"
"We had a one night stand and it might end up costing him his life. I'm struggling with enough as is. I don't need his death hanging over my head too." I couldn't stoop to their level. I couldn't just sit back and let him die. Even if I failed, at least I gave it my all.
"So you guys aren't a couple?"
"Nope. We actually annoy the shit out of each other."
She laughed again. "Well, who knows, maybe we will all make it out alive."
"Yeah..." I hesitated. "One can only hope."