Ruby Fever (Hidden Legacy, #6)(87)

I didn’t know what to say.

Lilian’s voice shook with barely suppressed anger. “She had no magic, she was not a threat, she didn’t provoke them in any way. They shot her in the head so I would stay in my lane.”

Alessandro’s face was a rigid pale mask.

“You know how little I saw you after that. Once a week if I was lucky.”

“And every time I would come over, you would tell me how important it was that I went out with the right friends and attended the right parties.” His voice was quiet.

“Your grandfather viewed it as a wedding advertisement, but I wanted the world to love you as much as I did. I wanted you to be famous and adored, because I knew that sooner or later you would rebel, and I had to make sure Franco couldn’t make you disappear. If you had suddenly vanished because your grandfather locked you up, there would be a crowd of people looking for you and asking unpleasant questions.”

Alessandro squeezed his hand into a fist under the table. I reached out and put my fingers on his.

“That night I begged you to leave with me,” he said.

Lilian wiped a tear from her left eye. “If I tried to leave with you, none of us would escape. If I gave you any indication how things truly were, you would’ve stayed. You are so loyal. You would have never abandoned us. I saw a chance to save one child, so I shoved you away as hard as I could. I would do it again, no matter how much it hurt us both.”

“I bought the debt,” he said quietly. “Most of it. There’s only seventeen million left.”

“I know. I also know that you have supported us for years and how you did it.”

“Bianca told you,” he said.

Lilian sighed. “Sweetheart, you smuggled thousands of euros into the villa and entrusted them to a fourteen-year-old. She had no idea what to do with the money. I found it stashed all over her room, in her pillow, in sanitary products, taped under her dresser . . .”

Alessandro put his hand over his face.

“After Tommaso died and your sister took over as your broker, did you never wonder why Bianca was so good at what she did?”

Tommaso was Alessandro’s first broker. He was the one who taught him the business side of assassination.

“No,” he said.

“We tried our best to get you to quit, but you were relentless. You had this terrible need to punish murderers, so all we could do was make sure you did it as safely as possible. I’m so glad you stopped.”

“How did you get out?” he asked. “Why now?”

“Last year you helped a man, Lander Morton.”

The Pit affair. Lander’s son was murdered, and we had solved that mystery.

“You’ve met Lander before,” Alessandro said. “I remember seeing the pictures of you and Father on a yacht with him. He had a case of ginger ale delivered to you because you were pregnant with me and had morning sickness.”

She nodded. “He reached out a few months ago. He is sick and worried about what will happen to his grandchildren once he passes. He has a great deal of money, and he uses it well. He did his research, realized the situation we were in, and he and I made a deal. He would provide me and the girls with false identities and help us escape, and in return, you will ally yourself with House Morton. I’m sorry I obligated you without asking, but I was desperate. Bianca is twenty-two, and Franco is shopping her around like she is a brood mare.”

Franco Sagredo needed to die in the worst way.

Lilian leaned forward, her expression pained. “I delayed this as much as I could. I had her pretend to be sick. I used the money you sent to pay off a clinic to assess her as infertile and started a rumor about it, but this last winter he had her independently evaluated against her will and mine.”

A typical trip to a gynecologist was not the most pleasant experience. To be dragged into an examination room against your will knowing that you will be sold right after . . . I clenched my teeth.

“He is moving forward with her engagement. I had to get her out,” Lilian said. “We were scheduled to leave next week, but then Franco decided to fly me here so I could guilt-trip you. I had been meek and obedient for many years and since he had the girls, he thought I would do as I was told. We had to accelerate our plans. Morton’s people got them out. By now Franco has to have realized it . . .”

Alessandro reached out and took his mother’s hand. “It’s fine, Mother. It will be fine. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She looked at him, her expression soft. “Because you would try to kill him, Alessandro. He is very strong.”

“So am I,” he said.

“I can’t take that risk. You were finally free of him. How could I drag you back in?”

Alessandro shook his head. “Somehow I have given the women in my life the impression that I must be protected.”

I needed to change that subject fast.

“House Baylor has no problem allying with House Morton,” I told her. “We will honor your commitment. It’s a small price to pay for your safety. You are welcome to stay here as long as needed. I’m very glad you are here.”

“Thank you,” Lilian said.

They were so similar, Alessandro and her, both churning with emotions, sitting across from each other with guarded expressions on their faces. I needed to give them space. He said he wanted me here, but now he was using me as an excuse to not discuss things and they both had a lot to say to each other.