Page 126 of The Serpent's Bride
“He doesn’t even know you,” Angelo continued. “Not really. Leo sees people as possessions. Assets. Tools.”
“That’s not true.” But my voice sounded weaker now. Uncertain.
Angelo noticed. “Did he tell you he loves you?”
The question stunned me silent.
“Exactly,” Angelo murmured. “Because he doesn’t.”
Something hot and awful burned behind my ribs. I thought about the zoo. Sienna asleep against Leo’s chest. The softness in his eyes when he listened to stories about my mother. The way he touched my hair like it meant something.
But then I remembered the other things too. Good girl. Mine. Obey me. Maybe none of it had ever been about me at all.
“Chiara,” Angelo said softly now. “Do you want to know the worst part?”
I swallowed painfully. “What?”
“He probably likes you.” A quiet cruel laugh followed. “As much as a man like Leo can like anyone.”
My chest tightened harder.
“But men like him don’t love people,” Angelo finished coldly. “They consume them.”
The silence between us stretched long enough for my heartbeat to become unbearable. I gripped Sergio’s phone harder against my ear, staring blankly out across the glittering skyline beyond the penthouse windows while Angelo’s words echoed through my head like poison.
Men like him don’t love people. They consume them.
“You’re quiet,” Angelo observed softly.
“I should hang up.”
“But you won’t,” he predicted.
No. I wouldn’t. And somehow that terrified me most of all. My throat felt tight. “Why are you doing this?”
A low chuckle came through the line. “Because unlike Leo, I don’t enjoy watching beautiful women walk willingly into cages.”
I closed my eyes briefly. “You barely know me.”
“I know enough.” Something in his tone made unease crawl down my spine. Before I could respond, Angelo sighed softly. “There’s something else you should know.”
My stomach tightened. “What?”
“Your father is dying.”
The world stopped. “What?”
“He’s in a private hospital downtown,” Angelo continued calmly. “Multiple organ failure. Internal bleeding. Fever. Pain so bad they’ve had to sedate him repeatedly.”
Ice flooded my veins. “No.”
“I warned you my cousin likes poison.”
The words hit like a slap. My knees nearly gave out beneath me. I caught myself against the marble counter hard enough to hurt.
“He poisoned Papa?” I whispered.
“Yes.”
