Chapter 11 - At the Charity Gala, Vittorio Smiled at Me Like He Had Already Won
The gala filled a downtown hotel with chandeliers and expensive perfume.
Vittorio stood near the stage, greeting donors as though he had never frightened anyone.
I wore a black dress and carried a small recording device supplied by Mara.
Cedric accompanied me.
"You can still walk away," he said.
"So can you."
"I don't intend to."
He guided his wheelchair beside me, not in front of me.
That small choice mattered.
Vittorio approached with a glass of champagne.
"My nephew," he said. "And his beautiful bride."
"My name is Anna," I replied.
His smile remained fixed.
"Of course."
I asked him about the bridge.
For the first time, his eyes sharpened.
"An unfortunate tragedy."
"My brother survived."
He set down his glass.
"Did he?"
"And my mother."
The color drained from his face.
It lasted only a second.
But Mara's microphone caught his answer.
"Elena should have accepted the arrangement."
"What arrangement?"
He leaned closer.
"Some debts are paid by the next generation. You, of all people, should understand that."
I stepped back.
"You made me marry Cedric to control me."
"I arranged an agreement," he said. "What you did with it was your choice."
"It wasn't a choice when you threatened the people I loved."
A waiter passed between us.
Vittorio slipped away.
Then the ballroom lights went out.
Guests shouted.
I felt a hand close around my wrist.
Not Cedric's.
May you like
A stranger whispered against my ear.
"Come quietly if you want your mother to live."
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