Chapter 12
Claudia already had her phone in her hand as she stormed out of the restaurant, taking deep breaths as she dialed Elio's number. It rang and rang until the call went unanswered. A groan of agitation tore from her throat. She dialed his number again. It rang once, twice. He picked up on the third ring.
She spoke before he had the chance to, cutting him off.
" I need you to pick me up." She didn't bother telling him why Lorenzo wouldn't be the one driving her back home and Elio didn't ask. She told him exactly where she was and hung up.
Minutes later, Elio had stopped in front of her in one of her father's cars. Claudia slung her bag over her shoulder. She heaved a relieved sigh when Elio popped his head out the car window and winked at her.
She rounded the car but instead of getting into the backseat like she usually would, she moved up and sat in the passenger seat right next to Elio.
She threw the door open as soon as the car reached home. Her strides were purposeful, her legs eating up the distance to the front entrance. When she was only a few feet away, she heard her youngest sister's high pitch giggles. Claudia turned in the direction of the sound and found her sisters playing in the yard. They did so almost every day and Claudia enjoyed watching them whenever they did, occasionally joining in as well.
She didn't know how she hadn't noticed them sooner.
Valentina turned around and spotted Claudia staring in their direction and waved.
" Claudia!" Valentina called, beaming from ear to ear. " Join us!"
Claudia wanted too. It was tempting, the idea of spending the rest of the day with two of the people she loved most in the world. Her feet moved before her mind could fully register the action. One step, then two.
She paused. The rage within her was a thick mist over her eyes. She couldn't see past it, couldn't think past it either. She felt too volatile, anything could set her off in the drop of a hat. Claudia couldn't be around her sisters when she was like this. It wasn't their fault she was this angry, it wouldn't be fair to have them around to experience the imminent fallout.
Hearing Valentina's words, Arabella turned around and waved at Claudia as well, her lips stretched into a big smile that mirrored Valentina's. Arabella stood up and dusted off her skirt. She moved to step closer to Claudia but Claudia was much faster, turning around and walking away. Into the house, where she knew she would have to face her father.
She expected to get a knock on her door from her father later in the day to ask how her supposed date with Lorenzo went. What she hadn't expected was to find him still in the same living space she had left him in with her mother sitting in the chaise next to him.
Her father caught sight of her the exact moment she spotted him. Their gazes met. She looked away and continued walking away like she hadn't seen them, never stopping once.
" Claudia!" Her father barked.
Claudia simply walked past him. She was almost at the bottom of the stairs. It was so close.
A sharp tug on her arm had her stumbling back. The moment she righted her stance, she came face to face with her father's fierce brown eyes. He was yet to ease his hold off her arm. He tightened his grip instead to the point Claudia had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying out in pain.
" Stupid girl, I asked you a question." He spat.
What question; Claudia wanted to say. She didn't hear him ask anything. If she had, she would have forced herself to ignore that as well.
Gabriele tugged at her arm again. " Why did you come back alone? Where the fuck is Lorenzo?" Her father demanded.
Claudia glared at him despite the pain in her arm.
" He has a phone, doesn't he? Call and ask him yourself." She nearly snared the words. She wasn't usually like this, her father simply brought out this side of her. Gabriele brought out the worst parts in everyone.
Gabriele snared. " Watch the way you speak to me—"
" Or what, father? What are you going to do? Marry me off to the first man that tosses money at you? Is that it?" Right then the similarities between Claudia and her father were stark, with unbridled rage burning in her eyes. Each time it scared her how close she was to letting it consume her. " How much did Salvatore promise you? A hundred thousand? Two hundred? A million? You're so desperate you would take anything."
Gabriele raised his hand and pain exploded on her cheek. Claudia's face swung to the side from the force of the hit, a bruise quickly forming on the cheek her father struck. She had seen it coming but nothing could have prepared her for how much it would hurt. Not even the fact that she had grown used to this brand of violence from her father.
She managed to pull her arm out of his hold and took a few steps back.
" Do you feel any better now?" She asked, a derisive tone lacing each word. " Did hitting me make you feel more like a man?"
Claudia glanced to her side, at her mother who still sat there without uttering a single word. Her mother, Antonia Santoro, had her gaze averted, refusing to look at Claudia.
Growing up, Claudia was told by almost everyone she knew that she resembled her mother the most. She had her mother's nose and wavy brown hair. Their eyes were the same hazel color, appearing greener than brown in most lights. Right now those eyes weren't looking back at her.
Look at me; Claudia pleaded silently. Say something. Do something.
But her mother remained silent like she always did. Like she always would. It wasn't that she didn't see how her husband treated Claudia, it was that she chose to ignore it.
Gabriele pointed a finger at her, his face red with anger. " You! If I even hear that you did something to ruin this arrangement we have with the Kanes, I will kill you myself. I will hold you by the throat and watch the life leave your eyes. I don't care if I have to put you in a crate and ship you off to New York. I don't care if I have to gag you and drag you down that altar. Arrangements have already been made. Every essential discussion has already been had. In a few weeks you will be married to Lorenzo Kane. And when he takes over New York, you will be at the very center of it."
The words were those of a deranged man. His rants and threats didn't scare Claudia. They hadn't scared her in a long time. But something was different this time. Insanity shone in Gabriele's dark eyes, wild and unrestrained. His words seeped into her skin and borrowed deep into her flesh. Only then did his threat truly register.
The man in front of her, Gabriele Santoro— her own father was going to kill her if things didn't go the way he planned. His threats weren't new to her in any way but this… It was the first time he ever threatened to end her life. Something inside her didn't doubt him. Her father would do it with little to no remorse.
A thought came to her unbidden. Maybe seeing her daughter on the brink of death would make her mother finally speak up. But it was wishful thinking at best.