is to take over Russia, using the underdogs as allies. Everything goes through me. Guns. Drugs. Money. I’m the source. This is the only way I can ensure no one will dare to try to overthrow me again.
“My old associates see me as weak. They remember who I was, how I ruled, but I don’t want to be like that anymore. For this to work, I need a new circle, and what better way to do that then band with a group of misfits who would do anything to be on top.”
If not for her chest rising and falling, indicating she is breathing, I’d fear she was dead. But I know this is a lot to take in.
“My plan was to befriend Santo for when I took out Raul, I took out the best drug source in Russia. There are others, but I want someone who can handle my needs. I want a quality product. And I want to be the only person distributing it.”
“The mafia,” she gasps, understanding what I mean.
“Yes, that’s another reason I lost the poker game. I needed those assholes on my side. I was using them to benefit me. I’m not stupid, Ella. I know once Santo got what information he needed from me to distribute his drugs, he’d have me killed. I just needed to get there first.
“I would have had the mafia wrapped around my finger so that when Santo “disappeared,” they would continue supplying to me. In this case, blood would not be thicker than water. Trust me.”
Ella looks like she’s going to be sick. And when she places her hand over her mouth and rushes out the door, headed for the railing, it appears that she is.
“Ella?” I ask, cautiously walking toward her.
She is hunched over the edge, gasping for air.
“Did I say too much? Forgive me.”
I wait in the doorway, unsure if she wants me to leave her be. I don’t want to go, but I understand if she needs time.
“I’m so stupid,” she says so quietly that I almost missed it.
“No, you are not. Why would you say such a thing?”
I wait, giving her the time she needs to face me, and when she does, I grip the doorframe, afraid of what she’s going to say.
“You were always two steps ahead of him. Of everyone,” she says, confusing me. I have no idea where she’s going with this.
“You asked why I stayed with Frank, and the reason is…you,” she confesses while I stare wide-eyed. “I handed myself over to Santo because I knew it would help you. I knew how much Irina, Willow, Mother Superior, everyone, I knew how much they meant to you. And I couldn’t live with myself knowing any harm would come to the people you love because of me.
“At first, I thought you didn’t want me, but I soon worked out that you did what you did to protect me. I was angry that you could have fooled me so easily, but when I was able to do the same thing to you, that anger turned to sadness.
“We should have just trusted one another and worked together. Last night proved that.”
I don’t know what to say. I wanted the truth, and here it is. I just don’t know what to do with it.
“Santo wanted to be your new BFF because he wanted to gain your trust, hoping you’d help him. The family is on the cusp of being bankrupt,” she shares, which has me cursing under my breath.
No wonder they were raiding the temple like common thieves. They are.
“Santo decided to try his hand in drug distribution to help make more money. But Serg was in the way, which is why Santo helped you at Raul’s house. You’re more valuable to him alive than you are dead.
“No one would buy from Santo, no matter how pure his product was. But they’d buy from you. He needed Raul and Serg out of the picture and so did you. With them gone, he could manipulate you into going into business together.
“He needs your name and reputation, but more importantly, he needs your knowledge to help him build his own empire, and then once he was on top, he was going to kill you. He needed you to watch and learn.”
This was what I wanted to believe was true. I wanted this to be the reason Ella agreed to marry Frank. But now that I know the truth, it does nothing to calm me down.
“You stayed because Santo