“Fuck, I know, but I didn’t think it meant this. You were supposed to date, fall in love, and get engaged.” He paled. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this, I swear.”
“But you knew about my father’s plans for me and Scott. You knew, and you never said a word.”
“Shit, Ari. I know it sounds bad when you say it like that, but this is your legacy. You are the Capizola heir, one day the entire empire will be yours. Scott was my best friend. I thought you would be a great match. I thought it made good business sense. That’s just how it is in this life.”
“He’s a monster.”
Shame filled Tristan’s eyes. “I realize that now. He’s always been... intense. But I didn’t know he would...” He swallowed hard, rubbing his jaw as if the words were just too painful to say.
“He raped me, Tristan. He slipped something into my drink at the Gala and raped me.” Arianne’s voice shook, but it was nothing compared to the rage boiling beneath my skin.
“You never said anything. You never—”
“Would it have mattered?” Her voice cracked. “I tried to tell my father and he acted like I was making a big deal about nothing. He downplayed my being raped because it didn’t fit into his business plans.” Bitterness clung to her words, but Arianne didn’t cower. She didn’t cry or whimper. She sat tall, her eyes locked on her cousin, on her family, as she purged her thoughts.
“He deserves your wrath,” Tristan buried his face in his hands, scraping his fingers through his hair, “We both do. But the second I found out the truth, I called Luis.”
“Is this true?”
Arianne’s bodyguard nodded.
“You are my family, Ari, my blood. Scott hurt you which means he hurt me. I knew he could be a little forward. But I didn’t know... I swear. Either way, I’m done. He’s no one to me now.”
“Just like that?” I scoffed. “Sounds too fucking convenient to me.”
Tristan met my icy stare. He deserved some credit. Few people faced off with me like that. “We’ve all made mistakes, man. But Scott... he’s obsessed with her. Uncle Roberto knows she isn’t safe.”
“So why the fuck did he promise her to that piece of shit?”
Tristan let out a heavy sigh, but it was Arianne who spoke. “I don’t know that I can trust you again. You were on his side, Tristan.”
“I appreciate that, and I know I don’t deserve a second chance.” He gave her a sad smile. “But I’d like the chance to earn it back.”
She gave him a small nod,
“Okay.” He sagged back into the chair. “So I always knew Uncle Roberto wanted to secure your future. After Antonio Marchetti tried to have you—”
“It wasn’t Antonio,” Arianne said.
“What?” Tristan’s eyes almost bugged. “But it had to be. Uncle Roberto said—”
“She’s telling the truth,” I added. “It was Mike Fascini. We think he did it to try to set my father up and incite war between our families. When it failed, we think he decided to try another approach.”
Tristan’s brow drew together. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do that?”
“Because there’s something else,” I said. “Something we only recently found out.”
“Go on...”
“What do you know of the name Ricci?”
“Ricci? As in Elena Ricci? The girl who betrayed our family and ran off with Emilio Marchetti?”
I nodded. “Mike is Elena’s grandson.”
“Cazzo!” His eyes went wide. “So this is what? Some sick attempt at righting history?”
“Michael Fascini, Mike’s father, never got over what happened. According to his aunt, he became obsessed with getting vengeance. He moved to Verona County in the seventies with the sole purpose of getting even. When he died, Mike took over the reins and here we are.”
“So Mike’s the puppet master? It makes sense.” He scrubbed his jaw before fixing his eyes on Arianne. “I know your father doesn’t seem like he has your best interests at heart, Ari, but he loves you.”
“He has a funny way of showing it.”
“But if Mike has been pulling the strings all along, maybe he didn’t have a choice.”
The thought had occurred to me, but it still didn’t excuse Roberto’s actions.
“Do you think Scott knows the truth?” Tristan asked.
“We don’t know. If he does, he risked everything last night and his father is likely to be pissed. If he wants to keep his hands clean, he needs Capizola Holdings and Arianne was his insurance policy.”
“Hold on a second.” Arianne grabbed my arm. “You think I’m a bargaining chip?”