Until Her - Ami Van Page 0,29
were never going to let her leave. When she’d realize this ages ago, that’s when she stopped putting up the fight. Pietro Romano even made special stipulations in his will that her debt is now transferred to his children, Isabella and Cristian, equally. Yet, even the family’s attorney wouldn’t mention the total amount of that debt.
“I don’t know,” she whispers. “But they won’t let me go so easily. I-I take care of everything within the household.”
Stella hums and they both remain quiet as they continue to prepare dinner. Whatever Stella is cooking smells delicious. It has her salivating. Something that she hasn’t done in such a long time. The last time she can remember doing so was when her mother was still alive. Her mother was no trained chef but the woman can hold her own in the kitchen.
“How is the process going?” Stella asks after pulling the roast out of the oven.
“I’m not sure how well I’m doing,” she answers honestly. “I just…I just do what Marcus asks of me.”
“That means you trust him,” Stella says. “Are there…urges?”
Urges? She knows what Stella is asking, of course.
“No,” she responds. “There have been less than a handful of times that I’ve wanted the drugs. As if my body required it but other than that, I’ve never felt as if I needed them. Even after…even when it was as bad as this last time.”
“Hmm…,” Stella replies. “I don’t have much experience with this. I want you to know that it’s why we’ve left you alone. We have to trust the recovery process and Marcus comes highly recommended. So we’re all just following his recommendations too. But…on a bright note, you look so much better than the last time I saw you.”
“Thank you, Stella. Thank you and the man who helped me,” she gratefully says for the first time. “I-I just don’t know why.”
“Because you’re worth it,” Stella replies and then turns away from the roast that she’s carved. “I won’t lie to you, Ariana. I do have my reasons.”
Of course. Of course, she does. Everyone has ulterior motives. She’s but a pawn to be moved from box to box, board to board. Everyone plays a game and she’s merely a game piece. Expendable. Meaningless.
“There’s always a price to pay. Nothing comes for free,” she replies solemnly.
“Stay optimistic, Ariana. Use the resources and the help that we can give you. Use it to free yourself.”
“How?” she asks. Not that she’s suddenly optimistic.
“Take this recovery seriously. Talk to Marcus about any of your addiction concerns. Learn from him,” Stella replies.
“And in return?” she asks.
“We need information,” Stella replies. “I promise you, we won’t ever do what the Romanos have done to you but we help you and you help us. That’s all we ask.”
“What kind of information?” she asks now.
“The Romanos and the Kings have an arrangement. You have to know about this by now,” Stella says.
“Yes,” she replies with an added nod.
“It’s because I fucked up,” Stella says. “I fucked up and now Adam is about to take the fall for that. Isabella isn’t for him. You saw how she was with Jazzy at dinner.”
“Yes,” she repeats because she does remember.
Isabella doesn’t even like children. It was no surprise that she brought up the proper boarding school idea at the table. All Isabella ever craved is power, dominance, and attention. Isabella was brought up that way. Don Pietro made sure that his children knew the power their family held and the riches their family had. They were groomed to be heirs to the Romano empire.
“What kind of information can I possibly give you to help you?” she asks Stella now.
“I’m not sure right now what information I’ll need to put a stop to this arrangement. But I do have to warn you,” Stella says.
She steps closer and reaches for her hand before she speaks again.
“I’m going to have to have to ask you about some of their seedier business partners. You might have to relive some of the details. I will never ask you what happened between you and those men but I will need names. I need you to be strong through it. And if you feel that you can’t be, I still may have to push you. Marcus will be here with you the whole way. We’ll all be with you but we still have work to do.”
“Okay,” she replies without hesitation.
On the contrary, recalling names won’t be hard. She’s remembered names, faces, fuckings…most nights in her nightmares anyway.
If this is