Chapter 25

NICHOLAS

The door swung open before I could bring my hand up to knock, and I figured the guards had already signaled him.

Gregorio Fanelli looked up at me warily. Rightfully so. The last time I was here, I tendered my marriage proposal for Giselle, but he knew we could never have a father- and son-in-law relationship. We never got along in the past, and the difference in our views played a part in that.

"Niko!" He exclaimed in a false upbeat tone. "Pleasant surprise. Come in, please."

He opened the door wider for me to walk in before leading me to his office.

"No security with you today?" He asked over his shoulder, a sketchy smile on his lips.

Cazzo, could he be normal for once in his life?

"Pretty weird question to ask, Gregorio. Do you have an ambush planned for me?" I asked, cocking a brow at him.

He let out a burst of strained laughter, waving me off. "Never, Nicholas. You are my son-in-law. I would never do something to betray you."

He definitely would. I threw the question at him in a lighthearted tone, but I knew what type of a man he was. Gregorio was a snake that wasn't to be trusted. Everyone knew that. Luckily for me, I wasn't here to do business with him.

"To what do I owe this visit, Nicholas?" He asked when we were seated in his office. "Want something to drink?"

"No." I pulled back a chair, taking a seat. "What happened on the night of Gianna's death?" I asked without preamble. 

Gregorio was at a loss for words for a few seconds. "Gi- Gianna's death?" He sputtered. 

I pinned him with an irritated glare. "Yes, Gregorio. Gianna's death."

Giselle had always insisted she didn't kill Gianna, and after seeing the way she was fiercely protective of Cara, a girl who wasn't even fully her sister, it raised questions in the air for me.

She looked like she couldn't hurt a fly, but I always saw that as a part of the act she put up. Now I wasn't sure anymore. The woman had put her neck on the line to save one sister. Would she really kill the other? Especially the one she bonded with the most?

"Everyone knows what happened," Gregorio said, a look crossing his face, like the story was too painful for him to tell. I never paid much attention to it in the past, but looking at him now, I knew it was all an act. His views on women were disgusting and losing a daughter was not keeping him awake at night.

"Gianna was driving the car, and out of nowhere, Giselle took over the steering wheel. From the audio the dash cam recorded, Gianna tried to talk her out of it, but Giselle was adamant, and she drove them into a tree."

"And the video from this dashcam?" I asked. "Do you still have the tape?"

I didn't know Giselle well when we were younger, but I didn't remember her being suicidal, either. She was also at risk of dying in the car after causing the accident, so why would she risk her life if she was jealous of Gianna and wanted her dead?

These were all the things I hadn't considered when I first got news of her death on the phone or in the years following that. I was stuck on the reason her parents gave. Giselle was jealous of Gianna being the favored one, so she caused an accident that took her life.

"The accident was so painful that we decided not to watch the tape. Lucia and I made the collective decision to get rid of it immediately after the incident."

"Really?" I asked, keeping my doubt out of my voice.

That wasn't the story he told me years ago. He said the tape was too unclear to make out anything. Something wasn't adding up. Gregorio wasn't telling the truth, and I knew I had to get to the bottom of it.

"Yes. If this helps, Giselle was also suicidal. We had to consult a therapist for her. She used to cut herself up in the past."

I froze. She used to self-harm? That was news he also hadn't shared in the past. She must have had things really bad if she was willing to hurt herself. 

We didn't interact with each other, but I always thought she had a happy-go-lucky attitude, smiling at everyone when she walked past them in the corridors. She hardly talked to me back then, but when she was around Gianna, I knew she had talked her ear off. 

I was never directly in the line of her temper during the few times she lost control, but I once saw her throw her textbook at a guy's head. Plus, I heard different stories from Gianna.

Who would have known that she hid such trauma behind a beautiful smile?

I rose to my feet, the gears in my head turning with this new information. "I'll be on my way, Gregorio. Grazie."

I didn't let him speak before I turned on my heels and made my way out of his house. When I was inside my car, I pulled out my phone, sending a text to Matteo.

Get me the details of Giselle's old therapist. 

Maybe it was time for me to visit mine. It had been a long time.

***

"I got married to Giselle."

Sage eyed me with disapproval in her eyes, but her lips held a tiny smile. She didn't approve of my choices, but she was also my therapist, not a close family member to scold me for doing something she'd advised me not to. She could only give her advice.

I met Sage through Matteo three years ago, and I've been coming to see her ever since. She knew what I did, so there was no need to keep up the pretense in front of her. Plus, I never told her things that had to do with the Family.

"And how did you feel when you got married to her?" She asked.

"Accomplished. I was finally punishing Gianna's killer."

Sage leaned back in her seat, not bothering to hide her frown this time around. "I thought we worked on that already. Vengeance is an ugly, destructive feeling to harbor in your heart. It stomps your growth as a person. Have any of our sessions been helping at all?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Sage sighed, tucking a stray lock behind her ear. "Nicholas-"

"I fucked her last night," I cut her off, needing to get that off my chest.

Sage blushed, shocked by my sudden outburst. "Okay." She cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. "So, there's no attraction problem between you two?"

"No. I enjoyed it more than I should have." Hell, I craved her body right now. It had been difficult climbing out of bed this morning when her soft body molded against mine, but I knew I needed to get this done.

I needed to find out the truth.

"You enjoyed it more than you should have? Why do you feel that way?"

"Because I lo-" I paused with the word just at the tip of my tongue, but finding myself unable to say it. "Fanculo." I dragged my hand through my hair. "I can't say the word."

"Maybe that's because you're no longer in love with her."

"That's impossible. She's the reason I got married to Giselle."

"Nicholas, it's possible to love someone, but not be in love with the person. I know you'll always love and care for Gianna, but you've fallen out of love with her for a long time now."

Was that true? Was I no longer in love with Gianna? If she was right, when did that happen, and why didn't I notice it sooner until she pointed it out?

"That's totally okay, Nicholas. Gianna is merely a figment of your memories from seven years ago. She's long gone. It's okay to let go," she said in her usual gentle voice, but like the other times, I didn't find it soothing. Nothing could ease the turmoil inside me.

"Even though I want to 'let go', I didn't want the woman to be Giselle. It'd be like a slap on Gianna's face were she alive."

"If. Gianna isn't alive, and she's never coming back. You're free to live your life the way you want, and if your marriage with Giselle works, don't sabotage yourself. Gianna will always be a part of your life, and any woman you choose to be with won't change that."

An incoming text from Matteo lit up the screen of my phone. "Can we reschedule this meeting? Business calls."

"Sure. I'd love to hear about your progress next time."

I doubted there'd be anything to report, but I nodded. Right now, I needed to get to the bottom of Gianna's accident. 

Was I just punishing an innocent woman for something she never did?