Page 181 of A Beautiful Crime
“You think you can just kill us and get away with it?”
“You thought you could kill mamma and my papa and get away with it?” The pain seeps through my voice. There will never be a time their deaths won’t cause a flare in my heart.
“Viola killed herself,” he says with conviction. But the curtains behind Oz have long been lifted.
“No, you destroyed her! You broke her heart. Snuffed her light. Drowned her spirit. You killed her long before you ordered Elio to strangle her.” My voice vibrates with fury. And I can feel it pulsating in my body. There’s a volcano within me. It’s only a matter of time before it erupts.
He turns his nose. “I did no such thing.”
“Stop lying or so help me god I will place this bullet between your eyes right now!” His lips curl as his nostrils flare.
“What do you want me to say, Carina? You want me to say I ordered the kill of my wife? I did!” His voice rises and so does he. “Do you want me to say I killed her because of the affair she had with the damn pathetic excuse of a butler? I did! Do you want me to admit the only reason I kept you alive is so Giuseppe could live a life worse than death itself? I admit it! I admit to all of it! And I sleep fucking good every night!”
“And when I sleep I’m haunted by the visions of them. But rest assured, Savio, after tonight when my head hits that pillow and sleep calls for me I will not be losing any by killing you.”
His laugh is boisterous and full of mockery. My finger on the trigger twitches, just begging to be pulled.
As his laughter continues to ring in the air I realize my grander plan for his death is for naught.
All the plans I have for torturing him and making him beg are no longer enticing. They’re no longer a need.
It almost seems anticlimactic how his demise will come to be.
But sometimes in life death isn’t about the theatrics or the flair.
This time there is no apology. There is no hope that God will forgive me.
This time as I pull the trigger I keep my eyes open.
The bang doesn’t reverberate long after it’s done.
My mouth doesn’t fall open in a silent scream at the sight of Savio’s head blown wide open. No, quite the contrary. A smile splits across my face from ear to ear.
Glee bubbles up inside me. Endorphins flood through my bloodstream. There’s a giddiness.
“Fuck!” Luca screams as he scrambles away from Savio but ends up tripping on his blood.
With a signal of my hand Constantine, Gino, Pietro and Rico follow my lead as we corner Luca. He’s backed against the wall now. I’ve never seen him so terrified before.
“Tell me, Luca. Who’s the master of the chess board now?” I revel in his fear. It’s like a hit of cocaine. Addicting. Fills you with a rush that goes straight to your head and makes you feel as if you own the world.
“Carina, please-”
“In all those years you abused me I never once pleaded with you. I wish I would’ve known then how strong I was. Because the truth, Luca? The truth is you’ve always been weaker than me.”
He clasps his hands in prayer and begs before me as if I’m his God. “I’ll leave town. The country! I swear it. Just don’t do this. Please. Have mercy.” It’s a feeble attempt. One he shouldn’t have wasted his breath on.
“Have you ever shown mercy?” I ask coolly.
He closes his eyes in defeat. His face crumples as his clasped hands tremble.
Placing the gun in his mouth I say chillingly, “Smile for me, Luca. It’s always so much more pleasing when a man smiles.”
As his lips smile around the gun I pull the trigger.
CHAPTER 43
Carina
