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“And Celia?”
“That’s what Marta is working on, to spread the word to the Family about what she did.”
“You think they will believe Auntie?” Ana bit her lip.
“Marta won’t say anything. The three ladies,” Gio nodded to the messages, “will be the ones to share the news. Marta said they’re all in good standing in their factions, and they’re not her personal friends. So people shouldn’t suspect her of influencing them.”
At her dubious silence, he said, “Trust me. Even if they don’t fully believe it, it will be enough to sow doubt. Everyone knows Russo was pissed after the summit. It makes perfect sense that he’d engineer this scandal in retaliation. As soon as we get back to New York, I’m coming for him next,” he swore.
“By ‘coming for him,’ you mean–?”
“Kill him?” Gio’s lip lifted. “Would you like me to?”
Her eyes rounded.
He simply chuckled to himself, catching the ends of her long hair between his fingers. Staring at their silky ripples, he murmured, “I would do far worse for you.”
Breath caught in her throat. Ana watched him smile irresistibly, as though he hadn’t just promised murder–before he reluctantly released her hair.
“For now,” Gio decided, “I am going to let your aunt’s plan play out until Celia’s reputation is torn to pieces. Then I will deal with her father. He’s a sneaky bastard and won’t go down so easily. I need to monitor these three women to make sure he doesn’t get his claws on them.”
“Do we need to head back home then?”
“Not yet. I have some urgent work here first.” Before she could ask him what, he said, “I think this situation should be contained by today. Marta is taking care of the next steps. In the meantime, I’ll call a meeting with the Capos to figure out what to do with Russo. That will take at least a week to organize, which I can start doing from here.”
A loud vibration silenced her burgeoning questions. Both their phones began buzzing, on and on and on.
It was nonstop.
Text after text poured in.
Text-1: Omg. Ana, you won’t believe this. Did you hear who sent those texts??
Text-2: I knew it. My husband said something was up when Russo left the summit early.
Text-3: Has Don seen this? He must be *furious*. Celia should count her days.
Text-4: I called Celia but she isn’t answering. Do you think she knows this leaked?
Oh my God.
Dozens of messages pinged together in synchronized cacophony.
It was unbelievable how quickly this was spreading. Hadn’t Gio just given Auntie the go-ahead an hour ago? Her damage control campaign had already made an impact.
She almost felt bad for Celia, having been in her place just two days ago. A rumor was like a lit match in a haystack. It traveled from one end of the Family to the other in a flash.
Overwhelmed by the constant alerts, Ana quickly silenced her phone. An uneasy feeling settled over her. People were so fickle. Just hours before, they’d all believed Ana to be an adulterous slut. Now, she had suddenly become the victim–while Celia became the new villain. They didn’t even stop to wonder if Celia was deserving of the rumors, any more than they had with Ana.
But why was she even pitying that nasty woman? Celia was the villain here. She had wreaked havoc on Ana’s life for 48 hours and maliciously slandered her, all in a reckless bid to support her father. Whatever loathing Ana had for the woman before intensified a thousand times over, burning in her gut.
Gio, on the other hand, looked far more content. He was busy replying to the volley of messages, clearly pleased with the turn of events.
That dispelled her unease, replacing it with a deep sense of gratitude. He had neglected so much other work to resolve this scandal. He must also have received a lot of judgment and speculation when the rumors had first spread. But he’d never let Ana feel it. He had only given her patience–and love.
Resting a hand on his shoulder, she reverently rubbed the flexing muscles there as he rapidly texted away. If the Russos hadn’t instigated this scandal, he could have had a well-deserved vacation. That had been the initial reason why he'd joined her here in Pittsburgh.
Sigh.
