Chapter 57 Goodbyes and Poisons
ARYA’S POV
I stayed in my room long after Giovanni left, staring at the door he had walked through like it might offer some explanation for what had just happened.
He had taken the phone already and I wasn't comfortable with it. What would he do about Marco?
The anxiety built in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I forced myself to move and do something normal.
I had just finished brushing my damp hair when Matteo knocked on my door.
"Mrs. De Santis? May I come in?"
"Yes," I said, setting down the brush.
He entered with his usual stoic expression, but something in his eyes looked almost... apologetic?
"Your family is departing today," he said. "In approximately two hours. Mr. De Santis has arranged for transportation to take you to the hotel to say goodbye."
It felt like the ground had been taken from underneath me and I gasped.
"What?" I stood up, my legs suddenly unsteady. "They're leaving already? But they've only been here a few days. They were supposed to stay-”
"Plans have changed," Matteo interrupted carefully. "I'm to escort you to the hotel whenever you're ready."
I stared at him, trying to process this. Something told me that this was punishment. It had to be Giovanni's way of making me pay for the phone.
"Is he coming?" I asked, my voice smaller than I wanted. "Giovanni. Is he coming to the hotel?"
"I don't know, ma'am." He responded.
"You don't know?" I repeated. "How can you not know? You're his head of security. You must know his schedule."
Matteo's expression remained passive. "Mr. De Santis doesn't always share his plans with me. Particularly when he's... displeased about something."
The implication was clear. Giovanni was angry. And when Giovanni was angry, unpredictable things happened.
I grabbed a cardigan and followed Matteo downstairs, my heart heavy with dread.
The drive to the hotel felt endless. I spent most of it staring out the window, watching the Italian countryside blur past, trying to prepare myself for another goodbye I wasn't ready for.
"Has he left already?" I asked Matteo finally, unable to stand the silence. "Giovanni. Did he go somewhere?"
Matteo's eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. "I honestly don't know, Mrs. De Santis. After he left your room, he went into his study and told everyone not to disturb him. He could be working…” He trailed off.
"He could be planning my next punishment," I finished bitterly.
Matteo didn't confirm or deny it, he just kept driving.
"I wanted to ask him," I said quietly. "To punish me another way. To let them stay and I'd accept whatever consequence he wanted but I didn't get the chance."
"Would it have mattered?" Matteo asked, his tone gentle. "If you had asked?"
Probably not. Giovanni De Santis didn't strike me as the type to be swayed by pleas or bargaining.
He had made up his mind, and my family was paying the price for my defiance.
When we arrived at the hotel, I was escorted inside by another guard who knew me.
My family was in the lobby, surrounded by luggage and guards. My mother spotted me first and rushed over, pulling me into a tight embrace.
“I'm so sorry.” I whispered into her hair. "It's my fault, he's punishing me, and you're the ones who have to leave.”
"This isn't your fault," my mother insisted, cupping my face. "None of this is your fault, Arya. You're just caught in the middle of something that-"
"Arya!"
Christabel appeared from behind a pillar and threw herself at me with enough force to nearly knock me over. Her face was already red and blotchy from crying, her small body shaking with sobs.
"Don't let them take me away," she begged, her voice muffled against my shoulder. "Please, Arya. I don't want to go. I don't want to leave you here with him."
My heart cracked. I knelt down to her level, brushing tears from her cheeks even though new ones immediately replaced them.
"It's okay," I lied, forcing my voice to stay steady. "It's going to be okay."
"No it's not!” She cried out, stomping her feet in the ground. “He's mean and scary and he hurt you and I don't want to leave you alone with him!"
I sighed, drying the tear tracks from her cheeks. "Christabel.”
"I'll visit," I said, the lie tasting like ash. "I'll come visit you soon, I promise. Maybe in a few months when things settle down."
"You promise?" She searched my face with those big, trusting eyes that made me want to cry. "You really promise?"
"I promise," I whispered, pulling her into another hug.
My mother eventually managed to calm Christabel down enough to pull her away, though my sister kept looking back at me with such betrayed desperation that I had to look away.
My father approached next, his expression softer than I had seen it in years.
"Be careful," he said quietly, pulling me aside. "Giovanni De Santis is not a man to be underestimated. He's smart, ruthless, and he's very good at making people think they have power when they don't."
I bobbed my head slowly. "I know, Dad."
"I mean it, Arya." His hands gripped my shoulders. "Watch what you say and do. And if he ever…"
His voice caught. "This is all my fault," he continued, his voice rough. "The position our family was in and the choices I made led to this. And I'm so goddamn sorry that you're paying the price for my mistakes."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I just hugged him and said, "I'll be careful."
Marco was last. He had been hanging back, watching the goodbyes with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"Did you get in trouble?" he asked immediately. "Because of the phone?"
"He took it," I admitted. "And he's sending you all home early. So yes, I'd say I got in trouble."
Marco's jaw clenched. "That controlling bastard. Arya, you can't let him isolate you like this. You need to-"
"Marco, stop." I was too tired for another lecture about Giovanni's monstrousness. I knew because I lived it every day.
"I'm serious. The way he treats you is disgusting.” He lowered his voice. "We have options and ways to get you out. You just have to trust me."
"What kind of options?" I asked warily.
He glanced around, making sure no one was close enough to overhear. Then he pressed something small into my palm.
I looked down. It was a vial made of dark glass, with a cork stopper.
"What is this?" I whispered.
"Insurance," Marco said quietly. "It's a slow-acting poison. Mix it into his food or drink, and within a few hours, he'll develop symptoms that look like a simple illness. Nothing that would immediately raise suspicion."
I stared at the vial in horror. "You want me to poison him?"
"I want you to have options," Marco corrected. "If he becomes dangerous and you need leverage, this gives you a way out.”
I shook my head firmly. "Marco, I can't just kill someone like that.”
"You don't have to use it," he interrupted. "Just keep it and hide it somewhere safe. If you ever need it, it'll be there."
I wanted to give it back and tell him this was insane, that I couldn't poison Giovanni no matter how angry I was at him.
But the weight of it in my palm felt like having a choice in a situation where all my choices had been stripped away.
I closed my fingers around it and slipped it into my pocket.
"Thank you," I whispered, though I wasn't sure what I was thanking him for.
The poison? Or the fact that he was trying to help even though his methods were terrifying?
"Be smart, Arya," Marco said, pulling me into a quick hug. "And remember… you're stronger than you think.”
The guards began ushering my family toward the exit. Christabel was still crying, reaching for me over my mother's shoulder. Marco kept glancing back, like he was memorizing my face in case he never saw me again.
I stood in the hotel lobby and watched them leave, feeling the vial of poison burning a hole in my pocket.
All I knew was that I felt more trapped than ever, standing in that beautiful Italian hotel, watching my family disappear through automatic doors.
Yet in my pocket, the vial felt like both salvation and damnation.
A choice I might have to make… I had no idea what I would do when the moment came.
Okay… be honest. Would you keep the poison? 😬