Chapter 12 Act Of Obedience
Nico POV
I stared at my mother, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and my heart ached for her. I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Do not worry, Mother. I will do what needs to be done, and I will get to the truth." I gave her another kiss on the cheek.
"The truth will make no difference now, Nico. What's done is done. All that matters is that all of this will be over soon."
"Yes, Mother, soon this will all be behind us." I sighed, my mind not the least bit satisfied with not knowing what the hell really happened.
She stepped forward, straightening the handkerchief peeking out from my suit jacket. "I knew I could count on you, Nico. I knew you would be strong enough to do what needs to be done. All these years I tried to convince your father that you were the better son, the son who should follow in his footsteps rather than your brother."
With that I stepped back, out of her reach. "Mother, please."
"It's the truth, Nico. You were always the stronger one, the focused one. I don't know why your father insisted on making Nikolai his second. Look at what happened. He got himself killed, all because of some spoiled rich girl. You"-she came closer placing her palm on my cheek-"you would never do something as foolish as that. I have faith in you, Nico, faith in your loyalty to our family."
I placed my hand over hers and slowly pulled it away from my face. "I won't fail you, Mother."
"Oh, I have no doubt about that, my son."
I squeezed her hand one final time, and kissed her on the cheek before attempting to walk out of the room.
"Nico?"
I stopped. "Yes, Mother."
"I trust everything is in place for tonight's event."
I turned to face her. "Everything is in place, yes."
"Good. Everyone is anxious, and excited, to see you step into your father's shoes. Tonight will be your chance to prove yourself to the rest."
I nodded, and turned before walking out of the room.
She was right. For the first time since taking my father's place, I would be under the scrutinizing eyes of every Moretti man and their associates. Toni ght will be the night I show everyone I am worthy of being the family's leader.
Tonight...her penance begins.
Later that night I stared at the monitor. lila was sitting on the bed, huddled in her usual way. I took about ten minutes to go through the footage of what she had been up to the last few hours while I was gone. The entire time she sat in utter darkness, yet she didn't seem rattled more than usual. Even on the footage taken earlier, all she did was sit on the bed...lie down...sit back up...lie back down.
No screaming, no swearing, no begging nothing.
I pressed the button on the keyboard and the lights inside the room went on. Quickly she pushed herself back against the headboard, immediately glancing up toward the door like she was expecting me.
Well then, let's not disappoint.
I grabbed the bottle of water on the table, and with a push of a button the door opened. There I was staring at the woman still sitting on the bed, not even attempting to move.
"Hello, lila."
She didn't reply.
I stepped into the room. "Did you enjoy your time in the dark?"
Still no reply from her.
I snorted, finding her lack of response quite amusing.
I walked up to her and stopped about two feet away from where she sat. "Do you have no words, little pet?"
Her blue eyes met mine. "No words I want to waste on you, no."
I smiled. "At least I won't have any trouble with you not knowing when to shut up."
Her eyes narrowed, and I shot her a smug grin before tossing her the bottle of water.She caught it before it connected with her face. "What is this?"
I cocked a brow. "What does it look like?"
"The last time something looked like water to me, it wasn't."
"Check the seal of the bottle. It hasn't been opened yet. You can drink it." I made sure I chose my words right. She needed to stay hydrated, and if I had to let it sound like I was commanding her to drink the damn water, she wouldn't. And besides, there was still plenty of time for me to get her begging on her knees like a worthless piece of flesh.
Hesitantly she started to twist open the cap. I watched as she first smelled the water before taking a tiny sip. The second she tasted that it was clean water, she gulped down the entire bottle like a sheep deprived of water for weeks.
Water escaped her mouth as she struggled to swallow it all, yet refused to drink any slower. Tiny droplets moved down the sides of her mouth, over her jaw, trickling down her neck. I licked my lips. The fair, soft skin hidden beneath her dirty strands of hair hanging over her shoulders somehow enticed me, and I couldn't miss the movement of her throat as she swallowed.
When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before placing the empty bottle on the bed.
"If you expect a thank you, you're not going to get one." Her gaze remained fixed on mine, and I saw the resolve swirl around in a whirlpool of hate and disdain. I loved it.
Placing my hands in my pants pockets, I continued to stare back at her. "I wouldn't expect any good manners from a girl like you."
"Woman."
"Excuse me?"
She carefully got off the bed and faced me. "I'm a woman, not a girl."
"Yet like a petulant child you refuse to eat."
"I'm not refusing to eat. I'm refusing to obey. There's a difference."
He shrugged. "It won't be long before you learn."
"Learn what?"
I stepped forward, bringing us a few inches from one another. "That he who pays the piper calls the tune, Miss Falcone. Here, I am the boss, and you will learn to obey me." "And believe me when I say I look forward to helping you learn that very costly lesson."
Staring at her, witnessing the fear mixed with the faintest glimmer of fight in her sapphire blue eyes was downright toxic. The darkness curdling inside me reached out to her fear, to her fight, wanting to taste it. I've always been drawn to the darkness of night, wanting to see how far I could push until evil would completely consume me. Little did I know that it would take the death of my twin to finally let the shadows have my soul.
I slanted my head to the side, studying the woman standing so close to me. I could see why Nikolai have pursued her, why he would want to fuck her. Even with her dirty hair, tear stained face and bloodshot, tired eyes she still looked enticing.