Chapter 31

ROBIN

She stared at the item in the drawer. It was the book she had placed in the doorway to the room upstairs, the one where she got locked in.

It was an old and rare book; it was red and large, tattered along the edges. ~Why is it here, in Filippo’s room?~

It began to dawn on her. It was Filippo who had left her locked in that room to die, but why? Suddenly a cold chill ran down her spine when she felt a presence in the room, making her shiver.

A hand from behind her reached over and slammed the drawer shut. She turned around to face one very red-faced, angry Filippo.

“Filippo!” She gasped, trapped between him and the dresser. She placed her hands over her swollen belly in a protective way.

Fear gripped her when she saw the look in his eyes, one she had never seen before—it was anger mixed with pure evil.

“Robin, you shouldn’t be in here,” he said as he looked down at her, his hand reaching out to touch her face, which she swatted away.

“It was you. You’re the one who removed the book, locking that door. You’ve been stealing from Luca. Why?”

“Why not?” he scoffed. “Luca has so much. He would never have known if you had kept your nose out of it. Now, what am I going to do with you?”

“I have to tell Luca.” When she went to walk away, he grabbed her wrist.

“You’re not going to say anything. You’re coming with me.” He pulled her roughly toward the door, where she started screaming for Chad.

“Scream all you want—your bodyguard is no longer here. I told Luca he was making passes at you, and he called him this morning and fired him.”

Filippo laughed as he dragged her up the stairs, heading to the tower at the top of the castle.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked as she stumbled, afraid of falling and harming the babies. “You can’t do this. What about the babies?”

“Shut the fuck up, will you? I don’t give a shit about your damn brats. All I need is one,” he barked as he continued dragging her.

She began to cry as she clutched her stomach. “What are you talking about?” she screamed at him, trying to break free.

Ignoring her cries and reaching the tower, he gave her a shove. “Sit down and keep your mouth shut,” he hissed. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed a number.

Robin held her stomach and sat on the old rocking chair, looking around at her surroundings.

An old cot was lying in the corner; the only window was a large one, the glass cracked, letting in a cold draft. She listened to his end of the conversation.

“Come now! We have to put our plan into action before Luca returns. Just do it. We don’t have a choice. She figured out I was the one who removed the damn book.”

He listened to the other person for a minute before yelling into the phone. “She found it in my room. Now get your ass over here.” He then hung up and turned to Robin.

“Filippo, let me go, and I won’t say anything to Luca,” she cried out, rubbing her stomach.

“I didn’t want it to end this way,” he said as he pulled a gun from his pocket. “I really did like you. I actually could picture us together once Luca was out of the picture, that is.”

When she stood up and tried running to the door, he grabbed her from behind and held the barrel of his gun to her stomach and growled into her ear.

“If you want your child to live, then I suggest you sit your sweet ass down and behave. Is that clear?”

Robin’s heart was beating so hard, fear running through her like a raging fire out of control. Tears filled her eyes, and she knew she had to do what Filippo said until she could find a way to stop him.

“Yes, just don’t hurt my babies.” Sitting down, she stared at him, trying to think of a way to talk without him becoming angry.

Filippo grabbed some rope and told her to put her hands behind her back. Yanking her hands, he tied them around the back of the chair.

“Luca should have been more careful where he made love to you. I’ve watched you more than once and would picture myself on top of you…or behind.”

Tilting her head around, she looked at him with disgust. “You watched us making love? You sick bastard.” She felt violated and sick to her stomach. “I thought we were friends. Why are you doing this?”

Filippo pulled up a chair and sat facing her. “This is Luca’s fault that you are in this situation. If only he had got together with Eleonora, but no, he had to bring you home to marry.

“Do you know how hard I worked to try and get rid of you? But then you had to go and get pregnant. That changed everything, and I had to come up with Plan B.”

When she didn’t answer and looked away, he became angry. Grabbing her face, he held it toward him. “First greasing the stairs—you should have died from a broken neck, but you didn’t.

“It was a bitch finding that poisonous spider and having it sneaked into this country, and damn Luca had to swoop in and save you.”

“Then you followed me upstairs and left me in that room to die. So why did you help Luca to find me?” Robin yelled at him.

“Well, I couldn’t have him getting suspicious, so I played the loving and caring friend. Even Eleonora couldn’t get rid of you; she failed to seduce Luca.

“The damn fool was so smitten with you. Can’t say I blame him. You are a very sexy woman.”

She whimpered and begged him to stop when he put his hand on her leg and started moving it up between her thighs.

She closed her eyes and cried; she knew he was going to try and have sex, and there was no way of stopping him. She cried silently for Luca to save her.

“Am I interrupting something?” a female voice barked angrily. “And why did you pick up here to do it?”

Filippo removed his hand. Standing up, he smiled at Eleonora.

“I was just teasing her, my love. I picked this place because none of the staff comes here, nor will they hear anything. Now come here,” he said, and when she got close, he shoved her up against the wall, his mouth going to hers.

Robin turned her head away when Filippo pulled the woman’s panties down and turned her around, dropping his pants and fucked her, not caring that they weren’t alone.

It was clear now that the two were in on it together, whatever ~it~ was. She still wasn’t sure what they were up to.

“Thanks, babe, I needed that,” Filippo said as he did up his pants, and smiling, he looked over at Robin. “Did you enjoy the show? I thought it was only fair that you got to see since I did.”

“I didn’t look, you sick pervert,” Robin snapped back. “Tell me why you’re doing this. Whatever it is, you won’t get away with it. Luca will find out and kill you.”

“I see no reason not to tell you everything. I’ve been given power of attorney to his will. If anything were to happen to him, it would all be mine.

“Eleonora was supposed to marry Luca. Once that took place, he would have a fatal accident, leaving everything, of course, to his wife, and she and I would eventually marry.”

“But you ruined it all when you married him instead, and now you’re carrying his child,” Eleonora hissed.

“What do my babies have to do with any of this?”

“Well, sweetheart,” Filippo said, getting in her face, “getting pregnant makes his child the sole heir to his vast fortune.

“With you and Luca dead, I would become the child’s guardian and therefore have control over it and the money. Eleonora and I together would raise the child.”

“Like hell we will. It will be sent to boarding school.” Eleonora laughed.

“What are you going to do to me and Luca? And you said you only need one child,” Robin hissed through clenched teeth. She had never hated anyone as much as she hated these two.

“You will die during childbirth…so sad. Luca will be involved in a robbery gone wrong and will be shot to death. But of course, we’ll let him bury you first.

“Works out good that way; he’ll be grieving and won’t be aware of what’s happening around him.” Filippo smiled and sat back down in front of Robin.

“Now you’ve kind of put us in a bit of a spot. Two children make things complicated; only one can live.

“The male could be trouble, but the girl we could control better, even arrange the perfect husband for her. Women are weaker than males, so I think we’ll go with her.”

“You’re both sick. This will never work. I’m not due for another month.”

Eleonora laughed. It was an evil one that had the hairs on the back of Robin’s neck standing up. She watched in horror as Eleonora pulled a syringe from her purse.

“What’s that?” she said, her voice cracking, and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

Eleonora’s grin was pure evil. “Just a little something to induce labor. Oh, don’t look so frightened, it won’t harm the babies.

“I have a little something else to give you after the kids are born; you won’t feel a thing. Will be a shame that only one child survives, but it does happen.”

“Make it easy on yourself, Robin, and relax,” Filippo said as he stroked her cheek with his fingers.

“Bastard,” she swore and spat in his face.

Getting up, he slapped Robin hard across her face and wiped his face, turning to the other woman. “Let’s get this over with. Give her the shot.”

“No, no, please don’t do this. At least let both babies live,” she begged, her sobs loud as Eleonora walked over and prepared to give her the needle.

As the needle was about to be poked into her arm, a voice shouted out.

“Get away from her, now.”

They all turned to the person holding a gun—pointed at Filippo and Eleonora.