Chapter 32

LUCA

Luca was on his way home when he received a call from the investigator that was looking into the auction house.

Agreeing to meet him, he turned his car around and headed back into the city. There he met the man, John, at a bar.

“It wasn’t easy getting this information but money talks. It was Filippo who sold them the painting. He got a hundred and fifty thousand American dollars.

“But that’s not all. He has sold them other paintings and other items of great value.”

Luca slammed his fist on the table, earning him some angry glances. “That son of a bitch! After all I’ve done for him, and he steals from me. I trusted him and would never have suspected him.”

His phone rang, and seeing the caller was Sandra, he thought about not answering but hit talk. “What the hell do you want?” he barked into the phone.

“I’m at Ray’s bar. You have ten minutes to get here or I’m leaving.”

He hung up, said his goodbyes to John, and checked his watch.

He wouldn’t have agreed to meet with her if she hadn’t said it was about Robin and that it was very important, a matter of life and death.

Twenty minutes later, he watched as she walked toward his table. Being a man, he had to admire her. She was beautiful and refined and moved with confidence.

She wore a tight black pencil skirt, a white silk top, one with a plunging neckline, which showed off her cleavage and her large breasts.

Though they had been intimate on and off for a few years, he felt no connection to her, no real desire. But with Robin, it was instant chemistry, sexually as well as spiritually—she was, without a doubt, his soulmate.

Sandra slid elegantly into the booth across from him. “Aren’t you going to buy a lady a drink?”

He ordered her some wine and stared her right in the eye. “You better start talking. What is it you need to tell me?”

Reaching over, she took his hand and held it, but he quickly pulled it away. If Robin knew he was here with Sandra, there would be hell to pay. “Start talking,” he snapped.

“I believe your wife is in danger,” Sandra said, stopping to take a sip of her wine.

Hearing that Robin could be in danger, he leaned forward, his eyes turned dark, and he stared at her, ready to let loose his anger.

“What the fuck are you talking about? You better tell me now or I swear I’ll choke the life out of you.”

“This morning, I overheard Filippo and Eleonora talking at the restaurant I happened to be having breakfast at. They were standing outside the ladies’ and whispering.”

“So?” Luca snapped. “What were they saying?”

“I couldn’t hear everything, only caught bits here and there. Filippo was saying Robin would be gone soon, and she had to be patient. It wasn’t clear after that, but I heard her say she wasn’t going to kill a child.”

Luca’s throat burned from the acid taste in his mouth when what Sandra said sank in. Maybe she was making it up, but he wasn’t going to take a chance.

Jumping up, he ordered her to call the police and tell them what she had heard.

“Wait, where are you going?” she asked when he turned to leave.

“Home,” he yelled over his shoulder as he dashed out of the bar.

It was an hour’s drive back, but he planned on making it quicker. His gut told him his little family was in danger. He’d known, looking into Sandra’s eyes, that she was telling the truth.

ROBIN

“Get away from her,” Grazia screeched, pointing the gun, her finger on the trigger. “What are you doing to Robin?”

The two seemed shocked to find Grazia there; she wasn’t due home for another day. Eleonora started walking slowly toward her. “Grazia, put the gun down and let me explain.”

“Don’t do it, they plan on killing me and one of the babies, then Luca,” Robin cried out, sobbing.

“Is that true?” Grazia said, raising the gun at Eleonora, warning her not to come any closer.

“We are doing it for you, Grazia, and for us. It’s only a matter of time before Luca kicks us all out. Now be a good girl and drop the gun,” Filippo said, as his hand found his own gun.

“Don’t listen to them. They want Luca’s fortune and plan on killing one of my babies. It was them all along, the spider, the locked room.

“Listen to me, Grazia, they’ll kill you too now that you’ve caught them,” Robin said, teary-eyed, hoping she would believe her.

“You want to kill Luca and one of the babies? No, I won’t let you,” Grazia said; her hand started to shake.

Eleonora lunged at Grazia, and they struggled with the gun before it went off. Grazia screamed and dropped the gun when her friend fell to the ground, a bullet in her chest.

FILIPPO

Filippo started screaming. “You stupid bitch! I needed her to deliver the babies and to help me clean up this fucking mess.”

Without an ounce of guilt, he shot Grazia, then he turned to a hysterical Robin. “Stop your fucking crying.”

He began pacing back and forth, talking to himself. Luca was going to be gone for hours yet, so he had to work fast.

First, he would inject Robin with the needle and hope she would deliver soon. If all went well after giving birth, he would give her the stuff Eleonora brought, and Robin would die along with the baby boy.

He would tell Luca he found Robin alone and giving birth, that he tried to help but that she died during birth, and that the boy was stillborn.

Thinking that the other two women were dead, he decided to leave them till he was able to dispose of their bodies or hide them in trunks.

He was starting to panic; it was all going wrong, becoming too messy.

Picking up the syringe, he walked slowly toward Robin. “I have to move quickly, so be a good girl and don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

LUCA

Luca broke all the rules of the road, speeding, going through stop signs and driving down a one-way street.

Arriving home, he stopped the car, leaving it running and the door open, and made it inside in record speed; his heart was racing, and he was sweating profusely.

Seeing his butler, he asked him if he had seen Robin, but of course, he hadn’t.

“Gather the others and search this damn place,” he ordered and raced upstairs, searching their room first and then the others.

There was no sign of her, and he was worried sick to death. His eyes wandered to the staircase leading to the upper part of the castle.

Shaking his head, he knew she wouldn’t go up there, not in her condition. But then something caught his eye.

Walking up several steps, he spotted one of her earrings, her favorite pair from the tin box. Picking it up, he stuck it in his pocket and ran up the stairs.

Checking every room and thinking of giving up, he saw the matching earring lying on the floor; it was as if she was leaving a trail for him to follow.

Taking another flight of stairs leading to the tower, he checked some of the rooms, and then he heard a scream.

Taking off in the direction it came from, he barged into a room, and for a moment, he froze when he saw Robin tied to a chair and Filippo getting ready to put a needle into her arm.

Holding out his hands in front of him, he looked from Robin to Filippo.

“Don’t do it. Whatever you want, it’s yours, just don’t hurt her.”

He looked at Robin, and his heart broke when he saw her tears and the fear in her eyes. “Are you okay, baby?”

Filippo waved the gun at him. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot her.” He pointed the gun at her stomach.

“Luca,” she cried out. “He and Eleonora are in it together. They plan on making it look like I died giving birth and plan on killing our son, and later, they are going to get rid of you.”

“Why, Filippo? After all I’ve done for you, giving you a job and letting you live in my home. We were friends,” Luca said as he looked down at the bodies of Grazia and Eleonora.

Filippo leaned over, nuzzling Robin’s neck, enjoying the look of anger that flashed across Luca’s face when he saw him being friendly with her.

“For money, Luca, why else? Some friend you were—treating me like dirt that you would scrape from the bottom of your shoes. You gave me orders, never treated me as an equal.”

“That’s not true, Filippo,” Luca said as he tried to calm him down.

“If only you had married Eleonora, all this could have been avoided. Married to her, she would have inherited everything, and then she and I would marry after your unfortunate death, and it all would be mine.

“But you just had to get Robin involved. Damn shame, she really is a beauty.” He stood up and pointed the gun at Luca. “Now I have to shoot you, making all this more complicated.”

“You won’t get away with it, Filippo. How are you going to explain all of our deaths?” He glanced over again at the two women who were lying motionless.

“I have not quite figured it all out yet, but I will. Perhaps when you found your wife and son dead, you couldn’t handle it, so you shot yourself.”

“And the other two women? How are you going to explain them?” Luca said as he edged a little closer.

“Not sure. Just shut the fuck up, will you? Sorry, Luca, say your goodbyes to your wife.”

“Let me go to her. Let me have one last kiss.”

“Okay, hurry up, I’m getting so bored.” Filippo waved him over, moving to the side of Robin. He rolled his eyes as he watched the way Luca kissed her, and they pledged their love for each other.

Luca kneeled down in front of Robin. Reaching up, he touched her cheek and tried wiping her tears away, but they fell quicker than he could wipe them.

“Trust me when I tell you that I love you, and you are the only woman I have ever loved and always will. I will take care of you.”

“I love you too, Luca. I trust you.”

Filippo laughed. “You can take care of her in the afterlife. Now stand up so I can kill you. Robin and I have some babies to deliver.”

As Luca stood, he swayed toward Filippo, taking him by surprise. He grabbed his wrist, the one holding the gun, and pushed him against the wall, away from Robin.

He could hear Robin calling his name, but he had to ignore her if he was going to disarm Filippo.

They struggled, and Luca slammed Filippo’s arm into the wall— the gun was knocked out of Filippo’s hand, landing on the ground.

They fought, punching and choking each other. Luca was pushed up against the broken window, and Filippo was trying to get him to fall through it to his death.

It felt like a thousand knives piercing his back as the sharp shards of glass dug into him through the material of his jacket.

He managed to turn Filippo so that he was up against the window, and raising his fist, he punched Filippo so hard he stumbled back.

The glass gave out, and Filippo went through it.

Luca stuck his head out and saw him hitting the ground; being so high up, he knew the man was dead.

Rushing over to Robin, he untied her hands and took her in his arms. She cried and wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him.

Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her all over, her forehead, nose, cheek, anywhere he could. He didn’t want to let go of her, even when she tried moving him away.

“Luca, Grazia’s been shot. Go to her.” She motioned to the woman whose eyes were slowly opening.

Going over, he kneeled down. “Grazia,” he said, trying to get her to look at him. Taking her scarf that was lying on the floor, he rolled it up and pressed it to the wound to help stop the bleeding.

“Luca,” Robin cried out and went over to them, but because of her condition, she couldn’t get down on the floor. “Is she going to live? She saved me. She can’t die, Luca.” Robin sobbed.

Luca just looked up at Robin for a moment before speaking.