Deadly Vows Rewrite - Chapter FiftyOne (Patreon)

Elise

I barely recognize myself anymore. I thought that with killing Alexander, the nightmares would stop. But they’ve only gotten worse as I relive the horrors each night. It’s made me realize how naive I was in the past. To think that there was anything outside of this life for me—outside of Luca was chidlish.

Even now, its become difficult adjusting to his absence. Every second of my day is filled with paranoia. I feel that at any second, someone is going to storm in to drag me away. I know Luca thinks he can protect me always, but he can’t. The world is wicked, and I’ve only ever seen the most wicked sides of it.

“Elise?” I tense as Enzo’s voice pushes through my thoughts. He’s standing in front of me in the sun room, a concerned expression on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in,” I say.

Enzo has grown since I saw him last. He’s more toned, his hair short. He’s obviously been a big part of Luca’s world with my absence. Even his confidence has shifted. He no longer seems childlike.

The day I was taken, we had gotten into a fight because I didn’t want him to be a part of this world. I see now that I can’t control everything, including him.

“I was seeing if you were going to bed anytime soon. It’s past midnight,” he says gently.

I shake my head.

“No…I’m going to wait for Luca to come back,” I say.

Pity laces his expression as he moves to the cushions opposite of me.

“Are you okay? I know you’ve been having difficulty adjusting. If there’s anything I can do—”

“Don’t worry about me, Enzo. I’m the older sister. I should be taking care of you,” I say.

Enzo smiles.

“You tried your best,” he says. “But this is what I was born to do. I have to take care of you, Elise. It’s the least I can do after everything our father did—our family has done,” he says.

I nod, but don’t respond. He has really taken the burden of our father’s mistakes on his shoulders. He feels like he has to make up for them.

“You know, you’re not responsible for them, right? They don’t define everything you can be,” I say.

Enzo smiles. “I know. But that’s why you’re so important to me. Even that day was my fault… I shouldn’t have said those things. I should have—”

“There’s no use in looking back now. It’s just you and me. We’re Pasquino’s now. All we can do is live up to the name and pray that our family has no more secrets waiting for us,” I say, laughing.

Enzo smiles, leaning against me. I’m shocked at the display of affection, but I slowly wrap my arms around him when I realize his shoulders are trembling.

“I’m so sorry, Elise. I’m sorry I was ever born,” he sobs.

I gently rub my fingers through his hair. “Don’t say that. I’m glad you were born. I always wanted a sibling,” I say.

Enzo’s tears fall harder as he sobs against me. It’s been so long since I saw him last and he seems much more mature. But he isn’t. He’s still a kid eager to make up for his father’s mistakes.

I pull in a deep breath, cursing my father in his grave. All of this suffering is because of him. I meant what I said to Enzo. We are no longer Trovoli’s. We are Pasquino’s now. If it’s the last thing I do, I won’t let my father’s plot come true. I will guide Enzo away from the wickedness of this world.

* * * * *

Luca

We don’t get back home until three in the morning. We not only had to dispose of the body, but cover every possible track to make it seem like we were never there. And now that we know who is after us, the clock is running out to do something about it.

“Has everyone been notified?” I ask as we walk into the entry area.

“Yes. Everyone will go radio silent in an hour. They know the channels to watch and wait for,” he says.

I nod as I move past my office, and Romelo follows me up the steps to where Nicolai stands guard in front of the bedroom door.

“How many nightmares?” I ask as I approach.

“Only two. The last one was the worst…,” he says.

I nod. “Romelo will fill you in. Wake Enzo, have him help in packing all the data and locking down the house. I want us out of here in an hour,” I say, pushing past him.

The room is dark, and Elise is fast asleep in the center of the bed. She is curled up in a fetal position, her body twitching in her sleep. I gently shake her awake.

“Elise, baby, it’s me,” I whisper not to startle her.

Her eyes slowly open, and it takes her a moment to recognize me. Her hand gently shifts to my face, rubbing my jaw.

“You’re back,” she murmurs with a lazy grin on her lips.

I smile, taking her hand in mine to place a kiss on it.

“I am…” I know I’m in a hurry, but I find myself sliding into bed next to her, pushing her hair away from her face. She looks beautiful.

“I need you to follow my orders, okay? I need you to pack us some bags, get dressed, and meet me downstairs in thirty minutes,” I say.

Her smile disappears, and she slowly nods. I lean into her, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

“Good Girl.”

Thirty minutes later, Elise and Enzo are sitting in the car, waiting for me as I speak to Romelo and Nicolai.

“Tell no one where you’re going. Not even me. Anyone you care about, anyone you love, take them and hide them. I’ll reach out once I get Elise and Enzo settled and we’ll make a plan to put an end to this madness,” I say in irritation.

There is a government agency that is now after the Pasquino family. They were already nervous about my father being in power. But with his murder, and the instability of our world due to Eli Trovoli and his relatives, they have decided to strike while we are weak. They are rogues within their own sector, taking matters into their own hands all thanks to the corruption Arianna and her husband were able to whip up before their deaths.

I will show the world what happens when you mess with power. True power.

“Be careful, boss,” Romelo says.

“Are you sure you don’t want us with you?” Nicolai asks.

I shake my head. “You two are my most trusted men. And my best friends. They know that. Keep safe, and remember what I told you. No contact until I say,” I say, waiting until they both nod in understanding to get in the car.

When I get in, Enzo is fast asleep in the backseat, but Elise is wide awake, her expression worried. 

“What’s going on?” she asks, attempting to mask her fear.

“We’re going underground for a bit. It’s just a precaution. I promised you I would protect us—all of us. And this is me keeping that promise, okay?” I say.

She nods slowly, but her fingers twiddle in her lap as she tries to fight her fears. This is why I’m doing this. So that no one can make her feel like this again. So that when the name Pasquino is spoken, it is synonymous with untouchable. I will protect my family no matter what. And I will kill anyone who gets in the way.

* * * * *

Elise

Something big is happening, and I am scared to ask what. After a nine hour flight, we’ve still been in another car for three hours. I have no idea where we’re going, but Luca did say we were going off the grid.

I shift my attention out the window. The sun is rising. Wherever we are is in completely different time zones, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. For Luca to leave and come back the same night packing us up to disappear, it can’t be good.

“You should go to sleep. We’ve still got another two hours,” Luca says, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shift my attentoin to the backseat where Enzo snores with his head thrown back. I am glad for our conversation last night. It feels more whole that he’s here.

“Are we in danger?” I ask.

Luca is silent. I can tell that he doesn’t want to respond immediately.

“It’s okay. You can tell me the truth,” I say.

Luca pulls in a deep breath.

“Some powerful people are gunning for our destruction,” Is all he says.

“Was it Ari?” I ask.

Luca nods. “Not entirely. She just gave them the push they’ve been waiting for. There are certain people ion this world who don;t like seeing people like us rise through the ranks. It makes them uneasy,” he says, focusing his attention on the road. “Watching the chaos brought on by my father’s death was enough to make us a target. They think we’re weak. But I will show them we are anything but.”

Silence encompasses us as I watch Luca. His expression is determined as he speaks. His knuckles are white from the grip he has on the steering wheel. And even though he’s just relayed the most terrifying news, he seems calm in the face of it.

I guess this is what he has been trained his entire life for. Even though he was pushed into the role early, his father made sure from a very young age that he would be ready for anything that threatened the family. This included. 

“I’m sorry for everything that my family has caused,” I say. “None of this would have happened if—”

“Don’t. I never would have gotten to marry you if none of this had happened. I don’t regret it, Elise,” he says.

I slowly nod.

“So where are we going?” I ask, eager to change the subject.

“A cottage I bought a few years back. No one knows about this place. Not even Nicolai or Romelo,” he says.

I look at him in confusion. Our entire marriage, Luca has shown he is a flashy person by nature. A cottage seems out of character even for him.

He notices my expression, laughing.

“When I was a kid, my mother brought me out here to get away. My father was in town for business, and she decided she wanted to get away for a bit. So she put me in the car, and we went riding. We got lost in this foreign country, but happened upon this cottage. It was so beautiful, surrounded by the perfect scenery. It became our spot while we were in this country—our little secret. Not even my father knew about it,” Luca says, his smile growing.

“But with her being the wife of a man like my father, none of her purchases would be private. So, when I turned eighteen, I bought it for her. I had it renovated and everything. She was so ecstatic when I gave it to her… she came out here a lot before her death,” he says.

I realize I’m holding my breath as Luca speaks about his mother. This is the most he’s ever spoken of her. She was always a taboo topic throughout our marriage.

“When did she die?” I ask.

I’ve always been curious as to how Luca’s mother passed. Everyone in our circle was. No one ever had a clear story. She just stopped showing up to events, and Luca’s father became unpleasant to be around for a good while. And Luca—it became difficult to distinguish if he was raised that way or if he was acting out because of what happened to his mother.

“About a year after I bought her the cottage. Her and my father were at an event. She was taken and tortured. My father followed their instructions, and gave them everything they wanted to get her back. And when they released her and let her walk across the street to come back to us, they shot her no less than five feet away from us,” he says.

My hand comes to my mouth as I watch Luca relive the moment. I can’t imagine having witnessed something like that, especially when he was so close with his mother.

“My mother died because we trusted when we shouldn’t have. And my father followed that same childish notion, costing him his life too,” Luca says in irritation.

I can’t imagine how devastated he must have been. I never knew my mother. She died before I was old enough to remember her, and the only reason I know what she looks like is because my father kept their wedding picture. Now, I see why he was so distrustful in the beginning. And he wasn’t far off. My father was plotting against them.

Luca takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair.

“I loved my father. But my mother? She was everything to me. Part of me died when she did,” he says.

“I’m sorry, Luca,” I say, pulling his attention. Shock forms on his features when he takes in my tears.

“Don’t cry for me, Elise. I couldn’t save my mother because I was weak. That will never happen again,” he says as his eyes drift back to the road.

My heart aches for him in this moment. It answers so many questions that I was too terrified in the beginning to bring up. It opens the door to a side of Luca I didn’t know exists, a side that associates weakness with the death of those he loves. His personality suddenly makes so much sense to me. And I feel guilt for shaming him all those times about it.

Luca isn’t a good man. That I know. But he has good tendencies. He does the best he can with what we’ve been given in this life. He is a mix of both of his parents, doing what he can to protect their memories—to prevent anyone else from becoming like them.

“What was her name?” I ask.

“Lucia. Her name was Lucia Pasquino.”

Just as Luca said, we arrive at the cottage an hour later. It sits alone, deep in the woods right in front of a lake. It’s a beautiful home with a security gate surrounding the property. It’s much warmer and inviting than the large estate we live on, and I instantly understand the appeal.

Luca gently takes my hand in his as he leads me into the house, with Enzo quietly following behind. I wish we were here under different circumstances. I wish we weren’t hiding because of enemies I brought into our marriage. But that is the way of this life. And no matter what I wish, it’s just our unfortunate reality.

So, I push down my fears as I follow Luca into the house, living in this simple moment for as long as I can.