“The first time I realized there was a problem, we were on a holiday in Greece. Marcello met some friends, another couple. We went shopping, and he bought me a beautiful necklace among other things. The next day his friends continued with their vacation, and Marcello gently explained to me that we would have to return our purchases, because it wasn’t in our budget. I couldn’t understand it. I had married into a wealthy House and brought thirty million dollars’ worth of stocks to our marriage. We’d been married for less than six months. How could we be tight on money?”
Lilian’s smile turned bitter.
“I convinced myself that Marcello was simply frugal in the way rich people are sometimes. After you were born, I wanted to visit my parents so they could see their grandchild. I was told it was unsafe. I attempted to access my accounts and found that I was locked out. I didn’t know it at the time, but your grandfather had me declared mentally disabled. Franco had done a very thorough job of it, complete with medical opinions from two different doctors and eyewitness testimony. He was given complete control over my finances. He had my passport, he had my money, he had my husband in the palm of his awful hand, and you were barely two months old. I was trapped.”
“And my father was fine with that?” Alessandro asked.
Lilian pressed her lips together, obviously choosing her words carefully.
“You know exactly what kind of man Franco is and how much pressure he could apply. You had me and Marcello for the first ten years of your life. We did our best to shield you and allow you to grow into an independent child. Your father had nobody. From the moment he was born, Franco dominated every minute of his life. Marcello was brave and kind, but if you tried to argue with him, he would simply fold like a wet paper doll. I had fallen in love with him, and I refused to give up. I na?vely thought I could pry him free. And then he died. He left us and the day after we buried him, Franco came to our side of the villa and took you away.”
Lilian’s voice caught. She cleared her throat.
“I fought for you. I was told that I was no longer necessary. The heir was born, and I had produced two daughters, who could be sold off to prop the family up. I was expendable. I needed to be grateful for being allowed the privilege of access to my children.”
This was so horrible.
“I turned to your grandmother for help, and she pretended that she couldn’t understand me. I was desperate, so I tried to kill your grandfather.”
Alessandro drew back. “Mother! He’s too strong.”
“I found that out. I never had the kind of training he had. I did my best, but he nearly killed me. He may be old, but his magic has only grown with the years. I managed to escape that fight and I had disguised myself, so when he stormed into our side of the villa, I pretended I had no idea what he was talking about. He suspected me but he couldn’t prove anything and killing me would be inconvenient. My parents are still alive, Alessandro. He wanted my inheritance. That’s when he assigned guards to me to ‘protect’ me and the girls in case Marcello’s killer came back.”
Lilian looked down at her glass.
“I’d made a friend,” she said. “A local woman about my age. Her name was Ginevra. She had two little boys. She was hired to clean and cook for us. Those two men killed her in front of me.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Lilian’s voice shook with barely suppressed anger. “She had no magic, she was not a threat, she didn’t provoke them in any way. They shot her in the head so I would stay in my lane.”
Alessandro’s face was a rigid pale mask.
“You know how little I saw you after that. Once a week if I was lucky.”
“And every time I would come over, you would tell me how important it was that I went out with the right friends and attended the right parties.” His voice was quiet.
“Your grandfather viewed it as a wedding advertisement, but I wanted the world to love you as much as I did. I wanted you to be famous and adored, because I knew that sooner or later you would rebel, and I had to make sure Franco couldn’t make you disappear. If you had suddenly vanished because your grandfather locked you up, there would be a crowd of people looking for you and asking unpleasant questions.”
Alessandro squeezed his hand into a fist under the table. I reached out and put my fingers on his.
“That night I begged you to leave with me,” he said.
Lilian wiped a tear from her left eye. “If I tried to leave with you, none of us would escape. If I gave you any indication how things truly were, you would’ve stayed. You are so loyal. You would have never abandoned us. I saw a chance to save one child, so I shoved you away as hard as I could. I would do it again, no matter how much it hurt us both.”