Blood for my Rose |• Crimson Rose series✔️

Chapter 16

Italy
Sicily.

It was the late night phone call that broke the sinisterly quiet house as the family sat down to have their dinner.

Their housekeeper hurried to the phone, and after a few horrendous seconds, she tottered back with the phone in her hand and went straight to the head of the table. She genuflected and handed the phone to Bunicci, showing no glint of terror in her eyes even though she wanted to collapse after hearing Riley say there'd been a tragedy. She lingered around the hall to know what happened next.

Everyone stopped eating as they watched Bunicci's eyes grow angrier and angrier as he listened to the caller, phone pressed against his ear. His other hand dropped the spoon he was holding and the chattering sound when it collided with the plate made Loretta jump in her seat. She exhaled, holding her bump and Ximena rubbed the expectant mother's back to soothe her a bit; she was hypertensive and things that'd cause stress had been advised against by the doctor.

The call went on for about three minutes and in this time, Bunicci didn't as much as move a muscle, nor utter anything. He stayed there in stalemate as the silence stretched between his family that now sat in stupefied hush.

Then, the call was over and the suspense killing. Maria urged him to share what had him embraced by horror, but he couldn't bring his words out of him, though they swung in his throat. He didn't know how to say something bad had happened to their beloved daughter, he didn't even know how to convince himself that Riley knew what he had said, despite the fact that the guy's voice trembled with sorrow when he said what he said.

He stared upfront, at nothing precisely. Just the air and went into deep thoughts. And little by little, his hands formed into fists that he whacked the table with, causing all the cutlery to clank against the plates. "Rose was murdered," he managed to utter.

Loud screams and howls flew up in the air as the table scattered. Maria tried to get up but just as quickly as she rose, she slumped over the table and dropped back on her seat, looking like life had been ripped out of her.

"Get a doctor," Sergio yelled at the housekeeper just as he sprinted to his mother's rescue and started trying out his little resuscitation skills. He tapped and tapped her cheeks then went for her pulse. Looking at his Eduardo's agitated face, he nodded. "There's a pulse. Faint."

Bunicci rose and plunged his seat backwards. He snapped his fingers at Giovanni, Enzo and Romero. Then he signaled moving to his study room. "Sergio and Eduardo," he summoned both of them with a controlled tone. "Look after your mother till the paramedics get here. And Eduardo, you can join us later."

Sergio raised his head to look at their father. He cleared their throat. And for the first time, he said something he'd never said, "I want to join you."

Bunicci's lips twitched to hold his smirk, because he couldn't smile with the heaviness of his heart, in spite of the fact that he wanted to show how proud he was of Sergio in this moment. "We hope to see you," he said and went ahead, followed by his sons.

The study room door slammed after them and Bunicci strode with heavy feet and heart. The grief was too much for him to bear, but he'd trained for this all his life. Rose was apple of his eyes, and he knew it meant her being the first target. But from who?

"Pa, what happened?" Giovani asked in a deplorable manner. "Who called you?"

Bunicci stood in silence, and his face would have almost been mistaken for innocence, even with all his folds, mustache and gray. "It was the American."