Rosa

Chapter 47

Rosa's phone chimed, loud and clear, amid the deafening silence of the flat. She checked the screen. There were three unread messages and one unanswered call from Cristiano.

Fuck!

He must have sent them after she lost consciousness.

Yet, it was the newest text on Rosa's phone that caught her eye, the one that hadn't been sent by Cristiano: Rest assured, you are only alive right now, ma moitié, because I have decided that your traitorous ass may still be useful to me. Prepare to attend one last wedding.

It was him again.

A chill settled over her skin.

Rosa stared in morbid fascination at the invitation in her hands then back at Mesrine's latest threat. She was shocked that he was willing to keep her alive and use her one last time.

Surely, he no longer trusted her after learning about her betrayal?

There had to be a catch. A deadly one. The fact that he hadn't killed her outright felt unsettling. So out of character for him—

Just then, a barely audible shuffling noise captured Rosa's attention, interrupting her frenzied mood. It was coming from outside the bedroom. The faint thumps sounded like footsteps. Rosa froze with fear. Mesrine's text had claimed he would keep her alive until the wedding, but it could very well be a misleading diversion, a red herring of sorts, to throw her off balance. The footsteps grew more noticeable as they came closer to the bedroom.

Had Mesrine's lackeys come back to finish her off?

With a strained expression, she snatched her Beretta from the ground and gripped it tight. She slipped behind a corner and, come what may, steeled herself to fight to the death—

"Rosa?"

Instantly, she recognized the timbre of the deep, gravelly voice. Surprise and relief bloomed in her. It was Cristiano. Rosa tried to answer him, her lips parted in an attempt to speak, but her voice was no longer hers to command. Too much had happened in the past few hours. She had yet to wrap her mind around the insanity. A sudden wave of hysterics overcame Rosa as a girlish voice screamed inside her head.

Maman!

Distraught amber eyes and a frightened little face taunted her.

The visual would be forever singed in her mind's eye.

Who was that child in Mesrine's video?

Rosa's temples ached as she tried, for the hundredth time, to assure herself that the amber-eyed girl wasn't Nijah. If it had been Mesrine's intention to drive her a bit mad, then the fucker was definitely succeeding at his game. She remained fixated on what he had said in his video.

Nijah and I are planning to attend a very special event in Palermo. I hope you will be able to join us.

Was he still planning to bring Ni—

Non, non, non, not Nijah.

She drew in slow, deep breaths to calm the hammering of her heart. Peace never came. Anguished uncertainty over the girl's true identity continued to torment her.

Cristiano's voice soon bellowed through the flat, growing increasingly more panicked with each passing second.

"Rosa?"

Deep breath in.

"Rosa!"

Out.

When the heaviness clenching her temples finally eased, Rosa called out, "I am in here, mon beau."