I knew from personal experience that the elder Vero sister was a live wire. A single spark was all it would take this bomb to explode. I could tell she wanted to sink her teeth into me and feast on my flesh until there was nothing left because bad blood often spoiled. Vincenza, however, knew not to test me. I had already taken a parent from her and if she wasn’t careful, her sister would meet the very same fate.

“Fine,” she uttered, walking back a step. Her sudden change of demeanor had me suspicious. “Just a little reminder… before she became a Scala, she was a Vero, and she’ll always be my sister.”

I watched her closely as she left and after she was gone, something about the interaction felt wrong. Somewhere under her ire, I saw another emotion linger.

Elation.

And that was concerning whether I found Vincenza to be a threat or not.

12. Observation

Chapter 12

Observation

Ettore

My cellphone was glued to my hand.

Vittoria was quickly becoming my favorite reality show and I was man enough to admit I had sunk all the way down into obsession. I watched her every chance I got. Between work and the kids, I did not have a lot of free time, and yet, I found a way to watch my wife go about her days. I itched to be close to her and, sadly, this was the only way how.

Could I have made the time to visit?

Of course, but the strength it would take to leave her again was more than I had in me. So, I merely observed.

It was four weeks in and she still hadn’t yet learned she was being watched. The first ten days were touch and go. She didn’t do much more than walk from room-to-room in a stupor, fighting her depression. I expected this to go on a while, but by day twelve, she surprised me.

She woke, threw off the covers and staggered into the bathroom. I switched cameras and watched as she placed her hands on the edge of the sink, looked hard at her own reflection and frown deeply. Even with the puffy eyes and knotted hair, she was still the most beautiful creature to have ever walked the earth. With a shake of her head, as if she were disappointed in herself, she began to undress. My brows narrowed when she stood naked, glancing at her own reflection.

It had been less a month but the stress had an obvious effect on her body.

Her soft curves had become far more delicate. Her stomach dipped inwards and just underneath her small breasts, there was a bump on either side which I quickly realized was the tops of her ribcage protruding.