‘Maybe it’s just harassment,’ she corrected herself. ‘Using underhand methods to obtain information about someone which you then use to cause them distress. In this case, to spoil any chance of me having a good relationship with my father by getting him to reveal himself as a weasel. I think it counts as deception to “discover” that PostePay doesn’t work from outside Italy and then tell him to ask me for the “reward” you’d promised. I could check with the police about that,’ she added thoughtfully. She knew how to press his buttons. Just as he’d been unable to accept her ending things because it made him look bad, he’d recoil from her illuminating this latest shitty thing he’d done.

‘It’s not deception or harassment either,’ he snapped, but she didn’t miss the tremor of uncertainty in his voice. ‘I told you you’d be sorry you were a bitch to me so when Ursula said you’d decided not to tell your old man who you were …’ There was a lack of conviction in his voice as it tailed off.

‘You told him for me, hoping it would hurt me. You pathetic little shit.’

Defiantly, he burst out, ‘You shouldn’t have told Steph I was poison. I was upset.’

Her mind flew back to that WhatsApp video call with Ursula. Stephan must indeed have been listening in as she’d suspected – and then run straight to Brendon. ‘I think what I actually said was not to let you poison their relationship. But going to such lengths to find my father to hurt me is poisonous, Bren. Isn’t it?’ she pressed. Then, not giving him a chance to disagree, ‘What a narrow escape I’ve had. I’m disappointed in myself for letting you fool me into thinking you were a nice guy. Everything you’ve done since I caught you cheating has shown me who you really are. At least I know what real love is now and that I never felt it for you.’ Her mouth gathered speed, expressing her thoughts uncensored. ‘Why don’t you pursue the woman from the party? You and she had sparks … the way I do with Piero. You and I never had that,’ she said shakily.

He was silent as she ended the call.

She sat in her car alone, staring into the night, hearing the increasingly raucous noise from the tipsy patrons of Antiche Mura. It was nearly eleven. Zia knew her unavoidable conversation with Ursula was going to be tricky so she wouldn’t rush into it tonight.

And that went double for Piero. In her head, she heard the echo of what she’d just said to Brendon and broke out in a sweat.

I know what real love is now.

Chapter Twenty-Four