Chapter 236

As if my legs moved independently, I stood up from my chair.

“C-Christian?” I called out, prepared to make my way over. Before I could take a step, Luca wrapped his hand around my wrist and brought his lips to my ears.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He whispered. “Just sit down while you still can.”

There was no need to repeat that sentence a second time as I followed his instructions and sat down as he told me to.

My eyes searched for an explanation as I looked at the three, but they didn’t give me any attention.

“Ah, Chrissie!” Berto snapped his fingers. “Our guest for today!”

For a split second, Christian turned around to look at me, but it was not a look of love. It was a look of disappointment and pity. His eyes were saying. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here.

Was he angry?

Of course, he was. He must’ve been pissed, and rightfully so.

“I see you brought my son, the brother and…Vince?” Berto squinted his eyes. “You grew a lot.” He said. “I heard about what that fool, Fabio, did to you—it’s a pity.”

Vince chuckled. “Yes, it sure is.” He spoke sarcastically, probably knowing Berto wasn’t any better than his dad. If anything, that man was even worse.

“Come on, sit—sit!” Fabio guided them to the table. “Don’t be strangers!”

Luca got up to show the three to their designated seats. Christian sat on the opposite side of me, with Dario on his left and Beau on his right.

This time I tried making eye contact with Beau and Vince, but also, they were not interested in whatever my eyes had to say.

“Doesn’t this feel good?” Berto yawned. “A meeting without weapons?”

Christian shook his head. “I’m not here to—“

“Nuh-uh.” Berto raised his hand to stop him. “First, we eat!”

The room was completely silent as the others were forced to eat.

“So what kind of meat is this?” Vince eased the tension. Even if the worst situations, he knew how to make something out of it. Out of all three, he was definitely the less tense, but that was Vince.

Other than that breakdown which had been so out of character for him, he had always been laid back.

“Human,” Berto spoke. “It’s human meat.”

Everyone dropped their forks before the man let out a loud sound of laughter. “I’m just kidding!” He cackled. “You should’ve seen the looks on your faces!”

After Berto’s immature joke, everyone—including Luca, felt the need to eat their food in complete silence.

Once in a while, I would try to steal a glance at Christian, but he refused to look back at me.

Was I mad at him? No, I wasn’t. I would’ve ignored me too if I had the chance.

I was annoying and well aware. No one had to remind me of that.

“So, how is Lucio?” Berto broke the silence.

I looked at Christian’s shaking hand and watched as he squeezed his fork. “Dying.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “And you’re not making it easier.”

The painful expression on Berto’s face quickly changed to a frown as he tried to hide his sadness.

“Don’t we all die?” He shrugged, looking at Dario. “Isn’t that right, son?”

This time Dario squeezed his fork. “Yes.” His eyes were dark. “Everyone dies one day.”

I was still confused and did not know what those three were doing here. By the looks of it, they weren’t that happy to see me, so it couldn’t possibly be to get me out of here.

I know I wasn’t the saint in this situation, but just a tiny smile of acknowledgment would already make me feel better.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask, and I was going insane because I couldn’t.

How is Siena?

Does she miss me?

Is she looking for me?

“Since we’re all here—let’s play a game,” Berto announced, getting up from his chair. “I’m calling it…answer or die!” He looked into my eyes.

Frightened, I lowered my head, but it was already too late as Berto had already made his way over to me.

The feeling of his cold hand disgusted me.

Don’t freak out, Serena.

That will only hurt you even more.

I took several breaths and kept my eyes on my plate.

“Dario, you’re up first,” Berto spoke with still his hands on my shoulder. “Everyone gets a turn, so don’t worry—“

Dario scoffed. “Just get it over with.”

“Do you love Serena?”

I let out a small gasp and raised my head so I could look into Dario’s eyes.

How could Berto ask something like that, knowing Christian was present?

Did he want him to lose control and do something so that he could hurt him?

Did it even matter still? I wasn’t part of their life anyway.

Dario slowly turned his head and met my gaze. Those eyes, which had always been warm and kind, seemed dark and dull. “No.”

Did my actions make him hate me that much?

“That’s clearly a lie.” Berto chuckled. “If you didn’t, you would’ve attacked me by now—but you fear for her life, so you’re holding back.” He said. “You can’t lie to your father.”

Dario coughed, raising his brow for a second. Instead of going against his father, he turned to give Christian, who seemed unbothered, a hopeless look.

“Dario used to beg me not to hurt you,” Berto whispered. “You can kill all the Lambertis for all I care, but please don’t touch Serena.”

I felt my heart beat out of my chest, knowing the Lambertis wasn’t the only reason for Dario’s change of mind. The feeling in my heart wasn’t because of happiness. It was because of guilt.

I led him on, put his life in danger, and broke his heart—all because I didn’t know what I wanted.

All because I started falling in love with someone I shouldn’t have and eventually panicked.

“Okay, Alfonzo boy—you’re up next.” Berto glared at Beau. “Who would you like to see your sister with?”

“As her brother, I’d prefer not to see her with anyone,” Beau answered a lot quicker than Dario.

Good, so that meant Berto could move on.

The relief faded as quickly as it came after hearing Berto’s hard laughter. He wasn’t pleased with his answer.

It was all so clear to me now. He was trying to pit the three against each other, and it might actually work.

“That’s how I felt when it came to my sisters.” Berto shook his head disapprovingly. “But the answer is not good enough.” He spoke. “I want you to rank them from one to three, and I want to hear your reasonings.”

“Do it,” Christian ordered. “Do whatever he wants, just do it.”

Beau blinked. “But—“

“Do it!”

“Uh, I would put Christian at three!” Beau spoke in a hurry, not questioning Christian any further.

Shocked, I looked at Christian as I waited for him to lose his cool—but he didn’t. He didn’t even seem surprised by Beau’s answer.

The only person who seemed genuinely surprised was Berto, who had almost squealed with excitement. “I enjoy this game!” He exclaimed, leaning over my shoulder. “Why?”

Beau shrugged. “Just because.”

This time I couldn’t help, but yelp as Berto slowly tightened his grip around my shoulder. “Give me a better answer, make it interesting—do something!”

“Do it,” Christian spoke softly. “Just give him what he wants, do it.”

Beau took a breath. “Because he cheated on her with his assistant…it still disgusts me.”

The past was not something to bring back, and I hated this game. This wasn’t going anywhere.

“I did hear something like that,” Berto said. “And it’s good to see you’re not holding back—continue!”

“I’d put Vince at two.”

“Ding, ding, ding!” Berto imitated the sound of a bell. “We’ve got a runner-up. Tell me, why?”

“Just becau—“

“A real answer!” Berto shouted, moving his hand to my neck.

“He went crazy, tied me up—almost beat me to death, threatened to kill my sister and niece,” Beau told him. “But deep down, I knew he would never hurt Serena—so I would still pick him over Christian any day.”

“Thanks for your honesty. So Dario is one?” Berto opened his hands. “Tell us why!”

Afraid of what words would leave his mouth, I grasped the ends of the table, wishing for the best.

Beau sighed deeply. “See, I could tell you the reason, but I don’t want to push you further.”

“Try me.”

Beau shrugged. “Dario was able to look past your dysfunctional behavior and chose to protect my sister.”

Berto snickered, moving his finger across the back of my neck. “So you think I’m crazy?”

“Yes, I do,” Beau admitted. “I think we all do.”

If there was one thing my brother should work on, it was his mouth. He didn’t know when to shut up, and one day he would meet the wrong person, and it would backfire.

He could never let something go and felt the need to have the last word, even when my life was on the line.

Luckily, Berto was kind enough to ignore Beau’s comment and shrugged him off so he could focus on the person who should’ve still been in a hospital bed. I really did not know what he was doing here.

“Vince?”

“Yes?” Vince smiled, unbothered. This was nothing to him. How could Berto even scare him when he had to deal with a monster like Fabio all his life?

“Are you also in love with this stupid fool who left her daughter behind to live here willingly, without thinking it through?”

Spot on. He wasn’t wrong.

I was a fool.

“Yes, I am,” Vince spoke. “I know I shouldn’t be, but I guess I can’t help it.” He had always been someone who had no issues talking about his feelings, so I wasn’t even surprised. Vince was Vince.

“Well, that was easy.” Berto sounded flustered as he removed his hand from my neck. “But I’ll give you all a small word of advice. She’s an idiot, and she’s not worth it.”

I repeated his words in my head. It wasn’t an opinion. It was a fact. Truthfully, I didn’t even know what I was doing here. I could manage so he would leave everyone alone—but it wasn’t working. I had only made things worse.

“Moving on.” Berto clicked his tongue. “Chrissie?”

Curious, I searched for Christian’s eyes, but he still ignored me. The dark look in his eyes was anything except healthy, and all he could look at was Berto. “Uncle.” He spat.

“Chrissie, why did you shoot your cousin?”

The sound of a plate beside me made me realize that Luca was still present. I had been so focused on the others that I had forgotten about his presence. He was also a bit quieter than usual—but that must’ve been because of Christian.

Given a chance, Christian wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

Not getting the answer he wanted, Berto moved his hand back to my neck and held it in a slight grip.

Christian took a slight breath. “I think you should let go of her. She’s pregnant.”

So he did care.

“You didn’t answer my question, Chrissie.”

“I did it because he deserved it.” Christian met my gaze for a split second. “And I would do it again.”

He said. “So maybe it’s a good thing there are no guns allowed.”

I flinched as Berto hit the table repeatedly. A burst of evil laughter left his mouth. “Do you hear that, Luca?” He snorted. “Too bad we’re having dinner—because I would’ve loved to see this showdown!”

“I bet you would’ve,” Christian spoke, leaning back in his chair, knowing it wouldn’t have been a showdown. Luca didn’t stand a chance.

“Luca, do you have anything to say to Christian?” Berto turned to his son. I looked sideways and waited for Luca’s words, curious about what he had to say.

“Yes, I do.” Luca swallowed before answering. “I didn’t mean to stab you in the back…with a fork.”

All heads turned to Christian, who shrugged, smirking. “I bet you didn’t.”

“Son, I think the saying is a knife.” Berto corrected Luca. “But go on, I’m enjoying this little reunion.”

“At least it was my knee and not my left eye,” Luca spoke softly to the point I almost pitied him. “My left eye…it’s my bad side…it runs in the family.”

Christian turned to grab Dario’s attention. “Does it?” He asked while Dario gave him a nod.

“Yes, it does.” He frowned as if his thoughts went somewhere else. “He’s right.”

I know I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for him, but I couldn’t help it. The Lambertis neglected him to the point he turned against his family.

While he was grown enough to know right from wrong, things wouldn’t have turned out this way if the Lambertis, Franco, and Lucio, in particular—had treated everyone fairly.

“He apologized.” Berto cooed overdramatic, moving to the side just a little to pinch Luca’s cheek.

“That’s sweet!” He spoke before returning to his seat.

Christian cleared his throat. “The security around here is not that tight, is it?”

Berto chewed his food. “This place is heavily protected, but since today was supposed to be a peaceful family reunion—I’ve sent out most of my men.”

“Including the ones that searched us?”

“Yes.” Berto shrugged. “They’ve already confirmed that you’ve got no weapons, so what use do I have for them?”

“Do they work for you?”

“No, I hired them.” Berto looked around the table. “Anyone else a question, or is it my turn now?”

“Okay, my turn.” Berto snarled, not giving anyone a chance. He reached for something under the table and pulled out a gun, slowly placing it right in front of him, and you could almost hear a pin drop.

I had not expected anything else from this man, and I’m sure everyone could agree with me. Berto having a gun after supposedly telling everyone he was planning on having a peaceful dinner was not a surprise.

I controlled the expression on my face as Berto picked up the gun and waved it in the air. “And my question is—why are you asking me all these questions?”