“I want to stop by at the cemetery before we go to the villa,” she said quietly in the car.
Armand was holding her hand, “Okay,” and then he instructed the driver to take the route to the cemetery.
Pasquale was sitting opposite from them in the limo, “There’s a flower shop across the street from the cemetery, we can buy some before we go in.”
“Have you found out who killed them?” Ari was eager to know.
Pasquale glanced at Armand who was a lot calmer after Ari was back, “We’re still working on it.”
“It’s not like us to be so slow … are you sure you don’t know who ordered the hit?” she was not convinced.
Armand kissed her hand, “We will find them soon enough, don’t worry … I’ll take care of it.”
To see her parents tombstone for the first time was surreal. She felt a surge of despair, the reality sunk in, she was all alone in the world with only Armand to hold on to.
She remembered what Diego said, the only thing he fears in life was to end up alone. She broke down and cried. If Armand was the only person in the world to make her feel less alone, maybe she would rather be on her own.
Armand squatted beside her and rubbed her back, “It’s gonna be alright, Ari, we still have each other.” He always says comforting words, always so sweet, caring and loving, until he wasn’t anymore.
Pasquale turned away, it wasn’t easy to pretend he didn’t know what had really happened. Ariana’s return, even if it’s only the first day, had already shown the difference it makes on Armand. He was happy and that’s a good thing. His priority was to keep it that way, and it will require a lot of cover up of the truth behind the ambush.
Armand stood over his parents graves. He laid down red roses on his mother’s tomb, and stared coldly at his father’s head stone. He was quiet, he was numb, he was looking for something inside him to emerge but there was nothing. That life was over, the one he had with his parents. He rested his arm on Ariana’s shoulder and pulled her close to him, she was his new life now.
He kissed her head before leaving the cemetery, “Make sure there are people taking care of the tombs … I want fresh flowers everyday on their graves.”
Pasquale nodded.
The villa was tucked away in the suburbs of Lancaster, surrounded by pine trees, vast lawns, the building was built on higher ground. Their Paris honeymoon was cancelled, and with the case still going on, they will have to settle with the villa. At least for Armand.
There were five staff preparing the villa before their arrival. They stood in a row to welcome them at the front lawn.
“I want them gone,” Armand said.
Ari was surprised, “We need someone to cook and clean?”
He thought about it for a moment, “Just the cook.”
Pasquale nodded knowingly, “I’ll send them away before the day ends.”
Armand pulled her arm and kissed her cheek, “I don’t want them to see what I’ll do to you on our honeymoon,” he whispered.
The hair in her arms stood up, his sensual effort gave her the chills, she forced a smile.
As soon as they entered the villa, Pasquale pulled Armand to the study and engaged in a rather serious discussion. Ari took a tour around the villa, she hadn’t been there in awhile. She wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation but the wooden door was too thick to listen in.
It was only the second day of her return and business seemed to be back to normal. With all the family affairs now run by Armand, she wondered what kind of life is waiting for her in the days to come, the years to come. She went to the living room and looked at the family pictures.
Family … is that really what’s going to be? To have his children, raise them the way they were raised, to be part of the same family she almost died to get away from? This can’t be it for her, there has to be another way.
She turned on the TV. Their press conference was relayed over and over again. Looking at herself on TV was weird, she could see how scared and unhappy she was.
“A mutilated body was found in an Inn in Goldstone this morning.” The news anchor announced, the footage shown was familiar.
“One of the employees of the Inn made a gruesome discovery when she found a decapitated body in one of the rooms. The Flaming Hut Inn immediately reported their finding to the local police, an investigation was undertaken to find the murderer of the victim who was confirmed as male in his thirties. An ID was found at the scene.”
Ari watched in horror as the news unravelled, her heart raced, her eyes glued to the screen. She didn’t even realize that Armand and Pasquale had come out from the study and was watching the news from behind her.
“Jordan Davies, 34 years old, a local resident of Goldstone was found dead at the scene. It is presumed that the crime had been carried inside the bathroom of the Inn where the body was mutilated afterwards. The police are searching for the remaining body parts that are missing to further identify the victim. The preliminary presumption is the murder is gang related judging from the method of the killing. We will have more on this shortly.”
Her jaw dropped. She suddenly forgot how to breathe. She put her hands on her mouth, all her insides were turning violently. Her head felt light. She turned to find Armand and Pasquale were looking at her in wonder. She couldn’t hold it any longer, she ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet.
Armand looked at Pasquale, his expression was tense. “What was that all about? Who’s Jordan Davies?”
“That was her kidnapper … Arturo took care of it, that was the place where we picked her up.”
Armand folded his arms and leaned on the wall, “At an Inn in Goldstone?”
“Yeah, you should give Arturo a bonus for that, he’s probably won’t be back in a few weeks to clean his trails,” Pasquale patted Armand on his shoulder and asked to leave.
Armand stood in silence as he listened to Ari vomiting in the bathroom. Something in his gut told him there was more to the story. Something he will confirm with his wife as soon as she’s over with the shock.