Chapter One
Dante threw the glass across the room and smiled a little when he heard it shatter on the wood door. His mother stood next to his bed and crossed her arms, glaring down at him. He knew he was acting childish, and he didn’t care. The pain had fogged his mind to the point that nothing else mattered.
It had been two days since he’d been released from the hospital, and so far he’d only had about three hours of sleep. He knew his mother and aunt had the best intentions for him, but he couldn’t stand them being around all the time, seeing him like this. So he’d acted out the only way he knew how, by throwing things and yelling at them.
He looked up from the bed he’d spent the last two days in and noticed his mother’s left eye twitching, something that only happened when she was truly pissed at him.
“Dante Damiano Cardone, I’m so ashamed of you right now. You will not behave like this when Miss Rossi gets here, do you understand me?” Her voice was low and he could almost feel the vibration from it. He was saved from answering his mother, when his aunt rushed into the room.
“What’s going on in here?” She moved over to his side and grabbed his hand gently. Her dark gray hair was long and flowed close around her face. She was a stout woman who held herself like she had a lot of power.
“Dante, are you in much pain?” Her English wasn’t very good, but she spoke it none the less, since his mother had set the rule many years ago that when she was in the house, they spoke English. Something even his aunt had obeyed for the last twenty-seven years. It hadn’t been hard for them to follow the rule in the past, since his mother had only been in the house a few weeks out of every year. But now, she was living there full-time and he could tell his aunt was having a hard time following the rule, and tolerating the other woman in her house.
Florentina Cardone was in her late fifties and the younger sister of Dante’s father, Damiano, though she acted like she was the older one. She always seemed to be in charge of him, at least when his mother wasn’t around.
The house Dante had grown up in was very large and had been handed down for over five generations. His father had spent his first million refurbishing his parents’ small home and turning it into what it was today—a mansion. The acres of olive tree groves and vineyards spread out around the large tan, red-roofed place which sat like a beacon in the green fields of rolling hills. The view was spectacular, something he had missed while he had lived in the States over the last few years. But, since his return home he had yet to enjoy any of it.
He tried to sit up a little and was reminded of the sharp pain shooting down his left side. The pins in his leg that started just above his knee towards the outside of his thigh, and the pain in his shoulder caused such immense pain, his vision actually blurred.
He didn’t blame his sister, Katie, for his injuries. After all, it had been her kidnappers that had rammed their vehicle into his own. He was just grateful that his half-brother, Ric; Ric’s father, Rodrick; and Katie’s new husband, Jason, had been there to help save his newly found sister from the two men, hell bent on kidnapping her.
Dante had found out the truth about his hidden half-brother, Ric, when he was in college in the States. He’d been raised to think his mother had an affair while in college and had Ric then, but just last year the truth had finally come out that his mother had been married to Ric’s father and actually had two children. Ric was almost six years older than Dante. Katie, who had been raised by Rodrick Derby as his own, was in fact his full-blooded sister. Katie was almost three years younger than him.
He’d finally gotten to meet Katie for the first tie, at the hospital the day after his accident. He couldn’t really remember meeting her that day, but she’d come back the next few days before her and her new husband had left on their honeymoon. He’d gotten to know her and Jason, quite well by the time he’d finally been released from the hospital almost two weeks later.
His mother had not only cheated his father out of a daughter, but she’d deceived them all. The entire time he had been growing up, he’d been told that her absence from the family was because her parents in the States didn’t condone his parents relationship. When the truth was, she had a completely separate family that she was spending her time with.
Growing up, he’d seen her as often as one would a distant relative. His aunt had filled the role of mother for most of his life, and he could tell that now that his mother was in the house full-time, his aunt despised the fact that her brother hadn’t kicked her to the curb after the truth had come out. But Damiano had been adamant about his views and feelings towards Kathleen. Shortly after Kathleen had dissolved her marriage to Rodrick, Dante’s parents had officially been married.
“Dante, you need to not work yourself up so much. Here, you need to take your medicine. You drink the soup I made for you, then take these.” His aunt held up the bottle of medicine he’d been ready to throw at the door after the glass.
He might be able to deny his mother, but he couldn’t say no to his aunt. Looking into those dark chocolate eyes, he was reminded of his upbringing and knew he needed to obey the short woman who had raised him like her own.
“Florentina, maybe you can talk some sense into my son.” His mother uncrossed her arms and walked to the doorway. “I expect him to behave when Miss Rossi gets here.”
“Who is this Miss Rossi?” His aunt asked.
“Remember? She is the nurse I’ve hired to take care of Dante. She’s a specialist in physical therapy. She’s the one that’s going to get him on his feet again.” His mother started to walk out the door and he swore he heard her say. “Even if it kills him.”