Edge of Deception

PROLOGUE

Just a little more.

She emerged in the pantry. The busy kitchen was on her right while the corridor leading to the inside of the house was on her left. There was no one in the hall. Two doors led to rooms labelled "Admin" and "Office" both of which were locked from outside. There was only one another narrow door leading off to the veranda on the other side of the house.

Holding her breath, praying no one came in the from the kitchen, she tiptoed as fast as possible towards the veranda and peered outside.

Dark. No one was here either. Damn it, where was Ilario? Her heart sank. She could feel the tingling in her nose which signalled the onset of tears. The first drop spilled out just as she heard voices to her right.

Ilario!

Her feet moved of their own volition towards the voices as the volume increased. A shout halted her in her tracks.

"How dare you? How fucking dare you?"

Mateo De Russo. Mateo is here!

Panic set in and turned her cold. Mateo is with Ilario. Uncaring about the sharp cobblestones stinging her already injured feet, she rushed forward even as the argument increased in volume.

This time it was Ilario.

"How dare I? How dare you? You put papa in danger. And after everything he did for you. Isn't it enough to have you as the bad egg of the family, did you have to drag down all of us?"

"You brought it on yourself, Rio." The hissing voice had just that hint of madness that Tanya had come to dread in the last few months. Mateo was mad, real mad. She came to a halt only a few meters from them, in the shadow of the veranda shade.

She could see their silhouette, one tall, another short, standing dangerously close to the edge of the precipice. Mateo had his fingers on Ilario's collar as he continued shouting at him.

"I offered you to be a part of it, you refused. You interfered in my business, turned my own staff against me."

"You needed to be stopped Mateo." Ilario's stern voice was measured. "I warned you again and again. Papa warned you. But you never listened."

"So you sent that bitch to spy on me." Mateo's laugh was full of scorn this time. "You thought I'd never find out, eh?"

Tanya's heart stilled. They had to be talking about her!

"You knew?" Ilario's asked quietly.

"You bet I knew. I saw you two. I saw you... fucking my girlfriend."

Silence, except the muted thump of the stereo from the party. Tanya waited with bated breath.

"Where is she, Mateo?" Ilario's tone didn't change, it was still soft, still measured. "Where is she really?"

Mateo didn't laugh this time. "Gone."

For a few moments nothing happened. Then suddenly, a growl erupted from Ilario as he clutched Mateo's shirtfront and bodily lifted him off the ground.

"Dov'è Tanya?" He roared at his sibling.

Insane as Matteo was, he didn't even try to struggle against Ilario's hold.

"It hurts. Doesn't it, Rio? It hurts to know you'll never see her again."

Ilario dropped him. A single whispery "No" was all that came out of him.

Her senses returned. With a sharp cry, she rushed forward, all her concentration on her lover, the love of her life. "Rio!"

Even as she stretched out her hand towards her lover, Mateo's fingers curled around the trigger.

The single shot rent the still night air, yet the music didn't stop. No one heard it, no one witnessed what unfolded right at the edge of that cliff.