The Twelve Vitali Ch. 09

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Secrets and Lies.
11k words
4.88
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Part 10 of the 36 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 10/15/2017
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xelliebabex
xelliebabex
5,501 Followers

Authors note: Hello everyone. Thank you to everyone who has left comments and votes on the chapters so far. They mean the world to me, even if just to know someone is reading the series. Thank you once again to Paul who continues to be my second set of eyes. ~ellie.

*****

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Trista cried as she sat across the desk from her father.

"Even if your mother had been correct in her assumptions, you had no care at all for that girl's feelings, or Matteo's, for that matter," Roberto said patiently, wanting to be sure his daughter understood exactly what she had done wrong. "Now there is a lovely young woman in the world who believes our entire family think she's nothing but an opportunistic gold-digger, and two of your brothers who believe that your mother, through you, deliberately sabotaged their relationships with this woman. Not to mention my own friendship with her, which saddens me more than I can say."

Theresa knew she had done something terrible the moment the usually calm and serene Stefano refused to even look at her, let alone talk to her, leaving Roberto to have this conversation with his wife and daughter while he hovered in the background.

"I'm sorry. Who knew everyone would take the truth so badly," Trista shrugged indifferently.

"Have you heard nothing we have said?" Stefano roared, voicing his rage for the first time. "Your mother lied to you! There was no truth in anything you said to that girl!"

"I did nothing wrong!" Trista said again, blinking at being yelled at by her father for the first time in her life.

"Veronica Donati was guilty of Murder, attempted murder, and assorted other criminal activities. And do you know what she said to anyone who visited her in prison before and after her conviction?" Roberto asked, then answered the question. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"The privilege of being part of this family seems to have given the Vitali women a bizarre sense of entitlement that allows you to believe you can treat anyone badly and be totally justified in doing so! Well, I will not tolerate it! You are cut off for six months, Trista! Your bank accounts have been frozen, your credit cards cancelled! You may ask your mother or myself for an allowance, but, trust me, if you use our name or position to obtain finances or goods without payment, I will not be so lenient!" Stefano said. Now that he had started talking, it seemed he couldn't help letting his rage out on both women.

"You can't do that!" Trista yelled back. "I have a life to live! I can't survive like that!"

"Then get a job," Roberto said. "Each of your older brothers had a traineeship of some description at your age and earned their own money instead of relying on us to support them. Even Vanessa has begun working toward establishing herself instead of spending thousands of dollars flying around the country to bully her brother's girlfriends under the guise of seeking media interest in her designs."

"It's not my fault the stupid bitch was too ugly to get photographed on the night. All she had to do was stand with Matteo while the press was there and it all would have been worth it," Trista shook her head incredibly as if it was all Cat's faults that this was happening to her now. Even Theresa looked shocked at her daughter's words.

"I think you were right," Roberto said sadly to Stefano. "I'll call and make the arrangements." He watched as Theresa paled visibly. "You will stay home for the next forty-eight hours, Trista, believe me when I say that if we have to come and find you, you will regret it more so than you already regret your mistakes."

"Fine!" Trista snapped after looking at her mother and realising she would get no help from her. "Am I excused?"

"Yes, but don't go too far," Roberto said, and watched his daughter flounce from the room. "Not you, Theresa!" he growled making the woman sit back down.

"Have you not learned the lessons of Maria and what she did to our family? Do you not know what happened to the mother of the Savoy, or the mother of the Pellegrini who put the future of their sons before the rest of their family?" Roberto asked in the same calm voice. "Did you not think we would be horrified that you would so overtly try to destroy our sons by pitting them against each other and the woman they love?"

"That was never my intention. I didn't have all of the information about this Catriona Leone," she explained, trying to keep her voice calm. "As far as I was aware, she had worked for Vanessa, used her family connections to gain your assistance in a dubious court case and began dating Ricco. When she was finally discovered to be not as innocent as she pretended she left town in a hurry and started to date Matteo. What was I supposed to think?"

"You were supposed to know that I wouldn't have defended anyone who did not deserve our respect and assistance!" Roberto snapped.

"If we find any other action taken on your part to harm our children, there will be very dire consequences. Neither Roberto nor I will risk losing one more child in this house to the machinations of misguided and ultimately evil thinking. You have spoilt and favoured your children over the others for long enough, and I believe we will be taking a greater hand in ensuring all of the trials have been completed to our satisfaction," Stefano snarled. "There are enough cousins to fill the table with the oldest three sons should it come to that," he threatened, making her gasp loudly and cover her face in horror.

"Go and speak with Trista and make her understand that she did indeed do something wrong," Roberto advised.

*****

Cat had settled into a comfortable routine where as long as she showed up at the house for meals she was left alone to do her art, aside of Finola's visits each afternoon and the constant check-ups of Pete Donati, who she thought seemed to take his follow up of patients a little too seriously.

Cat smiled as she let Romy Donati into the small cabin she had been assigned for the gathering. She was amazed at how many cabins, yurts and other temporary structures there were on the vast property. Finola had also arrived early with her children and had visited Cat daily to ask about drawing techniques and do some small exercises that Cat said were the very same ones she had been given when she was learning to hone her craft. The appearance of Romy Donati at her door surprised her.

"I just need your signature on a few documents," he said by way of explanation as she invited him into the cluttered space.

"I have already signed the non-disclosure thingamajig and the commission paperwork with Peri. She should have copies, but I can probably find them for you if you need them," she offered.

"No, this is not about your art," Romy chuckled, taking a seat at the table. "It's about the apartment you were staying in before coming here. Matteo has transferred ownership into your name, and the settlement for that has been rushed through and should become official on Friday, so if you can just sign where the tags indicate, please."

"Wait! What?" Cat blinked at him. "Matteo is selling me the apartment? I can't afford that! I thought he had rented it and told him to break the lease and get his money back."

"He is gifting it to you," Romy explained.

"I can't accept a gift like that!" Cat was shocked and horrified that he would even think she could accept it. She supposed it was his way of assuaging guilt over not being able to return her love and hurting her unintentionally.

"I'm afraid there has been a family crisis for the Vitali's and Matteo will be out of contact for a week. I assure you everything is legal and above board, I just need a signature on the documents, and then you can fight with him about it when he returns," Romy explained. "If not for the crisis, Ricco would be here delivering the papers and explaining the ins and outs of why he has done this. I'm afraid I have no details for you. I just need to complete the paperwork so my family and I can enjoy our holiday."

"And if I don't sign the paperwork?" she asked.

"Then this becomes a giant pain in my ass, and I will have to do all new paperwork and ask Angelo to foot the bill and take possession of the apartment until Mateo returns and then file new paperwork for whatever he decides when he can finally take possession. That will ruin my holiday by having to work and convince Angelo into working, which I will make you explain to Carmen and my boys, by the way," he rolled his eyes. "I have been promising no work this holiday for six months. I'm not sure Rosanna will be very pleased either if I start dragging the big guy away from the festivities."

"Emotional blackmail, seriously?" She asked, pulling the paperwork across the table to look at it.

"Oh, don't worry, that was minor compared to what I gave Ricco when he asked for the favour," Romy chuckled.

"So, I sign this, and I own that place free and clear? Then when I am done I could sell it again and return the money to Matteo?" she asked.

"That's one option, yes," he confirmed.

"Fine then, but if he thinks he can pay me off to rid himself of any bad feelings with an apartment he can think again. I'm not a whore that he can just pay off and never think about again!" she said angrily as she signed the document where he has left sticky markers.

*****

A week after walking out of Cat's apartment, and ostensibly her life, Matteo arrived at the small private airfield on the outskirts of Melbourne and headed for the family jet. He'd thrown himself immediately into work, and knowing that Josh and his family would all be preparing for the Gathering he had taken a quick flight to a project in Papa New Guinea where tensions with the locals always ran high.

"Hey," Ricco greeted him with his typical one-armed hug and a bumping of chests. "The others are all on board."

"Rough flight, sorry I held everyone up," Matteo said as he stepped on board the family jet. "Do we know the destination yet?"

I'm flying blind, so to speak," Jacobi shrugged, but smiled in a relaxed way. "Papa says fly, and I grab an overnight bag."

"Yeah, I'm not quite as convinced we're going to enjoy what's at the other end of this trip," Ricco murmured to Matteo. "When was the last time we all took a trip like this?" He nodded to the fellow occupants of the cabin. All five of the oldest children were present, without their partners, however.

"Mama is here this time though," Matteo murmured back. He called her Mama, but she had never been particularly maternal toward him or his siblings who were on this plane. He respected her because he had to, but after what Trista had said to Cat, and where she got her information from, Matteo would rather ignore her presence than going through the usual respectful small talk required when in her presence. For once she didn't seem eager to engage him either, for which he was grateful. He took a seat near Mia and did up his belt.

"Hey, how's Kalum? Have you talked to him about a trial yet?" he asked conversationally.

"In a round-about way," she pulled a face. "It's not so easy. I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and Cat. Trista has been sent to the Battaglia," she informed him.

"Excessive," Matteo kept his voice low.

"No, you should have heard the way she spoke to Papa. She swore over and over again that she did nothing wrong, which Papa pointed out was Nik's great defence, even after she killed people. I think Papa was scared they hadn't been strict enough with the younger ones. They all have to redo their trials, and we," she looked around. "We all have to do this trip, no exceptions."

"There's always one exception," Matteo smiled and squeezed his sister's hand. "I was coming home anyway to spend the day with you tomorrow."

"You never forget," she smiled.

"I loved Alessandro too, you know," he reminded her.

During the flight, Matteo made an effort to talk to each of his siblings about what projects they were working on. If the subject of Cat came up, he changed it rapidly, finding that it was too disappointing to think about yet. Eventually, he made his way to his stepmother.

"The break up was not yours or Trista's fault," he said quietly. "The fault was mine, and I have told Papa that."

"I am not here because of that, but thank you, I appreciate you saying so. I am sorry for my untimely interference. I didn't understand the situation at the time," Theresa admitted, swallowing nervously. "I never meant you or the girl any real harm when I told Trista those things."

"I never believed you did it maliciously," he said.

"Your fathers think Trista's attitude is reminiscent of Veronica Donati, they have sent her away," she said sadly. "That is my fault. She was brought up spoilt and indulged until she believed she could do as she liked with no recriminations or consequences. In the end she didn't even show me the respect due to her mother, and I am horrified that I encouraged that sort of behaviour without seeing it for what it was."

"Not even the great Antonia Donati was immune to turning a blind eye to her children's faults," Matteo said kindly, but what she had said had jolted him to the core. Were all of his siblings, himself included, getting disciplined for self-indulgent behaviour? The younger ones were all having to redo their trials, Mia had said. He considered where they were heading and stood to approach the cockpit to find out what the mystery was.

"Have a seat, Matteo, we will be landing soon," Stefano suggested as he blocked the way to the cabin. "We will be arriving at a secure facility. Do not deviate from the instructions the people there give. When we land, Matteo, you will go with Roberto. Theresa, you will come with me. The rest of you will be escorted to the residence we have been given for our stay. You will stay there until we return. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Papa," the siblings all said in unison before looking at each other nervously and nodding. They each knew of only one facility with this much security that belonged within the overarching configuration of the tables. The Papillo.

*****

"You know he was probably just trying to do something nice for you," Pete said as Cat finally divulged what was bothering her. "He probably had no idea how it would look to you to gift you something so big and expensive. To him, it was probably nothing more than something he had bought with you in mind that he no longer wants since you told him to leave."

"I..." she began to argue, but the words died on her lips.

"You. You asked Matteo to leave. He wasn't getting rid of you, and therefore has no need to pay you off like a whore or assuage his guilt in any way," Pete said reasonably.

"It's not that simple," she sighed.

"So explain it to me?" he asked yet again, knowing that she probably wouldn't.

"How about you explain to me why you're the only bachelor of the twelve men on the table?" she asked. It had been an ongoing point of tension where she wouldn't be drawn on why she had left Matteo and their new relationship and why Pete had no significant other in his life.

"I've already told you, I'm married to my work. It comes before everything else. I can't expect anyone to put up with me dropping everything when a member of my family picks up the phone and calls me. Think about all the things you know about this family and the tragedies that have befallen us over recent years. No woman would put up with playing second fiddle to so many people," he lifted his hands as if it was a foregone conclusion that he would always be a bachelor.

"Surely you must want more?" Cat asked. "Everyone wants to be loved and accepted by someone who understands them on a deeper, more intimate level."

"You think I am lonely? That I don't feel loved by every single member of this family?" Pete asked. "I know it's difficult for you to understand a man like me, but, honestly, I am happy and fulfilled in every area of my life," he smiled.

"Do you have a mistress? A... what do you call them... Kept?" she asked bluntly.

"Yes," he answered just as bluntly, "And she makes me happy in that she serves my needs in the way I like without any recriminations for the amount of time I take to care for my family. I have no desire for children, I have so many nieces and nephews that I am not starved for the company of children that I feel quite paternal toward. I have been at the birth and significant milestones for all of them and been able to hand them back without any guilt as I move on to yet another family member in need."

"I guess I can see that," she shrugged noncommittally. "I think that is what Matteo wanted, a guilt-free relationship where he could still work the same ungodly hours and have me waiting at home like a faithful pet eager for just a few moment of his time." She lied, she didn't think even if she would have accepted his loveless proposal he would have treated her that way.

"Running a company as large as his has got to be time-consuming, but I doubt he would treat you like a pet," Pete chuckled.

"I was being nice, he wanted a mistress that he knew he wouldn't have to commit to fully," she sighed. That was about as close to the truth as she was ready to get. "If I accept the apartment then I feel like I am telling him it's okay to treat me that way and help himself to the apartment and me whenever he is in town."

"If he wanted a mistress he would have a Kept. It's a lot less complicated that way, and I am sure one could be found with similar physical characteristics to you, if that was what he wanted," Pete once again spoke bluntly.

"Knowing that doesn't help me stop feeling that way. Besides, his family hates me, and I don't want to be responsible for that," she admitted.

"I know that's not true," Pete chuckled, dismissing her excuses.

"Call Trista and ask her what she thinks of me. Trust me, no one in that family approves of me dating Matteo, or Ricco, for that matter," she said adamantly. She put her paintbrush down and turned to look at him properly. "Can we just drop this, please, I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's over, the reasons don't matter."

*****

Matteo entered a small suite within the facility. It was spartan, and, although the walls were coloured, there was little in the way of decoration. The windows were recessed behind decorative but obviously sturdy metal grates. The couch and table in the living area were made of steel and some sort of polymer, and the only items of note seemed to be a wide bookcase, a television recessed behind what he assumed to be Perspex, or something similar. He was so busy taking in the design and materials of the suite he hadn't noticed the woman walk in from the other room.

"You have come to ensure I still suffer," the woman addressed Roberto with a tired voice.

"Quite the opposite, Maria," Roberto said with a smile. "I have brought Matteo to visit his mother and make peace after all these years of believing you never loved him, which was why you could kill him so easily, or at least try to."

"That is a cruel lie, even for you, Roberto!" she sneered at him. "Why not concoct a fake Alessandro as well?"

"I assure you, he is your son, Matteo, and has the scar on his chest to prove your motherly love for him!" Roberto growled. "A scar that reminds him every day that the one person who should have protected him and loved him did not!"

"Why would you be so cruel as to do this now?" She narrowed her eyes, looking at Matteo. She had spent the last twenty years believing him dead. This couldn't be her son, could it?

"I think I would like the answer to that as well," Matteo said stiffly.

"Sit," Roberto commanded, and waited for them both to comply. "Matteo has recently met and got to know a young woman that I believe could be the love of his life. As every woman in his life, most especially his mother, has told, and or shown him that he is not someone they could love, he is too afraid to take a risk on this girl who has such a huge capacity for love and forgiveness, she could help him heal."

xelliebabex
xelliebabex
5,501 Followers