“But?”
“Hadria Imperioli talked her around in the end.”
“Hadria Imperioli?” I repeat, startled. She wasn’t exactly my biggest fan.
“Yeah. You know, Hadria’s relationship didn’t exactly have a traditional start, either. She said the important thing was that you seemed committed to destroying a group that was selling women.”
They don’t seem to have heard that Robin and I broke up. If we were ever really together. That’s probably for the best. “And my commitment remains absolute,” I tell Brie. “The Gattos must be obliterated.”
No need to mention their possible involvement in my father’s death, or attempts on my own life. Dominika will just start throwing unhelpful terms like “hidden motives” around, and scare them off again.
“Good.” Brie’s tone shifts to pure business. “Then I’ll send over that contract we talked about.”
After I hang up, I pour out a glass of wine and toast the empty air. To power. To the Consortium. To the deaths about to rain down on the people who dared to threaten me and mine.
Even if what was mine is already gone.
Even if she’s better off without me.
Chapter 26
Robin
One Month Later
“Last box!” Maisie announces, as a man from the moving crew we hired sets a cardboard container marked “ROBIN’S ROOM” onto the hardwood floor of our new living room with a satisfying thud.
I look around at what should feel like a miracle. Sunlight streams through windows that actually open properly. The walls are a warm cream color instead of the dingy beige of our old apartment. There’s a backyard where Maisie can play when she gets stronger, and bedrooms for everyone instead of the cramped sleeping arrangements we’ve endured for years. Today was our official move-in date after a quick sale—cash in hand certainly does open doors—and the house is everything I dreamed of giving my brothers and sisters.
So why does it feel so hollow?
“This place is sohuge,” Alicia says, bouncing on the new couch we bought last week. I’m hoping her grades will improve now that we’re settled. She’ll have her own room, painted lavender like she always wanted.
“Nottoohuge,” Dane corrects, but he’s grinning as he says it. “Just normal-sized. Like normal people have.”
The word ‘normal’ hits me wrong, though I can’t explain why. Thisisnormal. This is what I’ve always worked for, hoped for. A stable home where my siblings can thrive without constantly worrying about money or eviction notices or whether we’ll have heat this month.
The ten million has barely seen a dent in it, even after buying a whole house and a new, reliable car for Adrian and me to share, plus a second-hand one for the kids as they grow older and learn to drive. The rest of the money, I’m still not sure what to do with. I was sure we’d have to pay a whopping amount of tax on it, and explain to the government where the hell we got it.
But I should have known better. Leon sent me a whole packet of information on our new bank account, an attached debit card, and instructions on a particular investment advisor who would help me if I had any questions.
Eva really thought of everything.
It just makes it worse when I think about her caring enough to realize I’d have no clue what to do with ten million dollars. That she was thoughtful enough to provide me with some guidance. Still protecting me from my own naivety.
Adrian emerges from the kitchen carrying a tray of sandwiches. He’s been able to drop his jobs now and focus on school, and the stress lines around his eyes have softened. He’s even applied to three different colleges for next year—something that would have been impossible before.
“Lunch is served,” he announces, setting the tray on our new coffee table. Real wood, not the rickety old cane thing salvaged from the side of the road that we used to have.
“Thanks, Adrian.”
But something in his eyes when he looks at me makes me sad. There’s a gentleness there, an understanding that suggests he knows about the sacrifice I made.
The sacrifice that both Eva and I made for the sake of each other and the sake of my family.
“You okay, Robin?” Maisie asks, settling beside me on the couch. She’s looking better and better, and her energy is returning daily.
“I’m perfect,” I lie, forcing a smile. “Just thinking about how far we’ve come.”
