“There’s no need. I’m fine.”
Leaning against the counter, I meet his look with one of my own. My leg aches, the bruising deepening into purple, almost black splodges of damage. But I’ve had far worse than that. “Stop looking at me like that, Domenico. Tell me what’s happening.”
The feel of Asante’s hands on me isn’t going away anytime soon. That violation. But I don’t have the headspace to waste any time on that piece of shit.
And as Dom begins to speak, that headspace gets even smaller. Until there is no space at all but for the rushing in my head.
Thatmotherfucker.
“Figlio di puttana,” I hiss. The Italian rolls off my tongue as I pace up and down. “I knew it. Evil, raping piece ofshit.”
I knew something was wrong. Knew my father was more withdrawn than usual, even after what happened this year. And it’s because that asshole is whispering in his fucking ear, making me look weak at every opportunity.
And thanks to my own fucking choices, my father is starting to believe him.
“He cannot have the Crows,” I snap. My throat threatens to close up at the thought. To lose my position as Corvo heir… I’ve spent my whole life working for that. I have sacrificedeverythingto be where I am.
Without the Crows, I don’t know who I would be. But I wouldn’t be me, wouldn’t be Caterina Corvo. And for it to be Matteo, of all people. My stomach revolts at the sheer fucking thought of that man taking control.
None of us would be safe, could ever sleep soundly at night with him leading us. He is not stable, notnormal.
“What the hell is my father thinking? He’s a psychopath.” I stare at Domenico wildly. “Look what he did to Nicoletta!”
In any other family, the punishment would have been severe. But my father not only permitted it, butrewardedit.
“Has he always been this way?” I ask quietly, sinking down on a chair. “My father, I mean. Am I only just seeing it?”
When Dom hesitates, I rub at my eyes. “So… that’s a yes.”
He settles next to me. “Maybe you’re the one that’s changed, Cat.”
When I look at him questioningly, he leans on the table with his elbows. “You’ve always been so focused on the Crows. Nobody would ever question your loyalty. Your father never needed to worry about you because you never looked up, never questioned any of his decisions. You did what he needed you to do.”
Hurt echoes inside my chest. “So what are you saying?”
“I amsaying,” he pokes my arm. “That the blinkers are off, Cat. You have been blind to your father’s faults because he is your father, and you love him. You knew he was challenging, but you were never challengedbyhim because he never needed to. But now… now you’re seeing more clearly. Hell, we’re graduating this year. You were always going to find your feet, and now that you have, I don’t think you like what you see. And he can sense that.”
Sitting next to him, I think over his words. And they make sense.
Ihavechanged.
“You’re right,” I say finally, my voice hoarse.
And maybe… maybe that means that I’m not the best person to lead the Crows.
When I voice the thoughts to Dom, though, he stiffens. “That’s what you took from that conversation? Fucking hell, Cat. You think any of us here would follow anyone else?Matteo?”
He spits out my cousin’s name like poison. My phone vibrates on the counter, and when I pick it up, my lips press together. “Well, maybe I can have a little chat with him today.”
Because my father is summoning me home.
Despite Dom’s furious protestations, he gets smaller behind me in the rearview mirror as I leave him behind.
The breath leaves me in a sigh of relief as I pull through the campus gates, the sleek red Corvette idling in a gentle purr beneath my hands before I hit the gas.
The Corvo estate is more than an hour away, and the minutes tick away too quickly. It’s with regret that I pull up to our ornate but secure outer gates. They open silently, the security staff recognising my car, and I wind through the grounds.
I always loved this place. Loved the lush, green outdoors, acres and acres of space to lose myself in with childhood games. Lovedthe little stream that winds its way through, where Aldo taught me to catch trout with sharpened sticks, the rocks sharp beneath my feet as I waited patiently for hours to get the right moment to strike.
