They led me to a room divided by plexiglass. Phone on each side. My father was already seated on his side.
He looked terrible. Prison had aged him. Gray hair. Hollow cheeks. Shoulders slumped. But his eyes were still defiant. Still refusing to show weakness.
I sat. Picked up the phone. He did the same.
For a moment, we just looked at each other.
"Didn't think you'd come." His voice was rough. "Thought you were done with me."
"I am. This is closure. One last conversation before you die and I never think about you again."
"Sentiment appreciated." Sarcasm dripped from every word.
I got straight to it. "Why did you kill my mother ?"
No preamble. No dancing around it. Just the question I'd needed answered for fifteen years.
He looked me directly in the eyes. "She wanted to leave. Wanted to take you and Lia somewhere safe. Away from this life. Away from me." He leaned back. Casual. Like we were discussing the weather. "I couldn't allow it. She was my wife. My property. So I killed her. Made it look like accident. Paid off the medical examiner.Simple."
No remorse. No regret. Just facts delivered like a business report.
"You killed the woman who loved you. The mother of your children. Because she wanted freedom."
"I killed a traitor who tried to steal my children. There's a difference."
The rage in my chest burned hotter. "I thought about killing you. Every day since I found out what you did. Thought about putting a bullet in your head. Making you suffer the way you made her suffer."
"But you didn't. Because you're weak. Just like her."
"No. Because I'm not you. I don't kill people just because they threaten my ego. I let the law handle you. Let you rot in this cell knowing you lost everything. Your empire is mine now. Run my way. With humanity instead of cruelty. Your children want nothing to do with you. Your granddaughter will never know your name. And Aria?" I smiled. Cold. Satisfied. "She's my wife. Has been for months. Sleeps in my bed every night. Gave me a daughter. Loves me. You never touched her. Never will. You lost, old man. Completely. Absolutely. Forever."
His face went purple. Hands clenched into fists. "This isn't over. I have allies. Resources. I'll get out. I'll make you pay for this betrayal."
"You have nothing. You are nothing. And in a week, you'll be dead. Executed for your crimes. Forgotten by everyone except as a cautionary tale about what happens when you choose power over humanity."
I stood. "Enjoy the last days of your miserable life. I hope you spend every second knowing you failed. That love beat your control. That I built something better from the ashes of what you destroyed."
I hung up the phone. Walked out without looking back.
Heard him screaming my name. Pounding on the glass. Demanding I come back.
I didn't. Never would again.
That chapter was closed. Finished. Done.
I drove home to my wife and daughter. To the beach house filled with light instead of shadows. To the life I'd built from the ruins of my father's cruelty.
Aria met me at the door. Took one look at my face and pulled me into her arms.
"How did it go?"
"He confirmed everything. Admitted to killing my mother. Showed no remorse. He's exactly the monster I always knew he was."
"I'm sorry. I know that doesn't make it easier."
"Actually, it does. Because it proves I made the right choice. Becoming different than him. Choosing love over power. Building instead of destroying." I held her tighter. "I won, Aria. Not by becoming like him. But by becoming better. By having you and Lucia and this life. He's got nothing but a cell and impending execution. I've got everything."
She pulled back. Looked at me with love shining in her eyes. "You do have everything. And so do I. We won, Kai. Together."
