“Do you want to know how she died?”
I can’t form the words, but he can see the yearning on my face.
“Oh, it’s too good. Too fucking good. I couldn’t have planned it better than this.”
“You killed her,” I hiss, unable to keep the accusation inside.
“Ah, no. I wish, but no, I didn’t. But can you guess who did?”
He looks almost amused by this, but of course he does.
“Guess, Ara.Guess.”
My mind swirls, attempting to come up with something, someone, but it’s blank.
“You’re thinking Anthony, aren’t you? No, it’s even better.”
When I sit silent for too long, Henry mumbles something under his breath and then blurts, “Georgiy. Your fuckingdogkilled her.”
My mind goes blank, and I hear a whooshing in my ears.
“What?” I breathe.
My father is staring at me intently.
“I’d rather have delivered that, Samvel. Restrain yourself.”
I see Henry flush and step back into the shadows, knowing wrath is headed his way.
“How?” I ask, and Death grins.
“It’s complicated. A very long story.”
“I have time,” I bite out, and Emin grins.
“You do. But not that much. I will tell you this: she had a damaged heart, and as much as I didn’t want her to die, Georgiy fucked up and she didn’t make it out of surgery. Unacceptable is what it was. I made sure to remind him of his failure.”
“No.No,” I whisper, my words catching in my throat. “He said he killed them all. He said he got them…”
“Ah, but not me.” He grins and then rubs his hands together as the door opens behind him. Emma makes an appearance, looking the same as when I had her tied to a chair. Same hair, same nose ring. A little more tired, but that’s to be expected.
Maybe she’ll faint and I can gloat that one of Emin’s prized children can’t handle the stress of the job.
“Look who it is,” she says with a grin, almost friendly. “So glad we could meet again.”
I fight to find my breath, to come to terms with what he told me. Is he lying? I doubt it. I think all of this is true.
Georgiy killed my mom—not on purpose, but still—he was the reason she’s not here.
And they hurt him because of it.
I’m the reason he’s so damaged, why his back is stripped, and why he hates being touched.
The reason he lost the job he loved.
Idoruin the lives of those I love.
I ruin it all.
