"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, taking a seat again. “You can appreciate this is a lot to handle.”
"I do, and you should never have found out this way,” she sighed. “When Luc took over everything, Xavier tried to steer him and guide him, but Luc pulled away from him," Maria continued. "I think he was reminded too much of Charlie. Xav didn't make the effort. Why would he?"
I leaned back against the chair trying to wrap my head around what she was telling me.
"And then you came into Luc's life and things have been changing." Maria smiled. "I see it in him. I see how he's back to himself again. Less withdrawn and happier." Maria took me in. "I think he needs to know because sometimes I worry that without a hand he might spiral when things go askew. If he had Xavier to guide him then I would lessen the risk of losing another son, but he doesn’t need that when you’re in his life.”
From everything that had happened lately I didn’t think I was the safest bet for Luc to keep his life. I seemed to be bringing more trouble than I was worth.
“But Mia if he finds out, we ruin two families. Emilia would never forgive Xavier. Gabriel and Vittoria. Charlie's memory."
There were a lot more people involved in this than I had originally given thought to, but it didn't sit right with me. Despite what Maria had said and regardless of Xavier's threat, Luc deserved to know the truth about the people in his life. He’d requested honesty from me even before feelings were involved. He valued the truth and I couldn’t keep it from him any longer.
"You're leaving?" Maria asked as I stood from my seat.
"I can't lie to him," I told her.
"Mia."
"I'm sorry. I can't do it.” This was not a white lie about how many Christmas decorations we would have. This was life changing and I refused to be caught up in the web Maria and Xavier had weaved.
"Mia!" Maria called after me.
I kept walking until I was out of the hospital, but I didn’t drive home. Instead, I found myself driving towards Dad’s house. I wanted to see my Dad and put things right. I was lucky to have him, and it was stupid to let Luc come between us. And once I got him to see sense, I could go home and break the news to Luc.
It was going to be a long day.
Chapter Sixty Four
Lucas
Alot had happened over the past few weeks, so when Mia told me she wanted to visit Mom I had bristled. It would be better for her to rest and recoup. I knew she hadn’t been sleeping well, often awake in the early hours of the morning. She had dealt with death and guilt and sickness, and although I learned Mia wasn’t as fragile as she looked, I was also unsure how well she was truly coping with everything. What I did know is that she hated me hovering nearby and I trusted her to tell me if something was wrong.
Work had run a little later than expected and I hoped Mia would be understanding tonight. I had tried to call her, but she didn’t answer, most likely up to her eyeballs in wedding magazines, which would be my task tonight. Something brighter to focus on after all of the stress and bleakness we’d been dealing with.
"Mia?" I called, walking through the house.
"Evening, Luc," Lydia greeted me as I walked into the kitchen.
"Hey. Is she upstairs?" I asked.
"No," Lydia said to me. "I thought she was with you."
Something inside me sank. Mia had gone to see Mom in the morning, and she was meant to come straight home after that. If she had passed out again…
Pulling out my phone, I called her again, but it went to voicemail. A quick call to Kelly confirmed that Mia had left the hospital hours ago. Dante and the twins also hadn’t seen her, so I relented to tracking her phone. Mia was never going to have electronics returned to her without something that allowed me to ensure I knew where she was for circumstances such as this.
As I received her location, I was surprised to find she was at her home. Leaving the house, I got into my car again and drove to Hector’s. When I parked, I waited a few moments before deciding to join them. Good or bad, I needed to show my face. And given how late it was getting and how long she had been here, if she arrived after leaving the hospital then it wasn’t just bad but catastrophic.
I didn’t intend to play referee tonight, but I’d back Mia until Hector saw sense. She deserved to have her father walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. It wouldn’t be her perfect day if he didn’t, so I could put my own reservations aside as long as he didn’t upset her any further.
Knocking on the door, I was met with silence. I knocked again but nothing. When I pushed at it, it opened with ease and I walked in quietly. What I’d expected was to hear them talking, maybe even arguing but instead, I was met with an eerie quiet.
When I walked further into the house, I caught sight of Mia on the floor, Hector's head cradled in her lap and her hands covered in blood. It coated the rug in a deep shade of red and I could see several bullet wounds in Hector's body.
"Mia," I said, looking back to her.
