Maddie didn’t say a word. She sat in her chair, her face unreadable, and I knew I was going to lose her again.
“Your father—” I stopped and shook my head. “Nolan beat me.”
Maddie gasped, her hand going to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. “What?” she whispered.
“No one knows. Not your father, not my brother. Eamon knew, and he did nothing. He believed it was a husband’s job to keep his wife in line. By any means necessary.”
“Grandma?” Maddie asked, and I shook my head.
“They weren’t married. He provided for her financially because she was my mother, even after I married. But he never dictated her life. Not that I know of anyway.”
“I never saw him hurt you,” Maddie whispered as she reached over and held my hand.
“No, he was good about not doing it in front of you and not leaving any marks where they could be seen. Except for that one time.”
“The Foundation Ball.”
I nodded. I’d told Maddie I’d been mugged, but I didn’t want anyone to know. I’d lied to her. It wasn’t the first time, either.
“You should have told Uncle Sal,” she chided.
I shook my head. “I couldn’t.”
“If you had, I might still have Henry,” she said.
I knew her words weren’t meant to hurt me.
“You might not have Henry at all. You might not have met your husband.”
Maddie took a deep breath and nodded. She sat back, and I saw the question in her eyes.
“If I’d known about Henry, I might have said something. I might have let Cian kill him. But, like you said, hindsight is always 20/20.”
I saw the files on the table and pulled them closer. I placed my hand on them and took a deep breath. Cian would be angry when he found out I’d brought Maddie into this. But this involved her. This involved her family.
Henry’s family.
“Henry might never have been safe. I went into your grandfather’s office and found files of information, things he was involved in. Unfortunately, all the information we found is over two decades old. We don’t know who took over when he died. There are numerous names in these files; most of them are dead now as well. But even with theSocietyand the Trick Pony gone, given what is going on with King’s club, it feels like maybe this is all still happening.”
I looked at my daughter, hoping she saw the compassion in my eyes.
“Your father-in-law is one of the names on this list. Now I know you’ve never met him. He died in 2014, but is it possible his sons took over his division?”
Maddie shook her head. “No. Not after what Layla went through. Giovanni would never.”
“Who’s Layla?”
“Giovanni’s wife. Salvatore told me about his family. About what they’ve been through. Layla was raped by her father, Sebastian Capribella.”
“Wait, that’s one of the names on this list.” I dug through the papers, looking for the list of names. “Here it is.” I passed the paper over to Maddie, letting her look at the list of names.
“I’ve heard about Capribella and Bianchi. Capribella worked with theSociety,as did Bianchi. Salvatore’s cousin’s wife was taken by Bianchi.” Maddie’s voice was quiet when she added, “She was taken to a breeding farm.”
“I have files on the breeding farms. Records of transactions. Do you know when she was taken?”
“It was before I knew him. Before his father was killed, but not before Grandfather died.” Maddie looked up at me, her eyes wide. “Do you think Salvatore’s father was involved?”
“His name is in the files, Maddie. He was Bianchi’s competition; I assume Bianchi was responsible for your father-in-law’s death.”
