“You beat Chiara bloody because she got bitten by a snake,” I said. “You made her kneel in front of her siblings like an animal.”
His expression hardened. “Discipline.”
“She was terrified,” I reminded him.
“She disobeyed me.”
“She was eighteen,” I said.
“She was old enough,” he shrugged. “Mine to do with as I please.”
The words cracked through the room. Mine. I went still. Funny. I used the exact same language about her. But hearing it come from him made something sick crawl beneath my skin. Lorenzo noticed the shift in my face and smiled weakly through the pain.
“Finally,” he whispered. “Now you understand.”
“No,” I said quietly. “I understand that you never deserved them.”
His eyes flashed viciously. “You know nothing about raising children.”
“I know enough to recognize abuse when I see it,” I spat out.
Lorenzo barked out another ugly laugh.
“Abuse?” He shook his head weakly. “You soft fucking idiot. You think the world cares about gentle girls and sensitive boys? Men like us survive because we harden them young.”
“You didn’t harden them,” I snapped. “You terrified them.”
“They obeyed me, didn’t they?” he fought back.
“They feared you.”
“That’s the same thing,” he said with a vicious smile.
“No,” I said flatly. “It isn’t.”
The words hung heavily between us. The monitors continued their relentless beeping while rain rolled down the windows in crooked silver rivers. Lorenzo shifted again, breathing harder now.
“You really think they’ll thank you?” he demanded bitterly. “Chiara will hate you eventually too. Just like her mother did. Women always hate men who own them.”
Own them. Again. My jaw tightened painfully.
“You don’t even hear yourself, do you?” I asked quietly.
His eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You talk about your children like assets on a balance sheet,” I said.
“They are assets,” he replied.
“They’re human beings.” I couldn’t take this conversation anymore. “Unlike you.”
“Human beings are useful.” He smirked. “Useful for monsters like us.”
Something inside me snapped cold. I crossed the room slowly until I stood beside his bed. Towering over him. Lorenzo still tried to glare at me like we were equals. Pathetic.
“Aurora isn’t useful,” I said softly. “She’s angry because she spent her life trying to protect everyone while nobody protected her.”
His jaw clenched, but I continued. “Sienna isn’t useful. She’s a child.”
