My mind turns to how my mother treated me. How she abused me all my life. How Leo deceived me. How my father only wanted to use me for his own gains. This world is a messed up place and I can only rely on myself.
I want to feel powerful.
I raise the knife over my father’s heart.
“Emma, no!” Alessandro screams. “I am your father. Don’t do this!”
“You’re not my father.” Before I can stop myself, I slam the knife down, right into his heart. Alessandro gurgles before blood seeps out of his mouth and the light in his eyes dims until he dies.
It’s only then that I realize what I have done.
With a gasp, I step away from the man I just killed.
“Emma,” Leo says, placing his hand on my arm. “You’re ok. You did the right thing. Your father can never hurt you now.”
I turn to Leo and without even thinking, I press my lips to his and after a beat, Leo kisses me back like we both might die without it.
Chapter Thirteen
Leo
“Alessandro is dead,” I announce to Gabriel. He stares at me from his private booth at his restaurant.
“Leo… what did you do?”
I slide into the seat opposite him. “I killed him.” Technically it was Emma but I don’t want Gabriel knowing that. For some reason, I want that to be mine and Emma’s little secret. “He attacked my house. Tried to take Emma from me. I saw an opportunity. So I killed him. You can’t blame a man for protecting his home and wife.”
Gabriel runs a hand down his face, sighing heavily. “Ok. Alessandro is dead. Maybe this will be a good thing. But word will spread. His men will know he went to your house and whenhe’s not found, they’ll know you’re the one responsible. You’ll have more men coming for you, Leo. As my friend, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’ll be fine. Alessandro was the problem. I did try questioning him about his followers but he didn’t give me anything. It was just easier to kill him. He needed to die. He was causing problems. And we should spread the word ourselves. If his followers know we’re the ones who killed both Giovanni and Alessandro, then that will make them back off. They’ll be frightened off us.”
“You’re right. We’ll get ahead of this. I just wished you had consulted me first before killing Alessandro. I am still your boss after all.”
“I know, boss. And I’m sorry. But I’m not sorry Alessandro is dead.”
“You don’t need Emma anymore.”
Gabriel’s words hit me right in the stomach. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you don’t need her anymore,” he says with a shrug. “You only took her to use against Alessandro and now he’s dead. You should give her back to her mother. We don’t need Valentina causing problems either.”
My hands clench into fists. “I am not giving Emma back to her mother. She abused Emma all her life. Kept her locked away.”
“Isn’t that you what you have done?” He takes a sip of his water. “You made Emma your prisoner. Now it’s time to let her go. I don’t want more problems on my hands. Give Emma back to her mother and be done with all of this.”
“She’s my wife.”
“And you only married her to hurt Alessandro. But he’s dead now. So you can let her go. Get a divorce. Move on.”
“What if I don’t want to move on?” I ask through gritted teeth.
Gabriel stares at me for a long moment. “Do you actually care for the girl?”
“No,” I say on instinct but I know deep down that it’s all a lie.
“Mmm. Well, I suggest you should give her back. If her mother starts causing problems, then you need to deal with her too. Let Emma go, Leo. It’s for the best.” He turns to his phone, effectively ending the conversation.
I return home to find Emma still asleep. It was a long night last night. Killing her father. Because I made her.
