Chapter 1 #3
She’s a sweet-looking little girl. Her hair is a darker, honey blonde, and she has a little button nose. She hangs on to a stuffed animal in a couple of pictures, and her hair is pulled back by a little bow or braid in most of the pictures.
Fucking bows.
I hate how the sight pulls at my heartstrings, and all I can imagine now is our daughter in something similar.
These pictures seem legitimate and are all of the same girl—and an older woman in some.
She looks just as sweet as Elizabeth, but she’s clearly not related to them by the darker skin and different facial structure.
I look back up to Victoria, and even though I do see the resemblance between her and the little girl, I don’t let my curious face ease up.
“You better start explaining. Now,” I demand, and she nods as she presses the rag to her arm like the pain doesn’t even phase her.
The only thing she’s looking at is this phone, as if she’s terrified that I won’t give it back to her.
I hate how that instantly makes me feel guilty.
If this is all true, that would explain why Damien wanted to bring her here.
But we still need to take everything she says with a grain of salt until we’re sure she’s not lying.
“I didn’t know who my dad really was for a long time,” she says softly.
“To me, he was just my dad. I never knew anything else. I was home-schooled, and I wasn’t really allowed to make friends or go out, but I was stupid enough then to believe that it was just because my dad wanted to protect me.
Then he brought home her mother.” She points to the phone.
“I woke up one night to screaming, and when I rushed downstairs, my father was watching her be drug down to our basement. She was kicking and thrashing, and I didn’t understand why he would do something like that to her.
Let’s just say I asked too many questions. ”
She swallows harshly and continues to stare at the phone.
While I’m still wary, part of her story explains why there’s so little about Victoria.
We figured it was because of his side activities, but this pretty much confirms it.
He obviously kept her from the public eye for a reason.
So, of course, when things about her started to leak, he would’ve had to adjust for Elizabeth and limit her even more.
“Short story is that she was born at home, and her mom…died. So, I took care of her. Well, the best that I could, anyway. He would never let me take her to the doctor, or even to the park. Any time she was sick, he would bring a doctor to the house, and he had someone bring me supplies whenever I ran out. Non—” She stops abruptly and swallows back her words.
“Our nanny helped too, and she’s who has her now, but Saconne and my father won’t hesitate to hurt her.
I know that. Even if you don’t believe me, I need to get her back.
I have to know that she’s safe and away from them. ”
“What does any of that have to do with Damien?” Zeke asks hatefully, like he’s already sick of Victoria’s voice.
“When I found out who he was, and I watched why DeLuca was so obsessed with him, I asked for his help. I told him that if he promised to help me when we escaped, then I would get him out.”
“How did you end up with the Italians in the first place?” I ask her.
“I honestly don’t know the whole story. One day, I was in Elizabeth’s room, playing with her.
Out of nowhere, my father’s guards rushed in, pulled me out of the room, and brought me downstairs, where they were all waiting for me.
He said I was a ‘gift’ in exchange for their help. That was about a year ago, now.”
“So, you expect us to believe that you’ve worked beside them for a year, and you not once tried to escape before now?
” Alex asks with his head tilted, like he’s not sure what to make of all of this.
With a stern glare, Victoria lifts her shirt enough to bare her torso.
There are a few scars, and a lot of bruising.
Some of the marks look like old cuts, and others look like burns.
There even appears to be a brand closer towards her hip bone, and I can’t help but clench my jaw at the snake-looking symbol.
“Trust me, I’ve tried, but after their first threats against my sister, I settled down for a while.”
“Why should we count on this? I mean, what makes you think we’re going to believe anything you say?
” I ask her, but the truth is that I already believe her.
I can see the way she’s desperate for this phone back, and what other reason would she have to help Damien?
Did she actually help him? I thought Zeke found him?
“I don’t care what happens to my father.” She looks at me with conviction. Her eyes are filled with hatred and a fire burns just on the other side of her dark irises. “Kill him, torture him, I don’t give a shit. I just want my sister. She’s all I care about.”
“We’ll discuss it more once Damien is awake and can speak for himself. For now, we need to think about how to move forward from here,” Alex decides. “Do we have to worry about Saconne?” he asks Victoria.
“On his own? Maybe, but he wouldn’t have the balls to run back to The Society. They’d kill him for failing.” Recognition charges at me with full force, instantly recalling what she just said.
“The Society? What the fuck is that?” Zeke asks. Victoria scrubs her hand over her face, and then runs it through her hair.
“Jesus, this is going to be a long day…”
If The Society has Hartley, he’s long gone…
“Popov…” I whisper, remembering those words coming from his mouth. “He said something about them, remember? Just before we killed him? I didn’t even think about it then…”
“Whatever,” Zeke retorts and brings his focus back to Victoria. “Bottom line, do we need to be concerned about Saconne right now?”
“I don’t think so. You all killed anyone they had here in the state the moment you killed Sette.
If he were to retaliate, and if The Society were to back him up, he’d have to explain himself first. I doubt they’d let him live long enough to get the full story out.
They don’t do well with failure, from what I’ve heard. ”
“Who the hell is Sette?” I look around at them, and Zeke nervously rubs the back of his neck, telling me that he already knows that answer.
“There’s a lot we need to tell you,” he says with a grimace.