Chapter Forty-six #2
And for the first time, I don’t recognize him.
The man I love is gone.
And all that’s left is a monster.
Lorenzo looks at Lev, stunned, and in that split second I shove Lev aside and stumble forward. My knees nearly give out when I see him.
My father.
Slumped in the chair. His face… God, his face. Swollen, bruised, cut open in places I can’t even look at for too long without wanting to scream. I drop to my knees, hands trembling, trying to move the chair, to free him, to do anything. But he’s too heavy, his body limp, head lolling.
“Dad?” My voice cracks, the word catching like glass in my throat. “Dad, please—”
His head turns toward me, just barely. A groan rips out of him, wet and broken. “Serena… please… leave.”
And I break.
Tears spill down my cheeks as I throw my arms around him, pressing my face to his chest, ignoring the sticky warmth of blood soaking through my dress. My knees slip against the concrete floor, sliding into something wet. When I glance down, the world tilts.
John.
His body lies sprawled across the floor, his lifeless eyes staring wide open at the ceiling. A hole in his skull. Brains painted across the ground. My stomach heaves, bile rising, and I vomit right there, choking on sobs.
Andres is suddenly at my side, trying to hold me up, but I shove him away.
“Don’t touch me!” My voice is raw, shredded.
I turn on Lorenzo, my tears blinding me, my whole body shaking.
“What is this? Why is John dead, and why is my father,” my chest collapses, the sob cutting me in half.
“Why is he like this? Why are you doing this?”
He just stares at me. Unfazed. Hollow. Like he’s carved out his own humanity and left only stone.
“Is this because of me?” I scream. “Because of the wedding? Because of Ian?!”
Lev’s face hardens. Andres looks away, shame in his eyes. But Lorenzo, Lorenzo is unreadable, his face a perfect mask.
Finally, his voice cuts through the chaos, deep and cold. “Your father did more than try to take you away from me, Serena.” He pauses, his gaze like a blade. “He’s lucky he’s not the one with a bullet between his eyes.”
He nods at Andres, and together with Lev they cut the ropes from my father’s wrists. His body slumps forward into me, dead weight, and I catch him, hugging him as tightly as I can. My dress is scarlet already, but now it’s drenched in blood, soaking me with every shudder of his breath.
“What could he have possibly done for you to—” My voice cracks. I look at my father’s broken face and sob harder. “He’s unrecognizable, Lorenzo! You destroyed him!”
My father coughs, blood bubbling at his lips.
His eyes find mine, weak but full of something I’ve never seen before, remorse.
“Serena… I’m sorry. For everything.” His chest rattles as he speaks, tears spilling from his swollen eyes.
“I should’ve protected you… from her. From all of it. My sweet girl… I failed you.”
I clutch his hand, desperate, terrified. “It’s okay, Dad. You’ll be fine. We’ll call an ambulance, you’ll be okay.” I look up at them, pleading. “Call someone! Please, call an ambulance!”
They don’t move. Not Lev, not Andres. And Lorenzo, he just watches me. Silent. Empty.
I crawl closer to him, my knees slipping in blood, my chest burning. “If you ever loved me, please… help him.” My voice breaks as I beg, tears spilling faster. “I don’t know what he did, I don’t care, please, Lorenzo, help him. For me. For us. I love you.”
The words rip out of me like a confession, like a prayer. “Even after all of this, I still love you.”
For the first time, I see something flicker in his eyes. Hurt. Conflict. The monster cracks, just for a second, and I see him, the man who once danced with me in the rain.
And then he pulls out his phone. “I’ll call the doctor,” he says flatly. “He can stay with the nurse until the doctor arrives.”
Relief crashes through me, a fragile hope blooming in my chest. “Thank you,” I whisper, my voice shaking.
But then—
A sharp ping.
Andres’ phone lights up. He picks it up, reads something, and his face changes. Hardens. He stares at the screen for what feels like an eternity before he looks at Lorenzo.
“I think you should see this,” Andres says quietly, handing him the phone.
The shift is immediate. Lorenzo’s face darkens as he scrolls, his jaw tightening with every second. His eyes bleed into that icy rage I’ve seen before, but this time it’s worse. This time it’s final.
The phone shatters against the wall as he hurls it, the sound splitting the silence. I freeze, my chest tightening, every bone in me screaming that something terrible is about to happen.
He nods once at Andres.
And before I can react, Andres’ hands are on me, pulling me away from my father.
“No!” I scream, thrashing, my throat tearing from the force of it. “Don’t touch him! Please, Lorenzo! Please!”
“I’m sorry, princess.” Lorenzo’s voice is cold, final.
The gunshot explodes.
Blood sprays across the floor. My father’s body jerks once, then slumps, lifeless. His eyes go empty, staring past me, past everything.
And in that instant, my world collapses.
I can’t breathe. I can’t scream. I can’t do anything but fall apart as the man I love destroys the last piece of my heart.