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Enzo was in the backseat, legs stretched out, talking like he always did when he was nervous — which was constantly, apparently.
"I swear I didn't fall asleep," he said for the third time. "I remember a wolf."
I turned around in my seat. "There was no wolf."
"There was," he insisted. "Big. Hairy. Angry."
"It's vampire show," I said flatly.
"I'm pretty sure it was a wolf and vampire in a love triangle."
I sighed. "Enzo. That's Twilight."
There was a pause.
"...Okay," he admitted. "Maybe I wasn't paying full attention."
"Yes because you totally fell asleep!"
Nico groaned from the driver's seat. "You're both giving me a headache."
Despite myself, I smiled. It helped. Just a little.
Enzo chuckled, and teased him.
"Relax, Nico."
But the closer we got, the tighter my chest felt.
The 'alley house' sat hidden between abandoned buildings — a massive, empty warehouse that looked like it hadn't been used in years. No signs. No lights outside. Just concrete, steel, and silence.
This was their world.
The moment we stepped inside, my nerves came roaring back.
Angelo stood near the entrance. "Boss," he said, nodding to Nico.
Then his eyes landed on me, and his expression softened just a fraction. "Miss Daria."
I nodded back, my fingers curling into Nico's sleeve without realizing it. I held him tight, he let me.
The space opened up into a vast, dark room. Cold. And in the center of it, Sean Doyle was tied to a chair.
His gray suit was wrinkled now, stained with blood. One side of his mouth was split, dried red trailing down his jaw. He looked smaller than I remembered. Still cruel. Still cold.
But not powerful anymore.
Angelo pulled a chair out for me and set it down gently. I sat, my hands trembling in my lap.
Sean lifted his head and smiled.
"Daria," he said. "What's this? Did you come to save me?"
I swallowed hard. "No."
That wiped the smile off his face, and he looked away.
"I just want to know why," I said. "Why you did this. Why you kidnapped me."
He scoffed. "I already told you. I didn't want you. I wanted Nico."
"That's not an answer."
He leaned back as much as the restraints allowed. "You weren't supposed to exist."
My breath hitched.
Nico moved instantly. "Watch your mouth, Doyle."
"It's okay," I said quietly, lifting a hand. "I want the truth."
Nico hesitated — then stepped back, jaw tight.
Sean's eyes flicked over me. Cold. Appraising.
I frowned.
"I had a one-night stand," he said. "I had a family. She told me she got rid of it. I believed her."
"Me," I whispered.
"Yes. You." His voice was flat. "She lied. I didn't find out until years later. You were already seventeen."
My hands curled into fists. "So you cheated on your wife, got someone pregnant, and left her."
He laughed softly. "I wasn't about to ruin my life over a mistake."
"A mistake?" My voice cracked. "I'm a person."
"You're a consequence," he snapped. "And I have a family. A real one."
Something inside me shattered. How dare he?
"So instead of taking responsibility," I said, tears spilling freely now, "you blamed her. You blamed me."
"She should've known her place," he sneered. "A cheap whore thinking she could trap me—"
The punch landed before I even saw Nico move.
Sean's head snapped to the side, blood splattering the concrete. The punch landed hard.
"Nico!" I gasped.
"That's enough," Nico growled. "He's done."
Sean laughed through the blood. "Still defending her, huh? You don't even know the kind of woman she was."
I stood.
My legs were shaking, but I stood anyway.
"You don't get to talk about her," I said, my voice breaking but strong. "You cheated. You lied. You kidnapped me. You hurt people. And you think you're better?"
He sneered. "I think I protected my life."
"No," I said. "You're selfish. A coward. You protected your ego."
My chest hurt. My throat burned.
"She gave me up so I could be safe," I continued. "So I wouldn't grow up in this world. So I wouldn't grow up with your threats."
I wiped my tears angrily. "And I'm glad. I'm glad she did it. Because you would have destroyed me."
His smile faltered.
"You're nothing to me," I said. "And I hate that we share blood. I wish we didn't."
Silence fell heavy around us.
I turned away before he could say another word.
I walked out of the warehouse, my sob finally breaking free as the cold air hit my lungs.
I didn't look back.
Nico followed me outside immediately.
"Hey—hey, hey," he said, his voice low but urgent as he closed the distance between us. "Come here."
I barely felt him pull me in before I broke completely.
I collapsed against his chest, fists clutching his coat, sobs ripping out of me like I'd been holding them in for years. Nico wrapped his arms around me instantly, solid and unmovable, one hand cradling the back of my head, pressing my face into him like he was shielding me from the world.
"He's awful," I cried, my words muffled against his chest. "He's so awful, Nico. I hate him. I hate that he's my biological father. I hate it."
Nico's grip tightened just a little.
"I thought... I thought finding my biological parents would mean something," I sobbed. "I imagined answers. I imagined closure. I imagined something better than this." My chest shook violently. "It was better when I thought they were dead. It was better when I didn't know."
He didn't interrupt. He just held me, steady and warm, letting me fall apart.
When my sobs slowed enough for me to breathe, Nico spoke.
"Daria," he said softly, his voice firm but gentle, the way someone speaks when they mean every word. "Not all of it is lost. I promise you."
I shook my head against him. "It feels like it is."
"It's not," he said immediately. "Listen to me."
He tilted my face up just enough so I could hear him clearly, though he didn't force me to look.
"I found your mother."
My breath hitched.
"She's nothing like him," Nico continued. "Not even close. He made her life hell. She didn't deserve any of it. This was meant to happen so we can stop Doyle, from ruining her life."
My heart pounded painfully in my chest.
"She knows you exist," he said. "And she cares. She's always cared."
I let out a broken sound.
"She didn't give you up because she didn't want you," Nico said, his voice roughening with emotion. "She gave you up because she wanted you safe. Because she loved you enough to want you to have a normal life. One without him."
My knees nearly gave out again.
"You were protected, Daria," he said. "Even before you ever knew it. "
I cried harder then, my face pressed back into his chest, my body shaking as everything I'd been holding inside finally spilled out.
"I'm so tired," I whispered. "I feel so alone."
Nico's hand slid slowly through my hair, soothing, grounding.
"You're not alone," he said firmly. "You have me. You have Lizzy. You have Enzo." His voice softened. "You have people who love you. People who choose you."
He kissed the top of my head, lingering.
"I'm not going anywhere," he added quietly. "Not now. Not ever."
I clung to him like he was the only thing keeping me upright — because right then, he was.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, I truly believed him.
Hate to see my baby Daria cry.
also ... we were at 3k... now 7k reads! ok wow?!?! THANK YOU BABES SO MUCH