Chapter 26
Grace
I’m barely walking as Alec pushes me toward the room. I know what door this is. The people who come in here never leave. Maybe my father’s disappointment in me not knowing a damn thing has finally led him to kill me. I don’t know, and I don’t care.
My uncle’s outside the door, and I can’t even look him in the eyes. His arms are crossed and I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t return his gaze. I can’t stand the sight of any of them. All those years I thought he protected me, I was a fool.
I thought he loved me, I thought he kept me safe. I was so wrong. He did nothing but keep me quiet. Maybe he prevented the beatings, but he never saved me. Not like Gio did.
The very thought makes my heart hurt.
They killed him.
I take in a sharp breath. At least Alec’s shoving against my back eases slightly as we approach the door. My uncle may have some influence, but it’s not enough. Not anymore. He let them hurt me. He was proud to tell me that Gio was dead.
I hate him. I hate all of them. I haven’t said a word to any of them. The only thing on my mind is how to get out of here. But I have to kill my father first. That is the only thing I’m focused on. The only thing that’s kept me alive since I’ve been back here, locked back in my room.
He hasn’t even tried to talk to me. He doesn’t give a fuck.
The only company I’ve had is my uncle. I couldn’t talk to him though. I didn’t say a word as he told me they were waiting to kill him. It was all about him. Why he couldn’t come to my rescue because it would have put him in danger.
I understand it. I do. But I don’t care.
All the years I spent here made me weak. Gio gave me a reason for living. He gave me a strength I never knew I had.
And now he’s dead.
My uncle’s hand rests on my shoulder, halting me in front of the door. His hand is rough and cold. He leans forward and talks quietly, “It’s going to be alright.” His soft words sink in, resonating in my very being.
I look him in the eyes. “No it won’t,” I say, and he flinches from my simple response. “It’s never been alright.” Truer words have never been spoken.
My gaze is ripped away as the door flies open, revealing my father.
I don’t drop my gaze. It takes everything in me not to glare at him. My hate has grown and consumed me. The wits I had before that kept me safe from his anger have all vanished. Beat me. Whip me. Humiliate me. I don’t care. The last thing I do will be to put this man in his grave.
“Grace,” he says, and his eyes are narrowed and his yellow teeth show through his sickening smile.
I don’t respond. Instead I walk in, ignoring him and preparing for whatever it is he’s going to do to me.
I only take two steps in and then I freeze. My legs go numb, and my knees threaten to buckle. I gasp, covering my mouth, my heart and body going cold. My eyes prick with tears. But I can’t let them come. He’s here. He’s alive.
My uncle grabs my waist and keeps me upright. My body’s trembling.
He’s alive.
“Gio!” I call out to him, and try to run to him. He’s not okay. His face is bloodied, and he has bruises and cuts all over his body.
I can’t stand the sight. Every inch of my body prickles with terror, and my blood runs cold. My uncle squeezes my forearms and pulls my back into his chest. I try to elbow him in his gut. I fight him, kicking and yelling for him to let me go. I can’t take my eyes away from Gio though.
“Grace,” he says and his voice is full of conviction as he struggles against the binds holding him to the chair. “Don’t touch her!” he screams. Just hearing his voice mends a broken piece of my soul. My voice cracks, and the words refuse to leave my lips.
I finally tear my eyes away from him and fall to my knees, my hands gripping my father’s shirt. “Please! Let him go!” My heart squeezes in my chest. If he ever loved me, he’d save him. A sob rips from my throat.
“He didn’t do anything, please-” The back of my father’s hand whips across my face. The force of the blow is so strong it makes my head spin as I land hard against the ground.
“You fucking cunt.” I open my eyes, and through my blurred vision I see Alec’s cruel smile and then my father’s.
My heart collapses. They’ll never save him.
I repress every emotion in me other than hate. A black void starts taking over.
I can hear the screaming. Gio and my father. The legs of the chair Gio’s tied to are scraping against the floor. But it all turns to white noise. My body heats and an anger I’ve never felt grips hold of me, bolting me to the floor as it seeps into my blood.
“You’re a fucking rat!” my father hisses as he crouches closer to me, close enough to hit me again.
My head flings to the side, and my lips pulse from the impact.
The stinging pain shoots from my heated cheek down my throat.
I anticipated it though. I only use it to fuel me and my growing rage.
My tongue darts out, and the metallic taste of blood fills my senses.
“She doesn’t know anything!” Gio screams. I stare at the cinder blocks on the wall, focusing on my breathing, taking in the room. Looking for options.
It’s quiet for a moment as my father paces. I know he’s going to kill Gio. I can’t let him. I won’t be able to breathe if I watch him die at the hands of my father.
I look over my shoulder. My captor, my master, my everything is so badly wounded and scarred. But he’s still fighting. I won’t stop fighting either. Not till the very end.
Gio’s eyes are darting from me to my father, the hardness in his features replaced by a vulnerability I’ve never seen as he says, “Just let her go.” His breathing is coming in heavy pants as my father lets out a humorless laugh. “She didn’t do anything. She didn’t tell me anything.”
I didn’t. I have nothing to tell. But the truth isn’t what my father wants.
This is just another reason for him to hurt me. Maybe enough to kill me this time.
“You’re my daughter. A Rossi!” He screams so loud in my face it makes my chest hurt.
I flinch out of instinct, and I hate it.
I scoot back on my ass, the hard concrete under my palms and watch as my father moves to the edge of the steel table on the backside of the room.
His rage is consuming him like the hothead he is.
Alec moves to the side as my father grips the table and flips it over, causing all of the knives and other weapons of torture to hurl into the air and crash onto the ground next to me. My arms cover my face as I turn my body.
Uncle Toni yells in Italian, grabbing my father by the arms and trying to keep him from beating me. Gio is screaming, his chair scooting closer and closer to me. But neither one of them can save me from the kick to my back. My father’s hard boot slams into me.
“I have a rat for a daughter!” The spit from his sneer hits my face as he grips my arm and turns me toward him as he yells, “A fucking traitor!”
I see the knife. The sharp edge of it is shining in the dim light coming from the hallway. I don’t hesitate to grab it, ignoring the kick to my stomach and quickly turn onto my back. It nearly slips from my sweaty palms as I grip it with both hands and reach up.
My father’s eyes widen as he crouches closer, intent on beating me again.
Intent on hurting me like he’s done for years. Expecting me to submit as I always have.
A violent scream rips through my throat as I plunge the blade into the side of his neck.
My heartbeat stills, and everything burns inside of me as I pull the knife out, blood gushing from his wounds and his body freezing in shock. And I stab him again, and again and again.