Chapter 41
GRACE
Ialways thought that running away from my childhood home would be the hardest thing I'd ever have to do.
But no, it's this.
It's leaving this beautiful Italian town. It's leaving the man who means everything to me.
My mother knows that I'll do anything to protect the people I love. Even if it means that I'll only ever get to love them from a distance. Even if it means I'll never get to hold them in my arms again.
I try not to think about any of it on the three-hour bus ride to Rome.
I left everything behind. I'm the only traveler without luggage. I take deep breaths as the panic attack creeps in.
I squeeze my eyes shut. And he's right there, like I never left. I see him so clearly. I hear his voice as he tells me to inhale and exhale slowly. I can even feel his hand squeezing mine, telling me that it will all be okay.
But it won't be.
Nothing will be okay ever again.
I try hard not to think about anything, but I end up thinking about everything.
All of my life flashes before me. In so many ways, it feels like my life didn't even begin until I met Dante.
He crashed into my world like a tornado and tore apart everything I thought I knew.
He made me want new things for myself. He gave me the space to grow wings and fly.
Despite all the fears and doubts my mother planted in me, he loved me for exactly who I was.
And I loved him back.
I always will.
I told myself I wouldn't cry, but I can't help it. I cry the entire way to Rome. My eyes are red and puffy by the time we reach the city.
I open the piece of paper with the address. It's afternoon now, so I have a few more hours before I have to face my mother.
I stop at a restaurant and ask for a table for one. They seat me near the window.
I order something to eat, but I don’t touch it. Instead, I watch the people passing by. I watch everyone else go about their day.
If this is going to be the end, I decide that I've lived a good life.
The little time I had with Dante is enough for a lifetime. And if there's a life after this one, I hope I find him again. I hope we meet. And I hope that all the circumstances will be just right. We'll do things the right way. We'll put our hearts on the line, and it will be worth it.
I wrote letters to my sisters before I left.
I thanked them for everything they did for me.
They protected me viciously, even when it meant that my mother would hurt them for it.
They were always there for me when I needed a shoulder to lean on.
The two of them were the brightest parts of my childhood.
More tears roll down my cheeks.
I wipe them away. I remind myself that I'm doing this for love.
I stay in the restaurant for as long as I can. But when the sky turns darker, I know it's time.
I walk to the address. My mother is staying at a gorgeous hotel.
I approach the front desk.
"Buonasera, I'm here for Malorie Thorne," I say.
"You must be Grace.” The receptionist beams at me. "Please follow me."
I'm escorted to the private elevator. I thought I would be afraid, but a familiar rage takes over me. It's the same rage I started feeling when my mother medicated Briar into a coma. It's the same rage that gave me the courage to run away.
The elevator doors open on the top floor.
"The suite is at the end of the hallway," the receptionist says.
"Thank you," I say, stepping off the elevator.
I take a deep breath as I look at the door at the end of the hallway. Paintings adorn the walls. Two security cameras on either side of the corridor watch me. I wonder if my mother knows I'm here.
I feel like a zombie as I walk toward that door. I feel as if my legs aren't my own. My body isn't mine.
I knock on the door.
It opens. I have to fight to swallow the scream that bubbles to life inside me.
A man stands before me. He has purple irises and pale white skin. He’s so close that I can see the white eyelashes that frame his eyes. I’ve heard of this man.
He’s been working with my mother.
“Hello, Grace,” he says. “I heard so much about you. Nothing good, though."
A sweet voice rings out from inside the suite. “Is my daughter here?”
The blood in my veins turns to ice. The shards cut through my veins, making me bleed from the inside out.
My mother is the only person who can inspire this kind of terror inside me.
"Yes," the man says, looking me up and down. "She's here."
He steps aside to let me in. As I pass through, he stands too close to me. A sickly sweet scent clings to him, like roses dipped in blood.
The moment I see my mother, it gets harder for me to breathe.
She's dressed in a metallic golden gown. She looks radiant, like she has sunbeams trapped underneath her skin. Her blonde hair frames her face like a waterfall. She's tall, elegant, and breathtakingly beautiful. She always has been.
Something flickers in her eyes when she sees me.
I used to delude myself into thinking that I would win her affection one day. I used to think that if I just did everything she wanted, she would deem me worthy of her love.
But over the past few months, I learned that love isn't something that needs to be earned. I don't need to work for affection.
"Mother," I say, facing her.
"Gracie," she says. “I’m glad you made the right decision.”
There’s satisfaction in her eyes. She loves having this power over me.
My chest begins to heave. I can feel my face turning red. I gasp for air, but none of it reaches my lungs.
“Air,” I say, glancing around at the room. “There’s no air.”
Every single window in here is sealed shut.
I rush to the nearest window and throw it open. It’s only when I put my head outside that I can breathe again.
“Some things never change, I guess,” my mother says. “You’ve always been the weakest one. But still, it’s nice to have you back.”
My head fills with white noise.
I whirl around to look at her.
"You can cut the bullshit, Mother,” I say. "I know this is all just some sick power game to you."
"I don't know how I raised such an ungrateful little brat." Her voice remains sweet even as it drips poison. "I gave you everything, even more than you deserved. And this is how you talk to me?"
There's no point in arguing with her. She always wins.
And right now, she's baiting me on purpose. She feeds off other people's pain.
Even though I want to rage at her, I don't give her the satisfaction.
"I have no reason to be kind to you," I say. "You made me leave behind everything I ever loved."
"It's for the best," she says. "I've seen what he looks like. He was probably only using you."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" I ask.
“He’s an attractive man,” she says. “And you’re…well, you.”
My face heats. I try to hold on to the anger, but it fades. Tears prick the backs of my eyes.
I know exactly how shallow my mother is, but it never stopped me from wanting her love.
"At least I don't have to buy affection like you," I say quietly.
"Excuse me?"
I glance at the albino man behind me. He's seated on a sofa, looking positively bored by this whole conversation.
"If it weren't for your money or power, nobody would want anything to do with you," I say. "Including him."
Her eyes are twin pools of fire now, blazing right at me.
“You had so much power over Chloe, Briar, and me when we were kids," I say. "I bet it kills you that we have lives of our own now. I bet it hurts so much that you no longer have us wrapped around your finger. And Mother?"
Her jaw is tight as she watches me.
She never resorted to physical violence. It just wasn't her style. But I wouldn't be surprised if she delivered a blow to my face now.
"You're empty inside," I say. "That's the reason you are the way you are. You try to fill it with greed and pride, but there's nothing of substance to your life. Yes, you're beautiful, but you're also vain and unhinged.”
I know there's no going back from this.
She's going to make me pay for all of this. But I've had enough of her trying to dictate what my life should look like.
"Fuck you for everything," I say. "Fuck you for giving us drugs and poisons to control us.
Fuck you for using us against each other.
Fuck you for putting Briar in a coma. Fuck you for always treating Chloe like trash because she's your stepdaughter.
And fuck you for making me believe my entire life that I wasn't good enough. "
"It's not my fault you were born oversized and plain," she says. "You get that from your father."
I stare at her in disbelief. There's truly no point in trying to talk to her. But I said everything I wanted to say.
And for the first time, I see her for what she truly is.
"I pity you," I tell her. "You project all of your insecurities onto the people around you, but none of this was ever about us. It's always been about you. You don't think you're enough. You don't think you're worthy of love. Of course, there's also the fact that you're a total nutcase, but—"
"You little cunt," she says, finally lunging for me.
Before she can touch me, there’s a shift in the air. I hear a faint whistling sound before a red hole appears in my mother’s forehead. Two more follow, just to be safe.
My mother slumps to the floor.
I step back as a pool of blood surrounds her head.
The suite door slams shut. Her accomplice tries to flee. It's the smart move, considering Dante's team has completely surrounded the hotel. Still, he’s a dead man walking.
I glance out the open window. There’s a dark figure on the rooftop of the opposite building.
I look into Dante's eyes.
He's the reason I felt bold enough to face my mother. He's the reason I got all of these feelings off my chest. He gives me wings, letting me become the kind of person I always wanted to be.
I exhale slowly and glance down at my mother.
Her indigo eyes are devoid of any emotion. There's no more haughtiness, no more cruelty. She's gone.
It doesn't give me any joy to see her lifeless body on the floor.
But I'm not sad about it either.
A moment later, Dante enters the suite. He holds me close to his chest. I can hear his heart beating wildly in his rib cage, mirroring mine. When we're skin to skin like this, it feels like our hearts are twins—beating as one, existing as one.
"I was so scared," I say.
"You did such a good job, Grace," he says, cupping the back of my head. "And I would have never let her hurt you."
"I wasn't worried about myself," I say. "I was worried that she would somehow take me away. I was worried that she would keep us apart."
"It's all over now," he says, stroking my hair as I sob on his shoulder. "Nothing and nobody will ever try to hurt you ever again."
My mother is taken away in a body bag. The floor is cleaned, removing all traces that she was ever even here. Even the security footage will be erased. It will be a perfect murder.
She will disappear off the face of the earth.
It will be like she never existed.
It's hard to imagine a world without her. She's ruled over us for so long that it's going to feel strange with her gone. My sisters and I no longer have to live in fear.
"So much is changing," I say, holding him close to me. "A part of me thought I would really lose you, Dante. It felt too good to be true."
"You're never getting rid of me," he says.
"Even when the contract ends?" I ask, looking up at him.
"I tore up those papers weeks ago," he says. "You're all mine now. You have been since the moment I laid eyes on you."
There's a darkness in his eyes that should scare me. But I happen to like the possessive side of him. I like it when he goes all caveman on me.
"Kiss me," I whisper.
There are people all around us, but he tugs me even closer. He kisses me like we're the only two people in the world. I'm almost lightheaded when he pulls away.
I blink up at him.
"Thank you for doing this for me," I say. "You have no idea how much it means for my sisters and me.”
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Thank you for trusting me enough to confide in me," he says.
One of his men sprays disinfectant on a nearby table, then wipes it down. It's probably to get rid of DNA.
"Does this mean that I'm an accomplice to murder now?" I ask, looking back at Dante.
"Yes," he says. "You're my little criminal now."
He kisses the tip of my nose before capturing my lips again.
I melt into my husband’s strong arms.
I’m safe here.
I always will be.