Chapter 44 #2
He nodded. “He… found out about her somehow,” he muttered under his breath. “Dick Freud has to go.”
I knew he was right, but seeing my father’s beaten body was a shock to the system. My code of conduct was to not hurt anyone, yet in the span of a few weeks, I had almost hurt a madwoman and now it would seem I was about to witness my father’s execution.
“You’re right.” I swallowed, just as Lykos let out a relieved breath. “But why are you torturing him rather than killing him?” I whispered.
“Okay, this is something for you two to discuss,” Salvatore said, then brushed past me and disappeared behind a door. Shortly after, I heard running water.
I looked at Lykos. He watched me with unreadable dark eyes. There were a few specks of blood on his throat.
“I know you’re a mobster. I’ve talked to my share of criminals,” I started. For Pete’s sake, I’d had sessions with Dante Leone, Christian DiLustro, and many others. “I don’t expect you to be a saint or anything, but I think I’m owed an explanation. I hope you don’t get off on torture.”
My father started to laugh and I startled, looking back at him. I wasn’t sure how he was still capable of any sound with the way he looked. Lykos shot across the floor and got right in his face. “Shut the fuck up, or I swear I’ll cut your dick into pieces while you watch.”
My father threw his head back and laughed harder while I stared, confused.
“You won’t tell her,” my father drawled, coughing as words left him. “But I will.”
“Shut the fuck up, Dick,” Lykos bellowed, but my father wasn’t even looking at him. His eyes darted between Aria and me, the expression in them full of hate.
“It was supposed to be you,” he said.
I blinked, my brows knitted in confusion.
Lykos’s fist flew across the air and connected with my father’s jaw. “I said shut the fuck up.”
His head flew to the side along with spittle, but that didn’t seem to stop his manic laughter.
“What do you mean it’s supposed to be me?” I breathed. Lykos went to hit him again, but I stopped him. “No, Lykos. I want to know. I need to know.”
His jaw clenched. “Violet, I don’t want this asshole hurting you. He doesn’t deserve to breathe, never mind talk to you.”
I shook my head. “He can’t hurt me. I just need to know the truth.”
He gave a terse nod, his displeasure obvious, but said nothing more.
“The kidnapper was supposed to snatch you, Violet.” My father’s voice was full of rage and his eyes burned with disgust. “Not my Lily. You!” he screamed.
His head turned in Aria’s direction and I stepped in his way, blocking her from his view.
“And that girl… your daughter. May you both be cursed, you fucking bitches.”
My mouth parted and I took a small step back.
“But you snuck out of the house,” he continued, hate lacing every word, “and you gave her that necklace. That cursed necklace.”
My hand went to the pendant. “You gifted it to me.”
His lip curled with disgust and something ugly and terrifying.
“It was to mark you. So they knew which daughter was disposable,” he spat, hatred lacing every word.
The word disposable sent an echo through me, building up my dread.
Then he let out a howling sound that sent shivers down my spine. It was a broken kind of sound that left ice in its wake.
“But they took my Lily,” he choked. “They hurt her. They carved her up like she was meat and disintegrated her into nothing. All that remained was that blasted necklace.”
My eyes widened as his words landed, impossible to grasp.
The world tilted and I swayed on my feet, but Lykos was right there next to me, offering support.
“Why?” I breathed, reeling from the shock. “Why do you hate me so much? Why?”
He didn’t answer.
“The Obsidian Society. Tell me about it,” Lykos demanded, stepping closer. Father shrugged, his eyes darting to the necklace around my neck. Lykos followed his gaze. “The symbol… It’s theirs, isn’t it?”
“Maybe. But you’ll never get close to them.”
“Give me a name,” Lykos hissed. “Because I sure as shit know you’re not the head of that organization.” Father chuckled, blood dripping down the corner of his mouth.
Lykos hit him, sending his head flying to the left. “I won’t ask again, Dick. I want the name.”
“There is no name,” Father croaked.
“Bullshit,” Lykos spat.
“Believe what you will,” Father mumbled. “I have no name to give you.”
“Why would you even be associated with something like that?” I asked, struggling to wrap my head around everything I was hearing. “Why?”
“It came with the territory. After all, your ancestors started it.”
Shock rolled through me and my eyes flew to Lykos to find him just as surprised by Father’s statement.
“Does Mom know about it?” I questioned.
He scoffed. “That dumb bitch.”
“Why?” I sneered. “Because she finally left you? She should have done that a long time ago.”
His lips curled and his eyes filled with rage.
“You can’t be mine,” Father muttered, his gaze turning wild. “You’re not mine.”
“You… you’re not my father?” Jesus Christ, how many more surprises would come my way today?
He scoffed, the sound brittle with contempt.
“Your mother swore you were mine,” he said, dragging out each word like it tasted foul.
“Even waved a paternity test in my face.” His eyes darkened.
“But when your family holds that much power, truth becomes negotiable. Results become whatever you want them to be.” His lip curled. “Your grandfather made sure of that.”
The accusation hung in the air, thick and suffocating.
“He’s lying. Or he’s too far gone to know the difference,” Lykos cut in, his voice low but edged with steel.
He stepped forward, placing himself between us, his body a shield.
“I’ve seen the results. The real ones. He’s your biological father.
” His jaw tightened, muscles twitching. “But he sure as hell never deserved you.”
My chest twisted—anger, pain, and regret tangling through my soul. Maybe it would be better if he wasn’t my father.
“She doesn’t deserve me or that money her grandfather left her,” my father sneered, blood speckling his lips as he laughed under his breath.
“You and that creature you’ve bred…” His gaze flicked toward Aria with open revulsion.
“You are the devil’s spawns.” His eyes snapped back to me, sharp and merciless. “Bastards. Every last one of you.”
Before I could say anything, a gunshot split the air, deafening me.
For a heartbeat, the world froze.
Then my father’s body jerked. His head dipped forward, chin hitting his chest as if in some grotesque bow. The life drained out of him in an instant, leaving behind nothing but slack flesh and silence.
The echo of the shot lingered, ringing in my ears.
Lykos stood there, arm still extended, the gun steady in his hand. Smoke curled lazily from the barrel, a ghost of what had just happened.
His expression was carved with fury as he said, “He doesn’t get to talk about you and our child. Ever.”
I wasn’t scared of him, but my mind whirled with so many thoughts that it was impossible to set them all straight.
That was, until I heard Aria’s voice behind me. “You… Violet, you’re my mother?”