Chapter 36 ROSE #2
I flick my gaze to my brother for help, my pulse pounding in my ears.
Elio leans back in his chair lazily with a sinister smirk playing on his lips. “You didn’t really think I’d stand by and let our father’s murderer get into your knickers again, did you, sorella?”
Dan’s jaw tightens. “You set me up?”
Magnus shrugs like it’s nothing. He chews another grape and smiles, shark-like. “If anyone could locate my wife, it’s you, Bianchi. You led me right to her. But getting you here was easier than I thought.”
Dan looks down at me, doubt flickering in his eyes. “Were you in on this, too?”
His words slice me open. My breath catches, but I manage to croak out. “Of course not.” I’m paralysed in my seat. Tears prick my eyes, blurring my vision, but I don’t dare let them fall.
As if in slow motion, Angelos’ small, trembling hands reach around Elio and close over the gun lying on the table. My heart lurches to my throat. No. No, no, no.
“Angelos!” My voice is raw, but he doesn’t stop.
With venom twisting his young face, he raises the weapon, his arms shaking with the effort. His gaze lands on Dan, his silvery eyes dark with hatred. “I heard what you said. You put Dad in prison. And now you’re going to finish the job.”
Dan lifts his hands slowly, palms open, trying to defuse the explosion about to ignite. “Put the gun down, son.”
“Don’t call me that!” Angelos snaps. His voice wavering with confusion cracking at the edges. “I’m not your son.”
My lungs seize. No air. It takes every ounce of strength I have left to push my chair back and get to my feet, my knees trembling under me. “Yes, you are,” I whisper.
Angelos’ hand shakes as he holds the gun, still pointing at Dan. His eyes flick to Magnus. “Dad?”
Magnus’s face contorts, a hint of triumph gleaming in his eyes. “Kill him, son,” he orders coldly. “He’s poisoned your mother with lies.”
My stomach twists with nausea. Magnus’s got his claws on my baby.
Mamma coughs weakly at the table, her voice rough as gravel. “Angelos… put the gun down.”
But Angelos’ hands tighten on the weapon. Tears streak his cheeks, but his aim at Dan doesn’t falter. “I won’t let you kill my dad.”
“Please, Angelos. Listen to me,” I beg, every word torn from my chest. It’s as if my feet are made of lead as I drag them the few steps towards Dan.
I need to protect him. I can’t lose him now.
Not after everything we’ve been through.
Because I’d sooner have him in my life with no trust than go back to my old life with Magnus.
“Pull the trigger, Angelos,” Elio barks. “He murdered your grandfather in this very room.”
“No.” I step in front of Dan, hoping Angelos will listen to reason, but Angelos squeezes his eyes shut.
The crack of the gunshot splits the air.
Blind, searing pain rips through my abdomen. My breath rushes from my lungs like a tidal wave sucked out to sea. I stagger backwards, clutching my side beneath my breast. Warm liquid spills through my fingers. I look down at my red-stained hand. So much red.
The room tilts, everything spinning around me, voices muffle, but through the din, one voice stands out.
Angelos screams, his voice splintered with horror. “Mum!”
I barely hear Dan shouting, or the surrounding chaos. My legs buckle, but Dan catches me. I’m floating, a bright light shines through the window as if shining just for me, but I fight it for my son. And for Dan. For the life he promised.
“Mummy, I’m sorry.” My boy’s tears splash my cheeks.
I lift a trembling hand, cupping his wet face, my palm so weak I can hardly feel him. My breath is shallow. Every inhale is a battle.
“This isn’t your fault, son.” Dan’s voice cracks as if he’s speaking the words I long to say.
The world dims at the edges as I fade into the light.
“Rose. Stay with me, Rose.” Dan’s voice pulls me back like an anchor. His grey eyes, dull like unpolished steel submerged in water. Pressure under my ribs makes it difficult to breathe and I feel the pull to the light again where it was peaceful.
Dan’s voice roars over me, ragged with rage and fear. “Get a fucking ambulance.” He barks like a wounded animal. “If she dies—so do you!”
My chest rises and falls in painful heaves. I fight for every breath, dragging air into my lungs through sheer will alone. “Angel—” I can’t get his full name out. My voice is as thin as a petal.
“Mum,” Angelos sobs, shaking me.
I force my gaze to meet his, his beautiful face blurred by my fading sight.
It’s hard to speak. I can barely breathe.
So much chaos, but I hold my son’s gaze through his watery eyes.
“Dan’s…” I say the words on each exhale.
“Your…” My voice is a whisper now. “Father.” I’m slipping into that cold, quiet place.
No.
Not yet.
With everything I have left, I force the words out on a broken exhale before the darkness swallows me whole.
“Trust him.” The moment the words leave my lips, I’m weightless, falling into darkness, the present slipping through my fingers. Noise around me fades until it’s just echoes and I’m back there. Not now. Not again. But my mind drags me back to the first time my world fell apart.
Back in the shadows of the past…
Screams from downstairs pierce my ears as if they’re happening right now. Dan’s voice is gone, replaced by the alarms of memory as sirens wail, splitting the early morning silence.
I yank my dressing gown closed, and rush to the window.
Police cars race down the long drive of my family estate, lights flashing blue against the stone walls.
Panic crushes my chest. Dan. Where’s Dan? Have they found him? Are they arresting him? They don’t know he’s with me.
I run down the hall with bare feet.
Elio’s voice booms as I take the stairs. “Don’t touch anything!”
I freeze on the bottom step. "What’s going on?"
Mamma rushes to me, clutching me to her chest. "Thank God you’re safe."
But I twist away from her arms, my pulse thundering in my ears. Blood. So much blood. Only this time it’s not mine, but it might as well be if Dan’s dead, then so am I.
Blood smears the wall. A crimson trail leads me to the dining room.
“No,” I breathe, icy terror sinking into my bones. “No—not Dan.”
But as I take in my father’s body crumpled on the marble floor, a gunshot wound to his head. His eyes stare blankly at the ceiling. I feel nothing but relief.
I let out a breath, then the guilt wraps around my throat, suffocating me.
"Where’s Dan?" My voice cracks raw with fear.
Elio’s eyes darken. "Who the fuck is Dan?"
"My boyfriend." My heart races, my mind grasping for any thread of hope. "Daniel Harris!"
“You let a man into our home?” Elio spits.
My uncle looms behind him, fury carved into his face. “You stupid girl. He’s the angel of death, and he’s been picking off your father’s men one by one for the last month.” His slap across my face stings, my nose exploding with blood, but nothing stings more than the pain in my chest.
“No,” I whisper, my knees buckling beneath me. “He wouldn’t. There has to be an explanation.”
“He used you to get into our home,” Elio snaps, disgust curling his lip. “Why else would anyone date you, Rose? Think about it.”
Dan’s voice cuts through the haze, not from memory but from now, sharp and real, pulling me back from the abyss. “Rose.” His trembling hand caresses my face, warmth seeping into my cold cheeks.
I see the man I love from my past and present colliding in my fading vision, his eyes red and bloodshot, deep lines of worry etched into his beautiful face.
And I realise the truth.
He does love me.
He’s always loved me.
But now it’s too late.