Chapter 103
ALEX
I stared at the bouquets surrounding my mother’s casket, desperate for the funeral to end. How do you honor the life of a woman you hated? Not even my grandfather had a kind word to say about his daughter.
He stood at the pulpit and gave a bullshit speech after assisting the Salvatores with the murder of his daughter. Pops had supplied the Salvatores with the drug my mother used to kill Evangeline Franco.
Mommy Dearest had it coming to her. She killed a legend and ruined the lives of the Salvatores. All so she could satiate her jealousy and greed. My mom deserved to rot in Hell.
Arlo had insisted on a Catholic funeral mass, even though we never went to church. I hadn’t been inside a church since I’d received Communion. It surprised me that the place didn’t burst into flames with so many sinners gathered under one roof.
Before the funeral ended, I shot up from the front pew, sick of wearing these heels, this dress, tired of pretending to give a shit. I rushed through a side door on the right of the church. Of course, Luca followed me.
I snapped my head in his direction. “I’m relieved.” I blew out a deep breath. “Does that make me a shitty person?”
“No.” He sat beside me on the steps. “She was a horrible person. Your mother deserved worse than what she got.”
I nodded. “My dad’s going home after the funeral. At least I won’t have to see him again.”
Luca held me in his strong arms, wrapping me in his heavenly scent. I rested my head on his chest and sighed.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“For what?”
I glanced up at him. “I know you did this.”
“You are a part of me, Alexandrea Wellington.” He slipped his fingers through my hair. “When someone hurts you, they hurt me.”
“My mother hurt you, too.”
“She hurt many people,” he whispered.
“I love you, Luca.”
He smiled, and then he kissed me.
A few days after the funeral, I walked through the Wellington Architecture and Design front doors with Marcello. The company now belonged to Aiden and me, which was my grandfather’s plan from the start.
The front desk and even the waiting area were vacant. Aiden was meeting me at the office to learn about the business. It didn’t thrill him to take over for our parents. But I wouldn’t have much time after the wedding to assume my new position at the Franco Foundation.
I’d only worked with my parents to help further my art career. Some projects I’d done for their clients had appeared in magazines. So, it was a win-win for both of us.
My stomach churned as we strolled down the main hallway. It was too quiet. Where were the assistants and architects they hired? I poked my head into the offices, with papers scattered on the desks and floors as if someone had gone through every cabinet and drawer.
I glanced over at Marcello, who poked his head into the offices.
We had spent little time together since I returned to Devil’s Creek.
Luca had claimed his possession of me, keeping me primarily to himself.
I hadn’t woken up from many nightmares after the night he climbed into Luca’s bed with us.
And when I awoke from one, Luca was at my side, rocking me back to sleep.
“Aiden,” I called out.
I heard a rustling from my office, and then Aiden’s blond head popped out the door.
“Where is everyone?” I asked him.
“I don’t know where the rest of the staff is hiding. I’ve been alone all morning.” He hugged me. “It’s always been just the two of us. That will never change.”
“We have a new family,” I pointed out, nodding at Marcello, who stood at my side like a good bodyguard.
Aiden released me from his grip and then looked at Marcello. He stretched out his hand, and the two of them shook hands. “Thanks for taking care of my sister.”
Marcello bobbed his head. “Of course. I made a promise.”
I glanced at Marcello. “Can you give us some time alone?”
Marcello studied my face for a moment as he considered my request. “I’ll be in the hallway. Keep the door open.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, drill sergeant.”
Before he could comment, I turned and entered the office with Aiden in tow.
“You should give Marcello a break,” Aiden said as I sat behind my desk. “He’s looking out for you.”
“I know. I’m just so sick of people following me around.”
“It’s for your protection,” he shot back. “Just let him do his job without complaining.”
“How would you feel if you had people watching over you every moment of the day?”
He plopped into the chair across from the desk. “I’d hate it. But I’m not the Queen of The Devil’s Knights. I’ve hated the idea of you and Luca since I met him. But you can do this. You have what it takes to become our queen.”
“How do you feel about the ceremony?”
Disgust scrolled across his face. “I’m not happy about it. But it’s tradition, a way to bind you with the Knights.”
Aiden rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. “Do you understand what’s involved? Because I don’t think you do.”
“I have to consummate my marriage to Luca. We’ve had sex in front of the Knights before.”
I left out the part about us doing a trial run before I lost my memories. The Knights had no secrets, but there was no point in rubbing it in his face.
Aiden shook his head and lowered his gaze. “Please, spare me, Lexie. He might be the leader of the Knights, but you are still my twin sister. This whole thing makes my stomach turn.”
“You worry about me too much.”
“Maybe not enough,” he challenged with venom in his tone. “If I hadn’t been so obsessed with The Serpents, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“Luca told me about them. But I want to hear it from your mouth. Why was it so important for you to join them? They’re criminals.”
“Pops,” he muttered. “When I turned eighteen, he took me to the Founders Club.” My eyebrows lifted, and he smirked. “Don’t give me shit after what you did with Luca at the club. I heard the rumors.”
“They’re not rumors.”
“Yeah, let’s forget about that.” He blew out a deep breath. “Anyway, on my eighteenth birthday, Pops told me I had to join The Devil’s Knights. He said I had to stop pursuing my street art. I wasn’t interested in joining a secret society, especially not one the Salvatores controlled.”
“You didn’t know about the Salvatores’ connection to The Serpents.”
“Nope. I got their attention on my own. But it wasn’t until Marcello pointed me in the right direction that I knew I was too deep. Then Luca made the introductions at The River Styx. I had to commit.”
“Why did you want to join them?”
“Because I wanted to impact the world. I could have gone down the traditional art route like you, but I wanted to do something that mattered.” He bit his bottom lip. “I mean… Not that your art doesn’t matter.”
I held up my hand. “I get it. You wanted to make a social impact.”
He nodded. “I blame our shitty parents. Maybe I wouldn’t have been so desperate for attention if they’d shown us an ounce of their time. They never loved us. Never even acknowledged us.”
“Because Mom sold us to the Salvatores before we were born. She’d washed her hands of us in the womb.”
“I wish she had just given us to Pops. Things would have been different if we had grown up in Devil’s Creek.”
“I doubt it. Luca and I would still be engaged. You’d still be a Knight. There’s no escaping Arlo Salvatore.”
He nodded in agreement. “So what’s the plan for today? Wanna sketch together and blow off some steam?”
“How would you like to paint with me in Evangeline Franco’s studio?”
He flashed a toothy smile. “Like you even had to ask.”
“Nothing will change after tomorrow night,” I told him.
“Lexie, your entire life is changing. After the ceremony, you will be our queen. And in one week, you will be a Salvatore.” He slid a package of paintbrushes to me. “I bought you this as a peace offering.”
I lifted the package from the desk and smiled. “Apology accepted.”