38. Killian
Dario promised he would take my mother to the house and wouldn’t let her do anything until we get there.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve imagined Franco’s death. In my mind, the act has taken all kinds of forms: death by drowning, flogging... I even thought of buying some rare piranhas and feeding parts of him to the beasts.
What I never took into account was allowing the woman who brought me into the world to avenge him for herself and her sons.
Franco has many enemies and victims. But his greatest enemy is the woman who warmed his bed every night without a choice or the possibility of saying no.
Many people refuse to justify rape between spouses. For many, even in this modern world we live in, women are just tools, and once they get married, they must serve their husbands in bed.
I know this will be the last time I visit these walls. A place where both men and women have suffered their greatest nightmares.
Today, this place will burn to the ground immediately after the man responsible for all the crimes that took place here disappears.
“Are you sure you want Mom to do this?”
Maddox has a soft spot in his heart for Isabella. She was the mother he never had. His mother is still alive, and he protects her as much as he can or as much as she lets him, but she never acted like a mother to him.
Maddox doesn’t blame her. He knows what reality she was born into, and he understands she must continue to live the life she knows.
“I don’t know, but I won’t take the right from her. Besides, Isabella’s hands are covered in blood. You know that.”
Maddox shrugs and runs a hand over his bald head. He hasn’t stopped doing that since we decided on Franco’s end. I know he hates the man just as much if not more, than I do.
Franco may have abused me, but he kept me, knowing I would probably inherit his kingdom. With Maddox, that wasn’t the case, and Franco made sure to scar nearly every inch of his skin.
“You can take part in his death,” I offer Maddox.
“I’ll even let you start if you want. You know you deserve to punish him, just like the rest of us. You’re his son. That he didn’t accept you as such is his stupidity.”
Madd was always disposable to Franco. The one sent to do all his dirty work, knowing he would get nothing in return. At least I knew I would get a place in this fucked up hierarchy Franco created.
Meanwhile, Santino always got everything and anything he wanted. I think it’s because Maddox and I don’t look anything like Franco. The only thing we got from him is the dimples in our faces. Beyond that, we’re a copy of our mothers.
Still, despite everything, he passed on much of himself to us in other ways, even if he doesn’t see it when he looks at us. He passed on his cruelty. He taught us to be unforgiving, and today, we’ll show him that the students have surpassed the teacher.
“It’s not our show,” Maddox says with a nod of acceptance. “We’ll do what Mom tells us.”
I take Maddox by the shoulders and hug him. He doesn’t resist. We were never to show affection. It was an unequivocal prohibition in the home of the Fierro family. But after meeting Maricela and witnessing Julian’s love for his family and the affection they lavished on my little girl, I decided I would take matters into my own hands. Touch has always been our enemy, but I am ready to do everything for it to become our friend.
“You’re right,” I finally say.
While Maricela, Raven and even Lila, of all people, are with Raven’s guards, I arrange for Pedro to take us to the mansion, leaving our vehicles in the garage of the building that houses our offices as an alibi The fewer vehicles seen around the Fierro mansion at the time of his death, the better.
Pedro pulls the car up to the back entrance as instructed. He didn’t speak the entire drive here, but I know he was listening. He always does.
As he puts the car in park, the man who was always here like a warm and cheerful ghost turns in his seat to face us. “Master Killian.”
“Yes, Pedro?”
“Make him suffer like he made my girl suffer.”
I stare at him, not bothering to hide my shock, and he lowers his head before saying, “She begged me to keep my mouth shut, and I made a promise. All these years, every time I looked at you, I wanted to tell you the truth more than anything in the world, and if you want to punish me, I’m ready to suffer any punishment for that girl.”
I don’t know how to feel about everyone around me who knew the truth and didn’t share it, but the thought that repeats itself over and over is gratitude. I’m more than grateful that they were there for her when I wasn’t.
“You won’t be punished for anything. Thank you for being there for her. You’ll tell me everything she won’t be able to say later. I need to know everything.”
The smile I get is full of teeth and hatred. He hates Franco just as much as we do.
Like the front entrance, no one, not even bodyguards, surrounds the back entrance to the house.
Franco never wanted to draw attention to the back entrance because it leads to his secret cellar. The smell of blood, dust, and urine that no one bothers to remove surrounds the place.
Most of the blood on the walls is either Maddox’s or mine. Franco’s enemies were taken care of in other places. This place was kept specifically for us.
A smaller staircase next to the significantly larger steps comes into view. This place doesn’t just belong to Franco’s sons. It belongs to his wife as well.
The number of times he raped her here in front of my eyes and in front of my brothers’ eyes is unimaginable.
“I think it’s Isabella’s place to determine his revenge.”Maricela’s voice echoes in my head.
We spoke about it as we planned to gaslight Franco into madness. Maricela even called Isabella and asked. The contempt in her eyes that day should have been a sign. I realize now there were so many signs I didn’t see.
“Mama,” I say the moment I spot her waiting for us. Using her role in my life in Italian feels like a start.
“Did he really rape Maricela?”
Isabella needs the answer, needs to hear it, and I nod. Isabella briefly closes her eyes, and a tear falls onto her cheek.
“I saw it in her eyes. She looked at him like...”
I can’t describe that blank, scared look, the same look I’ve seen repeatedly growing up by her side, but she doesn’t need the words. Isabella knows.
She pulls me into her embrace, something she hasn’t done for such a long time, and I hug her in return.
The scent of honey and rare roses surrounds me, reminding me of the days when she took care of her children.
“Mom,” Maddox murmurs from beside me.
He’s afraid of what this will do to her. Franco’s death can’t be gentle, and Maddox doesn’t want the one woman he loves more than anything to do something irreversible. I understand that.
Isabella smiles and spreads her palm over his cheek. “Madd, my boy. The son that life gave me.
You are the reason I thank Franco for not knowing how to control his cock. You’re my gift, but I want to see his blood. I came ready.”
Maddox and I snort. It’s like the knowledge that Franco will be dead today has given her courage.
“Murder kills the soul,” he tries again, attempting to take the blood from our mother’s hands.
“My hands are not clean, and you know it. I don’t think I have room next to God, and I have to do this. You two will be there for me if I don’t manage to carry it out, and Dario can take me away.”
Liam and Kai, who took a separate vehicle and hid it somewhere nearby, join us as well. Each of us has our alibi. None of us are here, and the plan has been set.
Franco’s room is as soundproof as all the other rooms in this house, but risks and witnesses are out of the question. And the only man going to meet the devil today is my sperm donor.
“Everything is ready,” Liam announces as he walks in with enough candles to burn fifty bodies.
“Franco will blow out his candles, and the house will go up in flames from a small fire.”
The smell of industrial wax and apples overwhelms my senses. It’s the scent of the candles that Franco favors. Everyone knows he surrounds himself with this scent.
The house needs to be empty, with the exception of Franco. The maids are currently on their only break after completing their daily chores, so that takes care of a few. But I want no room left for error, so I send Kai to take care of the others.
“Kai, you know what to do.” He nods and disappears to take care of the rest. There are a total of twenty-eight permanent employees in the house. Among them are seventeen bodyguards, and the rest are maids, cooks and his nursemaids. The cameras have already been disconnected, so we have nothing to worry about there. Liam saw to that.
Kai rejoins us minutes later, and we quietly climb the back staircase meant for household staff, although not because we’re afraid someone will hear us. We just want to enjoy the surprise on Franco’s face.
I’m the first to reach the door of Franco’s room. A room that, for the last two years, has become Franco’s only habitable space. Isabella moved into a room next to his, and she hasn’t stayed with him since he found out about his illness.
Lung cancer is an ugly disease, and the proudest man in the world didn’t want anyone to see him as weak while he rested. Plus, I’m pretty sure he didn’t trust her not to kill him in his sleep. Not that I would have blamed her if she had chosen to do that.
I open Franco’s door to discover a picture I had expected to see. Franco is lying on the bed, his body looking tiny and fragile between the black sheets. A suitable color for the last day of his life. He appears not to hear the door open or our footsteps.
Loud snoring and coughing explain why he is unresponsive. The master is sleeping. I don’t think twice and go to the bathroom to fill a glass of cold water to the brim and then pour the entire contents on his face, causing him to choke.
“You can’t die yet, old man. Not like this. It would be such a boring end,” I say, clucking my tongue in disdain.
I give him time to reset himself. His big brown eyes look like two lifeless pits. He’s scared. I knew he would be when he reached this hour. Franco created an empire of power based on fear but always surrounded himself with people who would protect him from harm. He never walked alone in the streets or even next to me.
He began taking a bodyguard with him everywhere he went when I was thirteen years old. He knew that if he were left alone, his death would be inevitable.
“Cosa stai facendo qui?” he asks after the violent coughing stops.
“I thought you were smarter than this. Did you really think your implication of the fucking rape of my woman would go unanswered, Figlio di puttana?”
“I’m going to die soon, anyway.” He looks glum at the prospect of death. Good.
“You will, but by the hand of your wife, your sons, and the men you destroyed.”
“You can’t murder me. I’m your father.”
I laugh at that. They say that a man is measured by his last hours on earth. Well, Franco lacks in life as he lacks in death.
Isabella steps up beside me.
“You’re right but also wrong, amore mio. We are all going to send you to the pits of hell, and I’m going to start the show,” Isabella says, pulling a sharp but small knife out of her handbag and slashing his cheek.