Chapter 47
TIFFANY
My heart is pounding and my adrenalin high. Time is not on our side.
“We must go now.”
I plead with Joseph and he nods, already aware the original plan must change.
He turns to the guard with the headset.
“Tell your guy in the control room we must move now. To override the security system and let Julius and Rose in through the gate.”
He types out another text and then says gruffly, “Where is the dining room?”
“I’ll show you.”
“No, Tiffany. You will stay here until it’s clear. I will not put you in danger.”
“No, Joseph, this is my fight.”
He signals to the two guards, and as the one with the headset nods, I’m confident our coast has been cleared.
“Hurry.”
He holds his gun in front of him, and the guards do the same and as we move at pace through the mansion, I direct our way.
We approach a huge wooden door and, after a signal from Joseph, we storm into the room.
“What the—?”
With one shot to the head, Raphael falls forward onto his plate, blood seeping from the hole in his forehead, his life extinguished in a second.
Morgan screams as she holds up her hands, and as I step from behind my husband, her sneer is directed at me.
“That’s quite an entrance, Tiffany. You could have just called.”
She stares around her.
“I thought it was Rose who came calling, not you.”
“She’s here.”
I return her sneer.
“Time’s up, Morgan. You have lost the game.”
“You think.” She shrugs; obviously confident her trump card will win the war.
“What do you want, Tiffany? There is nothing left to give.”
“I want answers. If you give them, I may spare you.”
“You, spare me?” Her eyes widen.
“You have no control over me. You never did. Not even your father had that pleasure because I was the one controlling him right from the start.”
Joseph growls at his guards, “Restrain her.”
They move forward, and Morgan removes a gun from her jacket and trains it on me.
“I’m always prepared, darling. You should know that more than anything, so back off boys, unless you want to lose your prize.”
I catch my breath as she aims the gun to my head and I’m even more shocked when a shot fires and her screams shatter my eardrums.
Joseph pulls me roughly behind him and her wails of pain strangely make me smile and she screams, “My fucking hand, for the love of God, call an ambulance!”
I peer out from behind Joseph’s back and blood is everywhere, seeping from the place Morgan’s hand once was.
She is retching, her arm hanging limply to her side, and the guards don’t appear to care about that and physically force her into a chair, cuffing her remaining hand to the back support and doing the same to her ankles.
She is a wounded animal, screaming in pain, and rather than be appalled by that, it’s strangely thrilling.
The door bursts open and more guards pour inside, followed by Rose, who stares at the scene in horror.
“What the…”
Her gaze finds mine and her concern is directed at me and I shrug, turning my attention back to the woman who has passed out where she sits.
“She had a gun.” Joseph explains to Julius, whose low chuckle is strangely eerie considering the occasion.
“She pointed it at Tiffany.”
“No need to explain, brother. I’m proud of you for not targeting her head. We need her alive, for now anyway.”
Joseph turns to me, and the dark storm in his eyes reveals his pain and I reach for him, pulling him close, whispering, “I’m okay.”
One of the guards rushes to Morgan’s side, carrying a briefcase.
He opens it, revealing a medical kit of sorts, and proceeds to inject something into her and Joseph explains, “It numbs the pain and will bring her round. We preserve life for as long as required. It’s up to her whether she suffers a long, slow death, or a faster one depending on the information she gives us. ”
I’m amazed, and Joseph smiles darkly. “This is not our first rodeo, angel. We have a procedure to follow that has never let us down in the past. Morgan will die only if and when we decide. You will have your answers, no matter how long it takes.”
The guard packs the wound, effectively stopping the bleeding, and rather sickeningly, another one places her mutilated hand in a zip-lock bag.
Rose edges beside me and whispers, “What the fuck is happening?”
“I guess we’re watching our men at work. Perhaps I may stay home next time.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
Rose grins, causing me to giggle, which is completely inappropriate for the occasion.
Morgan groans, obviously coming back to consciousness, and Joseph says loudly, “Wake up!”
She jerks her head, her low moan of pain strangely soothing, and Joseph hisses, “It’s over now, Morgan. You are only alive to apologize to Tiffany, Rose, and Alice.”
“Apologize.”
Her soft laugh is empty as she struggles to breathe.
“Sorry for what, exactly? Teaching them some backbone, preparing them for the real world.”
“You made our lives hell.”
I step forward, glaring at her, and Rose joins me, an expression of disdain mixed with pain on her face.
“You killed my mother.”
Rose’s eyes burn with fury, and yet Morgan just laughs.
“It was nothing personal. She was merely collateral damage.”
I’m shocked when Rose reacts to her and strikes her hard across the face several times, sobbing as she unleashes her fury on the woman from our nightmares.
Julius heads to his wife’s side and places a comforting arm on her back and his voice is husky, “Tell me what you want.”
“I want her to die in the same way as my mother.”
“That can be arranged.”
Morgan shakes her head. “Kill me, and your beloved Sister Agatha accompanies me to hell.”
Rose gasps as Alice bursts into the room behind Simeon and their guards.
“Oh, looky, looky, Alice has come to the party. It’s been a long time girls, did you miss your mom?”
Rose sobs as she strikes her hard again, and Alice gasps, “What’s happening?”
“She killed my mom, and she killed our father. I want her to pay.”
“Your father.” Morgan spits venom.
“Enrico should have died years ago. He was always so weak, pleading and begging for more time while destroying everything he had worked for. His death was a long time coming.”
“Why kill him? He wasn’t a threat to you?” Simeon asks and Morgan’s gaze could wither the sun.
“Because there was nothing left of value. He had pissed it all away on houses, high living and gambling. He was a joke. I wasted years on him, years!”
She screams, wincing as a blast of pain shoots through the wreckage of her body.
“So, you decided to gain what you could by teaming up with Demitri?”
Julius sounds as if he’s chatting to a stranger in the street.
“You were going to sell the girls and pocket millions, splitting it with him as a consolation prize.”
“Do you blame me? I invested years trailing after that man. Allowing him to fuck me in his missionary way, once a week on Thursdays. It’s no wonder I killed the bastard; he was so boring.”
“But why my mom?”
Rose is sobbing, and Julius pulls her close.
“Because she was in the way. She was a warning for him to be better, to do better and for a time he did.”
She turns to me. “He married Priscilla Van Der Hudson, and the payments started again. Then her bitch of a mother disinherited her, and all the trust funds were signed away in another trust. That stupid bitch ruined everything. The payments stopped and Edwina ran away, which was a very good thing because it left a vacancy that only I could fill. I decided to go in and manage things myself. Enrico became my dog, and I kept him on a short leash.”
She groans, “Can somebody please call a fucking doctor?”
“No.”
Simeon’s voice could cut steel.
“You will be in worse pain than this by the time your life is allowed to end.”
“In your dreams, asshole.”
Morgan giggles like a crazy woman.
“You see, the Monza mafia has agreed a hit on your miserable lives and they don’t back down.
I’m guessing they’re approaching as we speak.
Then there’s my family also heading your way, not to mention your precious Sister Agatha whose head will be sent to you in a box, gift-wrapped with a note of condolence. ”
“No.”
Alice sobs as I step forward and say coolly, “Actually, you’re wrong on all counts.”
“What are you talking about?”
She sneers and I say calmly, “Please, may I have some scissors, Joseph?”
“Scissors? What’s this? Do you plan to cut me free or stab me in the heart? Either way will be most welcome.”
“Neither.”
From out of the medical box, the guard hands me a set of scissors, and I approach Morgan from behind and say casually, “Do you remember when you cut off my hair and blamed me. My father punished me while you stood by smiling smugly.”
“Wow, hold a grudge, why don’t you? What a stupid girl you are to hold that against me. It was just a bit of fun.”
I lift her shoulder-length hair and proceed to hack it off.
She says nothing. There is silence in the room and not until I have cut every strand possible, do I lean down and whisper, “I’m guessing your father will be equally disappointed in you when your head is delivered to him in the ribbon-tied box. ”
Her sharp intake of breath tells me my threat has hit home, and Joseph grins, his approval strangely endearing.
I flick my gaze to Alice.
“What about you, Alice? Do you recall when Morgan locked you in the cupboard and blamed me? Weren’t you punished by our father for playing tricks on her?”
“You’re right.”
This time, Alice steps forward and unwinds a scarf from around her neck.
“I believe I passed out through lack of air. I may never have survived if she hadn’t opened the door and pretended it was my fault.
She stuffs the scarf into Morgan’s mouth, pressing it against her airway, effectively shutting off the oxygen, holding her down while she jerks in her seat.
“It was terrifying in that closet, waiting to die. Air deprived and slipping into unconsciousness. Only to wake to a punishment and recriminations for something I didn’t do.”