Page 267 of Lethal King

“Enough about the cats,” Tytus interrupts. “You’ve got some shit to catch up on.”

“Like how you tried to kill us?” Roz whispers, her confusion slowly turning into anger.

“I did no such thing,” Tytus hits back. “If anything I gave you new life.”

“How’s that?” Roz challenges.

“By setting you up with the love of your life.”

The self-impressed smirk on Tytus’ face sends me reeling.

“What the hell does that mean?” I ask.

“It means I knew that my sister was developing feelings for you,” he responds. “It means I knew she deserved to be happier than me, and as happy as Gabriel. It means I set up that wonderful little date for you at La Forcina’s…”

“You sent that text?” Roz and I both blurt out at the same time.

Her jaw drops. I quickly pick mine back up off the floor.

“You did that as a distraction,” I remind him, still trying to make sense of what he’s saying.

“No. Drago and Leander wanted a distraction. I wanted you two to fall in love. Well, deeper in love.”

“Why the hell did you want that?”

“Aren’t you listening?” Tytus’ smirk deepens. “I did it because you deserve the same happiness and security that Gabriel found with Bianca. That’s why I sent you back here to meet with Drago, too. I wanted you to see that he’d actually changed. That he actually cared for you. That you were worthy of being cared for.”

Roz’s shoulder brushes against mine as she sways on her feet.

“I don’t believe you,” I growl, stepping in between her and the hologram.

“That’s because you don’t know me,” Tytus spits.

“I know you…” Roz mutters.

“And do you believe me?”

“Yes…” she sighs. “But my happiness can’t be the only reason you did what you did.”

“It’s not,” Tytus confirms. “Sure, I foresaw how happy Rian could make you, but I also foresaw my own path to power. I’d have a lot more of it if I didn’t have to share it with anyone.”

“So you pushed me away?”

“I pushed you towards love.”

“And what about you?” Roz asks. “Do you not need love?”

“All I need is power.”

“What power do you have?” I snap.

“So much more than I did just a year ago,” Tytus chuckles. “The Greek mafia that Leander was secretly rebuilding is now under my control, as well as a good chunk of his mercenaries. Would you like to guess which Italian families I’ve corrupted, too?”

“The Italians wouldn’t dare. Not after what I did to Adriano.”

“No. What you did to Adriano only helped push them further towards me. Call it a happy accident. Honestly, I’m a little ashamed that the final straw wasn’t something I orchestrated—if only the Italians had decided to finally abandon you after what happened at La Forcina. That’s why I sent them there, after all. So that they could see how little you cared about them and their daughters.”

Fucking hell.