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“It’s over, Alexis,” I murmur, my voice low and soothing. “You’re safe now.”
But as I envelope her in a fierce embrace, I know that the true battle has only just begun. The world will know the truth about these so-called “leaders” and their depravity.
And I will make damn sure that Alexis—my love, the reason I breathe—will never have to endure such horrors again.
34
ALEXIS
I… I just killed someone.
Again.
But this time, I meant to do it.
My hands tremble as I stare down at Scarlett’s lifeless body. I can’t believe I just killed her. The gravity of my actions is only beginning to sink in.
But then, an even more shocking revelation comes crashing down on me. The Don of Invicta is my father.
How could this be happening? An Invicta member held me at gunpoint all those months ago when I first escaped from the Carter house. Did my father know who I was? Why didn’t he try to rescue me?
I feel utterly disoriented, as if the world around me has shifted into an alternate reality. One moment, I’m a woman about to be sold in a human trafficking ring. The next, I’m a killer learning that my father is the Don of a criminal empire.
This can’t be real, I tell myself as my eyes dart around the room, watching as Iacopelli and Invicta men round up the rest of the remaining Brotherhood members. I’m going to wake up any minute now in my bed at the mansion. This has to be a nightmare.
But the stark, unforgiving truth refuses to fade.
My father—the man I assumed had abandoned me and my mother—is the very embodiment of the darkness I have been running from.
A million questions swirl in my mind—was he involved in Invicta when I was born? What unspeakable acts has he committed? Did he truly love my mother? Why did he leave us?
I feel like I’m drowning, the weight of this revelation crashing down on me. I open my mouth, desperate to scream, to purge this nightmare from my mind, but all that escapes is a strangled sob, tears streaming down my face.
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Damian wraps me in his arms, the smell of his cologne enveloping me as he murmurs something about my being safe into my ear. Vaguely, I can feel him pry the gun from my hands, but I feel so cold.
Safe? How can I be safe when I’ve just taken another life? I was the one who pulled the trigger, who purposefully ended Scarlett’s life. I’m the reason she’s lying on the ground, dead.
A thought horrifies me. Am I more like my father than I ever realized? Does that make me just as much a monster as him?
The guilt and anguish threaten to consume me. I squeeze my eyes shut, willing this all to be a horrible nightmare that I can wake up from. But the stark reality refuses to fade—I killed Scarlett Rafa.
Damian’s arms tighten around me, and I can feel the concern radiating off him. “Alexis, look at me. You had no choice. She would have killed you.”
His words do little to ease the turmoil within me. I may have acted in self-defense, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve taken a life. I’m no better than The Brotherhood.
“I’m a monster,” I whisper brokenly. “Just like him.”
I know Damian is trying to comfort me, to reassure me that I did what I had to do. But in this moment, all I can see is the darkness that now resides within me—the darkness that links me to my father, the Don of Invicta.
How can I ever be safe when I’m capable of such violence?
Damian’s lips press against my temple, and I sag against him, watching the scene unfold before me with dull eyes.
Iacopelli soldiers capture a screaming Emma. She’s thrashing and begging them to let her go, insisting that she’s done nothing wrong, that she’s innocent. But I feel nothing for my foster sister. I simply watch as they drag her away, her cries echoing in the ballroom.
Is this how she felt when Mark and her parents dragged me to the basement?
