Page 178 of Vow to Claim You

“You killed Luca because he threatened your plans. You tried to kill my husband because he got too close to the truth. You killed my daughter—your own granddaughter—and you treated it like she was just collateral damage. An acceptable loss.” My voice drops to a whisper. “And then you came to my home. The home where I’ve been dying piece by piece since I lost her. And you held my hand. You told me how sorry you were. You poisoned me against the one person who’s been trying to protect me this whole time.”

I step back. The distance between us is less than a few feet, but it feels like a continent.

“I’m done being your daughter. I’m done being your pawn. I’m done carrying your name and your legacy and your poison. You’re nothing to me now. Just a stranger who shares my blood.”

Leandro’s teeth clench as he hisses. “You ungrateful little⁠—”

“Careful.” Aric cuts in. “You’re talking about my wife. One more word in her direction and I won’t care about the consequences. I’ll kill you right here on the spot.”

Leandro raises his chin as though with pride, even now when every gun stays trained on him.

“Take him,” Aric orders.

Two of Nikos’s men step forward and their hands close around Leandro’s arms, and pull the gun from his grip.

“If you think you’ve won”—Leandro laughs, his eyes moving between Aric and me—“you are so far from the truth it’s almost funny.”

Aric raises a hand, and the men holding Leandro pause.

“I’m not the villain you think I am.” Leandro’s voice is steady now, the laughter gone, replaced by something harder. “I was a means to an end. One of many.”

“Barry Thorne,” Aric says, his brows twitching slightly. “He suggested the alliance. Farida told me the name of his mistress, the one Luca told her to remember. Was he part of your scheming before he died?”

Leandro’s forehead creases, as though he can’t quite make the pieces line up. Then his mouth curves into something almost like satisfaction.

“You’ve all been looking at the kings,” he drawls, as though he has all the time in the world. As though he isn’t the one held between two of The Gods’ men, waiting to be tried. “While forgetting the one card that never follows the rules. The joker never left the deck.”

He starts to laugh, a sound that is hysterical and triumphant in equal measure, and Aric gives a nod to Nikos’s men. They lead my father out, his terrible laughter echoing off the walls until he’s no longer in sight.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Aric

Ihold Ayanna in my arms, her body trembling against me. “Are you okay?”

The question is inadequate. I know that. There is no version of okay that applies to a woman who just heard her father confess to killing her unborn child and call her pathetic in the same breath.

“I will be,” she says, it into the hollow of my throat, muffled, without lifting her head. Her breath fans my neck, fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt.

I press my lips to the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”

She pulls back slightly and looks up at me. Her eyes are red and swollen, stripped of every mask she’s ever worn. What stares back at me is the rawest version of Ayanna I’ve ever seen. “Who’s the joker?” Her brows furrow as her eyes flick between mine.

“I don’t know.” I brush a strand of hair from her face. My thumb traces the line of her cheekbone, catching the last of the dampness there. “But we’ll find out.”

“He mentioned Vivienne.”

“I know. The same name Farida gave me. The same woman Bobby said was Barry Thorne’s mistress.” My brows twitch on their own. “If it’s the same woman, and I assume she is, your father had an affair with her too. Barry was obsessed with her. And Luca died because he found out about her.” My jaw tightens. “She’s the thread that connects all of it.”

“The joker,” Ayanna whispers.

“Maybe. Or the key to finding them.” I cup the back of her head, pressing my forehead to hers. “I’ll find her, Ayanna. Wherever she is. Whatever she’s hiding. I’ll find her.”

A couple of hours later, we’re back in Norway. We were supposed to stay in Italy until the end of Leandro’s interrogation by The Gods, but Ingrid called, concerned about Vidar’s state.

The SUV pulls up to the estate, and the front door opens before the engine cuts.

Naomi comes through the door with no shoes, no coat, her hair flying behind her, and she collides with Ayanna on the path with enough force to stagger them both. Her arms lock around her sister’s waist, her face buries itself in Ayanna’s shoulder.