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Her back straightens and although she knew she was in trouble before, she’s now just realizing exactly how much. “Where did you get such ridiculous information? I would never allow such a thing. Who told you that?”
I laugh, bringing the gun up and pressing it against her temple. “You made my life hell. You and Dad. You were a joke, you still are, but I won’t allow you to put my sisters through the same shit that you did to me,” I tell her, my finger gently resting against the trigger and making her suck in a deep breath, fear pulsing from her eyes. “Are you or are you not working with Paris Moustaff?”
“Of course not,” she shrieks. “That woman is delusional.”
“Now, now,” I mutter, moving in even closer. “You wouldn’t lie to your only son, would you?”
Mom attempts to push back against me but gets nowhere. “This is insane, Dante. Release me now. I’m done with your silly game.”
“Face the facts, Mother,” I tell her, my voice dropping even lower and letting her know just how fucking serious I am. “I’m going to end you tonight. I’m going to take back my home and the girls and I will never have to suffer through your bullshit again. So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to die a liar or are you going to be real for once and show your true colors?”
Ida clenches her jaw, the thought of someone calling her out for being a fraud not sitting well with her, despite the fact that’s exactly who she is. “The girls were going to be fine,” my mother spits, pulling against her wrists and trying to get free. “They needed to toughen up and Paris offered a perfect solution that helped us all. She was finally going to destroy that whore of yours and make up for what she did to your father, while also teaching your sisters some important life lessons. Everyone is a winner here. Two birds for the price of one. You cannot fault me for that.”
“You’ve got to be kidding yourself,” I exclaim, staring at her like a complete stranger. “They are your daughters. Fuck getting revenge for Dad, he fucking deserved what was coming for him, but letting Dominique and Danika get kidnapped? You’re fucking crazy. They’ll never get past it. They’re still suffering. They’re scared to be out in public.”
“They’re weak,” she snaps. “Those girls were never going to survive in this world. They’re hopeless, just like you were, but look at you now. You’re stronger than anyone and you have me and your father to thank for that. We molded you into the perfect soldier for Dynasty just as I’m doing for Dominique and Danika. How dare you question my methods.”
I scoff, having heard enough. “You deserve to rot in a fucking prison for the rest of your life, but lucky for you, I won’t allow you to get that far.” She swallows hard and I press the gun against her temple harder, pausing until she realizes that she’s about to take her final breath. “Say hi to Royston for me.”
My finger presses against the trigger and just as I go to squeeze down on it, a sharp cry comes from the bedroom door. “NOOOOOOOOOO,” Danika screams with Dominique hiding behind her shoulder, both of their eyes wide as they watch me prepare their mother for death.
Fuck. This isn’t how I wanted this to go, but with them standing right there, there’s no way in hell that I would ever pull the trigger. “Go back to your room,” I tell them. “I told you to stay there until I came to get you.”
Their eyes flicker between me and Mom, and while Dominique looks like she wants to run and hide, Danika just stands taller. “No,” she says. “You can’t kill her because then you’ll be just as bad as she is, and you’re not bad. You’re not like them.”
Dominique’s head peeks out from behind Danika’s shoulder with tears rolling down her cheeks. “Don’t kill my mommy.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.
I shake my head and meet their broken stares. “I’m sorry, girls, but I can’t let her go,” I tell them as this quickly becomes the hardest conversation that I will ever have. “She’s done some terrible things, things that hurt people, that hurt you. I can’t just let her go. She has to be punished.”
Danika shakes her head and walks deeper into the room. She steps around me and without even a hint of hesitation, she reaches up and takes the gun out of my hand. “You can’t kill her because you’ll go to jail and we’ll be left with no one.”
I let out a sigh and keep my hand on Mom, I kneel down and take the gun back from Danika, hating how comfortable she is with it. I wrap her in my arm and pull her against my chest. “That’ll never happen,” I promise them, glancing at Dominique and indicating for her to come and join us. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll call a council meeting first thing in the morning and tell them what Mom has done, and the decision will be theirs. They may choose to put her in the Dynasty cells or they may decide to take her life, that’s out of my hands, but just know that you two will always have a home with me. Always. Is that understood?”
