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I didn't respond. All I needed was a honest answer from him, and he was well aware of this. It was the reason he stalled.
"You're an angry woman, and men make the mistake of ignoring such women." Luke shook his head as he leaned forward in his seatand a chill ran down my spine. "That's a big mistake. And it's one I'm not going to make," he exclaimed with vigor. "I'm going to tell you the truth."
Finally!Though it appeared that all was lost and that explanations would have been pointless, they weren't. I hoped that some kind of reasoning would help me move on.
"People are constantly betrayed in our world. People kill all the time, and it's relatively easy for men like us to do so. Here, there are no true friends, only family. And Fred treated Ethan and me like family. It is the reason why the poor man is devastated by it," said Luke.
For some reason, it seemed strange that he would praise Ethan, but maybeI was paranoid. I justhad a feeling he was up to something.
"Did he kill my uncle?" I asked.
"I never said he did," he clarified. "Now, back to the story. We had almost as many enemies back then as the family does now that Ethan is in charge. Someone got to your uncle and convinced him that I wanted to kill him. Of course, your uncle and I were at odds during that time, but it wasn't serious enough to warrant a bullet in the head. Helunged at me with a knife, stabbing me. If I hadn't been so lucky, he would have killed me."
I wasn't sure if I believed him, but hearing him talk about my uncle broke down my defenses. I started crying again.
Stop it. I tried to restrain myself, but it was impossible.
"I never intended to hurt Fred. I let him go all those years ago, but he got sloppy. Ethan found out where he was. Then you were dragged into thistotal mess that was my family's chosen way of life," Luke said, his voice rising above my sobs.
"His death hurts even me," he added,and I wasn't sure I believed him.
I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. I chastised myself for going down the stairs to meet Luke. There was no peace with him, and I had no one else to turn to. In reality, I knew I would have preferred to be alone.
"What do I do now? He's gone. How can I go on living here with all these doubts eating at me?" I cried.
"I do not believe Ethan hurt your uncle. He can be brash at times, but he is also cautious and reasonable. Besides, he appears to care about you, even though I'm not sure if he is capable offeelings," he went on.
"Tell me straight up. Did Ethan murder my uncle? Did he kill him?" I asked Luke once more.
He looked at me for a long time before darting left and right warily.
"Come along with me. We can't talk here," he said to me before grabbing my arm and lifting me out of my seat.
"What?" I could barely hear his words above the sound of my own sobbing, but I still followed him. He led me through the mansion's back door and out into the garden.
"HasEthan ever brought you here?" His acute perception worried me, but I was too distraught to care.
His hand led me through the walk path between the shrubs that served as fences to the flower squares. We stoppedwhen we reached a shelter, a roof, and a bench. He didn't join me until I was seated.
I was already less teary by that point, owing to my fear of being caught crying outside.
"I'm tired," I muttered under my breath as I leaned into the bench's backrest. It was truly refreshing to be outside, surrounded by nature's beautiful shapes and colors. There was a mighty calm wind that blew over me and dried my eyes.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that," I apologized.
"It's all right," he said with a faint glint in his eyes. Though he expressed his sympathy, it felt unnatural coming from him. His emotional reactions to me felt forced or monotonous.
Maybe it's because he's in the Mafia,I tried to convince myself.
For the first time, I noticed Luke's face displaying a genuine expression. He was hesitant to tell me something.
"What is it?" I asked.
He sighed deeply before turning away from the flowers and tome.
"Do you want revenge?" he asked.
Revenge? I pondered. I needed something to relieve the pain. Revenge had never been my preferred method of coping with grief, but I had never been so angry as I was right now, angry with myself, angry with Ethan, and even angry with Luke, who sat next to me.
