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The second they’re gone, their voices fading into nothing, Alex repeats his previous question.
“Did you kill him?”
Gianna holds his eyes firm, unwavering for a few seconds before she nods her head once.
Alex deflates, his shoulders slumping, and I dart forward, expecting his knees to buckle, but he doesn’t go down. Instead, he launches himself at Gianna, wrapping his arms around her and holding her so tight I’m not sure she can breathe.
He’s so much taller than her that I can only just see the top of her head, but I sure hear her sniffle.
Not wanting to encroach on what is obviously a very personal moment, I start to back away. But sensing my distance, Alex turns to look at me.
“Don’t,” he warns, his voice rough with emotion before he releases one arm and holds his hand out for me.
Unable to deny him, I walk over and join their embrace.
Dropping his lips to the top of Gianna’s head, he whispers a very broken ‘thank you’, which makes her sob harder.
And that’s exactly how Stefanos finds us a few minutes later.
He clears his throat and Alex reluctantly releases his hold on us.
“Everything okay?” he asks, his brows pinching as he looks between his son and ex-wife.
“Y-yeah,” Gianna says, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Mum just confessed to being the one to kill Grandad,” Alex announces without second thought.
Stefanos, a man I’ve only ever seen as strong and confident, crumbles in front of us.
First, it’s anger at the mention of the man no longer walking this earth, and then it morphs into nothing but undiluted pain. But not the pain of loss—the pain of years and years of suffering.
“What?” he breathes, total disbelief shining in his eyes.
Gianna, however, stands tall and squares her shoulders.
“You knew I discovered the truth, Stefanos. Did you really think I was going to allow it to continue? You were too weak, too broken down by that monster of a man to do anything about it. But I wasn’t. He was hurting my boys, and I’d take on anyone who dare to lay a single finger on either of them, let alone the horrific things he did,” she spits, sounding like an entirely different person to the sweet, caring mother I know.
“H-how? He had a heart— You drugged him. How didn’t I know this?”
“Because, dear husband, I learned a lot over my years in this house, and covering up indiscretions was at the very top of the list. I learned from the best, after all.”
Stefanos’s mouth opens and closes like a fish as he tries to come up with a response. Instead, he just rubs the back of his neck, looking utterly lost.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he finally says.
Gianna shrugs. “You loved that man as much as you hated him. He was gone and no longer able to hurt any of you, and that was good enough for me.”
“Mum,” Alex says with a grin. “You’re a fucking bad-arse, and we never even knew.”
She chuckles. “Don’t go getting any crazy ideas. I’m not joining the Family. I just… I did what I needed to do to protect my own, and I’ll stand by that until the day I die.”
“Fuck. I really should have bought you a bigger bunch of flowers for Mother’s Day,” Alex mutters, pulling her in for another hug.
“There’s always next year. And Christmas.”
“Her birthday is first,” Stefanos adds, letting everyone know that he hasn’t forgotten his time as her husband.
“True,” Gianna laughs.
