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We stalk down the hallway silently. Marco already has the alarms disabled. We move until we get to the stairwell. I give my signal as we descend.
When I get closer, I can hear Dracos screaming at his men to find the ones who delivered the bodies of his sons.
"I want them strung up! Find out who is behind this," he yells at his men.
I hold my hand up and my men and I move out together.
“That would be me,” I brag, staring straight at Dracos—my gun trained on him. The few guards he has, drop their weapons immediately when my men step closer, guns trained on each of them. They circle and close in on them easily. There’s not even a fight even knowing they are going to die. If my men went out like that, I’d bring them back to life just to kill them again.
Still, their cowardice is our gain.
My men collect the weapons as they have the guards kneel, hands in sight. I turn my attention back to the worthless scum in front of me. If I had a camera, I would've loved to take a picture of the shocked expression on Dracos' face.
"You killed my sons," the bastard growls, spittle moving down the sides of his mouth. His suit is entirely disheveled, and his thinning hair is ruffled as if he's been pulling on it. He truly looks like the madman he is now. I can't understand how this bastard could have fathered someone as beautiful and giving as Melina. It just doesn't make sense.
I walk further into the room, standing near the dead Stratakis twins.
"Actually, I only killed this sad sack, " I say, kicking Atlas’s box. “I shot him in the back of the head. It’s not how I normally like to do things.” I shrug. “Still, considering what I truly wanted to do with him, it was merciful. The other one was courtesy of your son Elias—who, as far as I can tell—is one of the few offspring who thankfully took after their mother."
"Elias?" Draco asks. "Elias would never touch Aden."
I laugh at his shocked expression and denial.
"What makes you think that? Do you think your children have that much loyalty to you?” Maybe I will enjoy this second part after all. Marco steps out of the shadows and Dracos’ entire body recoils with the shock. “Marco, get your sister,” I order.
"Got it, Boss," Marco responds. He walks by, looking at his father with so much hatred that if I didn't despise Dracos with every fiber of my being, I'd almost—almost—feel sorry for the sad sack of shit.
"Oof. That has to sting, doesn't it, old man? What does it feel like to know that you're about to breathe your last breath but that the son you hate will take over everything you built? Of course, he will do it under my orders, but still. The Stratakis name will die here," I tell him happily. "The DeLuca name will be strong, and one of my most trusted soldiers will be your son. I swore to you, I’d make you pay. I never dreamed it would lead us both here. Life is a twisted bitch and I got to tell you… It’s fucking good to be king."
Dracos crumbles under my words. He starts screaming like a banshee. "Just kill me. Do it now!” he demands, beating on his chest. “I don't want to live in a world without my twins. You took them from me. End me. Be done with it.” He stops screaming, taking a breath as he pins me with what he thinks is an intimidating stare. "I'll wait to extract my revenge on you in hell."
Melina and Marco come inside, likely having heard his long tirade.
"You have nothing to avenge father,” Melina disputes. In that moment, I see the survivor. The woman rising from the ashes of the hell he put her through. "I should pity you, but I look at you and feel nothing. You may have been my father by blood, but that's it. You're nothing to me. What I don't understand is why? You had everything a man could want, and you squandered it away. I could have loved you. My brothers could've loved you..."
"Love is just another word for stupidity. It makes you weak and serves no purpose. All you have in this life is what you fight for. You're a woman—too simple-minded to see the truth. You think you love this pig of a man? He'll betray you and leave you for something shinier, and prettier. Then, where will you be with your feelings of love then, you fatuous child?" Dracos spits.
Melina just shakes her head, her shoulders squared, not wavering an inch. "Antonio would never do that. He's been there from the moment he met me. He's gone out of his way to make me feel wanted, needed and beautiful. That’s something my father should have instilled in me from birth, yet never bothered. Soon, I will give birth to the child I’m carrying inside of me.” As she speaks, a hand goes to her stomach. There is a slightly rounded area there that I never paid much attention to. I just assumed she was gaining weight—which made me happy. Now, it fills me with awe. A life the two of us created rests there.Our miracle.She looks back up at her father and continues and I stand as a blessed man, letting her have her say. “I will watch my husband—the man whose shoes you don't even deserve to kiss—instill all of that into our child and love it as he loves me. Because that's what a real man does, father. That's what my Antonio does, and that's what Marco and my other brothers will do. They will excel at it while you're rotting in hell," she says with a sad smile. "I pray that somehow you, Atlas and Aden will see us from hell. I want you to be forced to watch and see the good life that we live and are tormented by the joy we feel. That seems like a just punishment to me.”
The old man seems to crumble a little more under the weight of her words. Maybe my wife was right to face the demon in front of her.
“Melina—”
“One more thing, as you draw your last breath, Father, know that I'll be in my husband's arms, celebrating the fact that you will never breathe the same air as our child."
With that, she walks over to me, whispering thank you. I lean down, kissing her forehead, brushing my fingers across her cheek.
"I love you,il mio tesoro."
She beams up at me, tears sparkling in her eyes—but I can tell these tears are ones of joy and they’re all directed at me. I gave her words that she has been waiting to hear. I wonder why I waited so long to tell her.
"I love you, too."
"Go with Gordon to the car. I'll be there shortly," I tell her. She nods to me before following my man out of the room.
Marco comes back to stand beside me. "You don't need to be here to see this. We can finish this without you. Go to the car with your sister," I tell him, but Marco shakes his head.
"I'd like it if you'd let me be the one to end his life." His words shocking me.
