Page 70 of Broken Princess

“I-I would have known.”

“You were eleven…”

“Fuck, no wonder Zo’s so focussed on Isa’s death.”

“His brother loved her so much and he just couldn’t survive losing her. When he died, Enzo was never the same. Then your father asked Zo to keep searching for Isa’s killer and it became a crusade for him. To get justice for your family, but also for his. I think your father knew about Gianni and your sister, and that’s why he knew Zo would never give up on finding the person who took so much from both of them.”

“That’s a lot for one man to burden himself with. My father expected too much from him if that’s the case.”

“You’re not wrong, and Zo’s been buried under the weight of it for far too long. After so many years, we’d all but resolved we would never get an answer, but Enzo will never let it go and it takes a toll on him.”

“Who watches out for him?” she asks.

“We all try to help as much as he allows. It’s why I focus as many of my resources as I can on it.”

“He’s going to break one day under the weight of the expectations he has of himself.”

“Unless someone can help lift them,” I posit.

She goes quiet and chews on what I’ve told her.

The minute we found her on the floor of that warehouse, I felt a shift in all of us. Aurora is the missing piece of a puzzle none of us knew needed solving. She brings out a part of each of us that we usually keep hidden. For me, I have an overwhelming desire to support her. Aurora needs someone to nurture her, someone that won’t only protect her, but encourage her, too. My hummingbird needs to spread her wings and fly, and just like the bird she reminds me of, she needs to do it with all the chaotic energy and vigour that burns through her veins.

Watching her evolve before our eyes is a reward in and of itself but watching her unfurl under my tongue is just as fulfilling.

Unfortunately, that will have to wait until later. We have a turncoat to deal with.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

AURORA

When we walk through the door, three sets of eyes snap to me from the couch and I smirk at the domino effect of jaws hitting the floor.

“Why, thank you, I’ll take your faces of shock and awe as a compliment,” I say, teasing them a little.

Enzo looks away, Benny smiles broadly, and Nico grumbles while adjusting himself. I can’t help but laugh at their individual reactions, so representative of each of them. Enzo the stoic guard dog, Benny the eager puppy, and Nico the feral stray.

I ignore them and take a seat on one of the sofas. I feel different. More like myself that I have in years. For the last few weeks, I’ve been coming back to a version of who I was before, but I’ve also been using these men as a security blanket. Hiding in their house, sheltering in the basement. Even wearing their clothes, retreating into the safety of every aspect of them.

But now it’s about time I stop hiding. Time for me to remember I’m Rory-fucking-Bianchi.

When Sinclair first told me we were going out today, I was dreading it. But the longer we were out, the more I felt like the old me was returning. At first, every shop reminded me of being Mrs. Aurora De Luca, the wife, the wallflower, the doormat. When we stopped in that last store, it’s like I had a flashback to what it was like back when I was my own woman, and I was blown away by the feeling of freedom and empowerment.

With every item I tried on, I felt more and more like me. From the colours breathing life back into me and lighting me up, to the feel of the fabrics. They felt like a second skin and not a noose around my neck.

I left that store feeling like I could breathe again.

I left the hair salon feeling like I could conquer the world. What woman doesn’t when she dyes her hair?

Once they’ve all stopped staring, it doesn’t take Benedict long to walk us through where he’s going to set the fires, and which escape routes we’re going to need to take. Enzo then tells everyone where they’ll be. It will fall entirely on Nico and me to snatch Marco. Sinclair will run interference with any protection he brings with him while Enzo will be driving the van. It all seems pretty straightforward, but I’m left with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I may have spent all day making myself look the part, but this will be my first job with a full crew in five years, and it’s the most important one. One that brings me a step closer to annihilating my husband. Ugh, calling him that, even in my head, makes me want to vomit.

There’s no moniker I could give him that adequately channels the venomous hatred I feel for him and yet, if I were to call him something like The Devil, it gives him too much credit or power over me. He’s Max De Luca. He’s not my husband, he’s not my captor, he’s not my tormentor, he’s nothing but an enemy that needs to be eliminated.

As Enzo finishes up and everyone starts to break away, but I call after him. “Zo, you got a minute?”

He stops in his tracks, turns, and then cocks his head for me to go with him. I follow and realise he’s leading me to a room I haven’t been in before. As we enter, I realise it must be his office. I’ve roamed the whole house in the time I’ve been here, but I assumed this was a pantry since the door is off the kitchen.

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