Page 77 of Psychological War

Taking the flannel from him I covered myself with it, itching to smell it.

“Her parents grew up in New York with Luca. I don’t know too much about their lives. But Andrew, her dad, Walker, her uncle, and Luca…” I paused unsure I should mention Jacob or not. Jacob was important but for this part of the story, I decided against it. “They grew up together. Luca had always been crazy, and Andrew knew he was involved in the mafia. Anyway there was this girl, he—”

“Emily Willis,” Dimitri suddenly announced. Looking over at him, he was staring directly at Killian. I wanted to ask, but I had a feeling he was looking into Luca. Trying to find anything they could about Salem, but they wouldn’t.

“Yes, Emily Willis. She was the daughter of two very powerful people, lawyers, the mafia lawyers. They were arranged to be married, but Luca was batshit crazy. They were supposed to marry but the night before the wedding Emily and Andrew ran. Walker helped, and they went south. They bought a farm and began different lives.”

“Luca has a son, Dante. No one knows the mother.” Killian looked over at me.

“They got rid of her after he was born. She’s not really important.” It was sad, but true. Taking a sip of water, I continued on. “They had three children, Emmy, Lee, and Salem. By the time Salem was nine, Luca had found Emily, and he took a team to murder all of them.”

“I hate to say this, but it’s not uncommon for the mafia to kill families off,” Dimitri started, holding up his hands. “I’m not saying it’s okay, believe me. I would never go after children, but it’s common with a lot of men in our world.” I understood what he was saying, but it still made me angry. They didn’t know the worst of it all.

“I don’t know how she survived. When I found her, there was so much blood.” Staring down at my hands, it took me back to that day. I may have only been ten, but I could remember everything. “We were supposed to go for our last dance practice, but when I arrived…” I looked up at Zane, wanting to make sure he understood everything I was about to say. “She was lying on her stomach. Her back was completely torn up, and glass was sticking out. God, there was so much blood, so much. I don’t even know how they saved her leg, it was cut so badly.” Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down and not let the tears fall. But I couldn’t. They began trailing down my cheeks. “Her throat was slit, s-she fuck.” I tried getting my breathing under control. Thinking back to that time was difficult. Seeing her there dying while there was nothing I could do.

Swallowing the lump that lodged its way down my throat I continued on. “She had packed dirt into her throat to try and stop the blood. She even had her shirt bunched up. But when I t-touched her, her eyes shot open. She was a-alive.”

Everyone was silent.

“H-er brother, he had been stabbed so many times. His face was no longer recognizable. Emmy, god, she was r-aped, over and over again. Andrew had been beaten, missing a hand, most of his fingers and toes. His ear was m-missing. Then it was her mother, E-emily.” I couldn’t stop the tears. I couldn’t even try. Looking over at Mila, she was sobbing into Dimitri who now looked pained. I couldn’t even face Zane, because I knew if I didn’t like his reaction, I would kill him myself.

“Emily was raped, and not just in one place. She was tied down to the kitchen table. Her hands had been nailed down, and her legs were broken so she couldn’t move. But worst of all, she was stabbed and left to die. She was left to hear them try and finish Salem off.” My voice dropped as I whispered, “She was eight months pregnant.”

Mila gasped before her voice broke and she began clutching her own stomach. Her little baby. Dimitri held Mila as she cried her heart out. Killian got up and picked me up, plopping me down onto his lap. I never told him about this part of my life. He knew about my parents. He knew my secrets.

But not Salem’s.

“Her parents wanted Salem to name him. She named him Tobes.” Again I whispered.

Mila couldn’t control herself anymore, as she cried and cried. Dimitri began whispering things into her ear, trying to calm her down. Killian's arms wrapped around me, holding me against his chest like his life depended on it. I still couldn't look at Zane. If this didn’t convince Zane over why she hid who she was, then again, I would kill him.

“I’m so sorry,” Killian mumbled into my ear. Slowly he began rubbing circles into my thigh. The spot that he always rubbed because it helped with my leg pain. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“I don’t believe it,” Zane finally spoke.

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t stop the bitterness in my voice.

“It’s some stupid sob story,” Zane scoffed.

“Some sob story? That’s why she’s gone back to the broken shell since you walked out that door. Since you called her nothing, basically,” I snapped. “I don’t even understand why you hate her so damn much,” I muttered more to myself but loud enough that he must have heard because once again he stepped forward towards me.

“Zane, you better watch yourself.” Killian spoke in a calming voice. I wasn't sure if he was moments away from losing his shit or not.

“If you truly cared about her then you wouldn’t have said what you did. You would also believe it all. I’m sure you’ve seen the scars covering her entire body.” I shivered at the thought of them. I’d seen them dozens of times. She may hide her body from most people, always wearing turtlenecks so no one saw her scars. But I knew Zane had seen them.

His silence told me everything I needed to know. He cared for her, but because she couldn’t tell him the truth, he wanted to treat her like she was nothing. Nothing at all to him. But I wouldn’t let him hurt her. Not anymore than he already had.

“She has always been saving us,” Mila mumbled into Dimitri’s chest.

“Moy tsvetok?”

“I’ve been keeping a secret from you.” Mila couldn’t look at Dimitri. “I’ve known Salem since I was pregnant with Tobias.”

“What do you mean?” Dimitri's voice hardened.

Mila swallowed before looking over at me. I didn’t know if she needed permission or what. I wasn’t involved in this knowledge, but since I’d told them most of Salem’s story, might as well tell them everything else as well.

“Four years ago when I was kidnapped, she was there. She was the one who killed them.”

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