Page 96 of Tainted Ties

“Forgive me,” my wife croaked, unwilling to meet my gaze.

Then, the sound of clapping boomed in the air, diverting my attention to the source.

Just like that, the one person who filled my once hollow heart, drained it.

“If I didn’t see it with my own two eyes, I would have never believed thattheRoman Mancini fell in love,” Aurora’s father mused. “Nonetheless, withmydaughter.”

My attention drifted to the woman who singlehandedly fooled me into submission.

She was clutching her stomach, pain evident on her features as she glanced at me for a moment.

Anger churned in my chest, my hands trembling with rage. “What is this?” I ground out through clenched teeth.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

On signal, several men approached me, Aurora’s shrieking scream slicing through the thick air. “No!”Her step faltered when an arm wrapped around her torso, pulling her back.

My eyes darted to the man who stood behind her.

Motherfucker.

Raphael smirked at me as he held firm around Aurora.

It was a reflex to reach for her and when I did, pain seared through me as the first fist flew right under my injured rib.

I growled, ready to pounce on the fucker in front of me when my arms were held back by two men on either side of me.

“See, I could have ended your life in that parking lot two weeks ago, but what would be the fun in that, huh?”

There it was, my suspicion confirmed.

If he thought my death would be on his hands, he was not only going to die, but he was detached from reality.

Leveling a look at Angelo Bianchi, I bared my teeth, giving him a fierce smile. “You’re not going to do shit. Did you forget I possess everything in your name?”

He waved a single hand in the air, signaling to one of his men before a fist slammed into my jaw, bringing out a dark chuckle from me.

“Seems that I struck a nerve.” I spat out the blood that pooled in my mouth.

A strangled noise sounded, diverting my attention back to Aurora, ready to pass out with the way her face carried a yellowish tone.

Her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, and she trembled despite the summer air.

I ran my tongue across my teeth. She wasn’t my problem anymore, not when she betrayed me.

“Stop hurting him!Please,”she pleaded, looking at her father with eyes welled in sorrow.

Her words vanished before they could reach me, lacking the sentiment they would have had.

Her cries meant nothing to me, not when she was responsible for the position I was in.

The only person who had ever managed to hurt me washer.

Angelo’s eyes crinkled into slits, disregarding his daughter. His chin tipped up. “Tie him up.”

As if on cue, multiple explosions boomed through the stiff air, low and deep.

The men holding me loosened their grip, giving me the leeway to elbow one in the face before taking out my gun from my hoister and shooting them both.

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