Page 119 of The Devil's Deal

“Don’t look so surprised.” He leans back in the chair, all smug. “I knew everything she was doing, whatyouwere doing, going to that bakery to see that boy. I only let you continue because I knew soon enough he’d be gone from your life.”

“What the hell do you mean, gone?”

“You see, when I found out your mother was telling Dominic’s father our personal business and getting his help to run away, I set out a plan to kill her and kill Francesco’s entire family.”

I suck in a rough breath, my body breaking out in a tremor, tingles forming over every inch of my skin.

“How could you want to kill innocent children? Wha-what is wrong with you?” I stammer with shattered words.

“Blame your slut mother!” he bellows. “It wasn’t good enough to spill our secrets, but she decided to fuck him too. Placing a bug in her handbag was the best thing I did. I’d hear every word, every time they were together in the back of his bakery. The whore couldn’t fuck him anywhere else.” His chuckle slithers up my arms like a creepy snake. “Can you imagine going from me to that lowlife?”

His features bend with revulsion, as though he really thinks he’s better than Francesco.

“You didn’t let her do anything! She was a prisoner! I’m glad she had someone to spend her time with instead of the likes of you.”

“You little bitch!” His palm hits me harder than the undercurrent of his tone.

“I feel sorry for you.” I grit my teeth. “You’re not even human. Hell, you’re not even an animal. You’re something worse.”

And then it hits me… He must’ve killed someone from Dominic’s family. This is what this whole thing is about. Oh, my God…

“What have you done?” I whisper. “Who did you kill other than…”

It’s hard to get the word out, too painful to say out loud.

“Other than your slut mother? None other than Francesco himself, but not before I put a bullet into his little Matteo.”

A heavy pounding of tears wells into my eyes.

“No!” I scream, my heart squeezing tight under the imaginary weight of his fist. “No, no, no.” The heavy sobs wreck me, my shoulders shaking. “You didn’t. Not that sweet baby.”

“Don’t worry. I made it quick.” A callous smile crosses his face.

Nausea churns in my stomach and I try hard to keep it down. No wonder Dominic is so desperate to kill them all. The urge to do it myself rises from the depths of my grief.

“Your uncle Agnelo was more than willing to off them both, but I needed to be the one to pull the trigger. I needed Francesco to know I, Faro Bianchi, was the one who took his son away, and if it weren’t for Dominic and the other boys running away, I would’ve killed them too.”

I cry violently, not caring how weak it makes me in front of this demon.

“But at least before his death…” he continues, ignoring my tears. “Francesco thought all his sons would die. He had no reason to doubt me, considering one of his sons was bleeding before his eyes.”

My uncle Agnelo is as evil as my father. They all are, really, but he lacks the same humanity my father lacks. The older I got, the more I saw it. His daughter, Aida, might as well be a stranger to Raquel and me. We never saw her growing up, except at family functions. She didn’t even go to school with us. He had her homeschooled. I often wanted to find a way to speak to her in private, but I never did. I was afraid her father would find out and get angry at her because of me.

“There’s something not right with you,” I tell my father with a shaky breath.

“Shut your damn mouth!” He rises to his feet. “You don’t speak to me that way!”

His jaw clenches, teeth baring before he reaches into his pocket and takes out his cell. He moves back a step and starts typing.

He glances up at me through narrowed slits of his eyes. “You, my daughter, are as good as dead. Your betrayal is the final nail on your coffin. And Dominic will watch you fall before I kill him, just like your mother did, seeing her lover dead.” His mouth curls into a sneer. “It’s kind of poetic, isn’t it?”

“No! I won’t let you hurt him!” I pull on my binds, rattling the chair, trying to find a way to loosen my hands, but it’s too tight.

He reaches his other hand behind him and pulls out a handgun, pointing it right at me, his glare as deadly as the weapon.

“What do you think you’re gonna do about it?”

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