Page 198 of Filthy Savage

I’m damn worried about her mental state, but maybe he’s right. She needs to be home with family.

“I’ve seen cases like this. It’s not uncommon. Just give her time and space to heal.”

I blow out a breath. He’d better be right.

“Mommy?” Fia cries. “Mommy, say something.”

I hate hearing my daughter so sad and scared. But she’s one tough kid.

“Let’s take Mommy home. She just needs rest.”

Fia wipes under her eyes. “Okay, Daddy. Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER 49

AMARA

ONE WEEK LATER

It hasn’t hitme yet. I don’t know if it ever will.

She was my sister. Lilith was my sister, and she tried to kill me. She would’ve done it if Fionn hadn’t come at just the right time.

Reliving her death every day makes me ill inside. She was broken. Hurting. But what she did wasn’t right.

And Julius… I don’t even know what to think about that. About what his father did to me.

When I told Emily and Patricia about it yesterday, they cried, unable to believe it too. How could our friend have been such a psychopath? I don’t know what other way there is to describe her.

“Are you ready to go inside?” Fionn asks as my leg bounces, parked in front of their house.

Roxanne and John. My parents. My real parents.

I want to meet them. They definitely want to meet me.

Fionn spoke to them when I couldn’t. And after he rescued me, he sent his men to check on them, knowing what Lilith was capable of, only to discover them tied up in her bedroom. He told them who he was. Told them their daughter was dead. One, anyway.

The other? She was a little dead inside too.

I didn’t speak to anyone for two days. Everything was locked up tight. But slowly, things unraveled, and I let myself feel it. Feel this immense agony in the center of my chest.

My life was stolen from me. So many other lives destroyed. I could’ve had a sister. A real family. But that was taken away. And for what?

It didn’t take me long to realize that the dream I’ve had of myself as a little girl wasn’t about being abandoned by a father who was never mine, but about what he did to me.

Whattheydid.

Lloyd and Desdemona were arrested a few days ago. Fionn made sure of it. They’re waiting for trial, and I cannot wait to testify against them.

“I’m ready as I’ll ever be,” I tell him.

My heart races, but I have to do this. I have to meet them. It’s what I’ve been waiting for without even knowing they existed.

When I step out of the car as soon as he opens my door, he clasps his hand in mine, kissing my knuckles.

“It’s over, baby. It’s gonna be okay from now on.”

I nod, a knot in my throat.

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