Page 102 of Victorious Vice

“Her suffering was my doing,” Mario says, lifting his gaze to meet mine.

I open my mouth to… To what? To agree? He wasn’t the one who took her, tortured her. But it was because of his love for her that she was taken, tortured, held captive all those years.

The same reason Raven is in danger now because of me.

“Dear Mario,” she says. “I never blamed you.”

Mario’s eyes well up with brimming tears as he looks back at her. “I have carried that guilt, Serena,” he whispers. “Every day, thinking I’d lost you forever.”

Serena pats his hand gently, her own eyes reflecting a deep sorrow. “Life is cruel, my love, but we mustn’t let it control us.”

Mario returns his gaze to me. “How? Where?”

I widen my eyes. “I thought you knew. Somehow you knew. She’s why you sent me to Agudelo.”

He gulps, shaking his head. “I didn’t. I swear to you.”

“I don’t believe you. Why would you care about some stupid deal Puzo was trying to close? You?—”

He narrows his eyes. “That deal was important, Vincent. The fact that you left things hanging has us in a precarious position. And the fact that you took his daughter?—”

“He gave her to me. He knew I’d take her out of her country.”

Mario opens his mouth to offer a retort, but then shakes his head. “I don’t care. I don’t care about any of it anymore, Vincent. Where did you find her?”

Did he truly not know? “She was being held in Agudelo’s attic,” I say. “Daniela helped me rescue her and bring her home.”

Mario shakes his head again. “Agudelo didn’t mention Serena.”

“Maybe he doesn’t even know she’s gone,” I say. “It’s possible. Daniela was able to turn off the security. But her caretakers would have noticed…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Mario wipes his eyes. “All that matters is that she’s here. That she’s alive after all these years. Thank you.”

I scoff. “You think I did it for you? I did it forher. She’s innocent in all this. Her only crime is that you fell in love with her.”

“I was also in love with him,” Serena reminds me.

I look at the old woman, just a shell of the beauty she must have been. Even now, she seems to have no regrets.

Mario was once human.

Maybe Serena will help him remember that.

“I do not regret loving him,” Serena whispers, her voice wavering. “Even if I knew everything that would befall us, I would have chosen to love him still.”

Mario places his other hand over the one Serena is patting. His eyes are bright with tears he refuses to shed, his expression one of gratitude and anguish. “We were so young…”

“Innocence can be a form of blindness,” Serena murmurs. “However, love can also provide clarity.”

Mario simply nods, visibly moved by Serena’s words. He buries his face into her frail hands for a moment. “I should have protected you better.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I interject solemnly, surprised at my own words.

Serena traces Mario’s face with her free hand. “We were both victims, my love,” she says softly.

The scene is surreal—the hardened criminal kneeling at the feet of this fragile woman he once loved, his face etched with regret and sorrow.

Mario lifts his head from her hands and looks deep into Serena’s eyes. A flicker of hope laces his gaze. “Perhaps it’s not too late for us,” he murmurs.

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