Page 110 of Luciano

“Yes,”I whispered.“I already did. I shot Matteo. Saint and Luciano didn’t tell you that part, did they? And you aren’t even a man… you’re a rotten fucking corpse. Like a vampire. Like a zombie. I'll sleep like a baby. You’ve been a dead man since the night you took my mother. I was always going to kill you. I just didn’t know how. Then you brought me back here and left me in the hands of the man who could give me the strength and skill to do it."

His breathing stuttered. That was the first time I saw real fear crawl across his face.

He leaned forward as far as the rope would allow.."Itdoesn’t matter what you say. You kill me, you burn everything down. Luciano—he’ll never forgive you. The Families will turn on him when they find out. You’re putting a target on his heart.”

“You underestimate your son,”I said.“He’s already scarier than you ever were. Smarter, too. He’s like the fucking Grim Reaper. He'll come out on top. You should be proud. You raised the devil. But enough small talk. He’s going to figure out soon enough I was the one behind all the blown-up cars.”

I pulled the blade from my jeans pocket—one from the facility—and dragged it along the edge of the chair as I stepped closer.

“You’re not brave enough,”Vito spat. But his lip trembled.

“I don’t think you believe that,”I said.

He opened his mouth to speak.

I gripped his jaw and dragged his head back.

Then, with one clean, decisive pull, the blade glided through skin and muscle like butter.

The high I felt had to be comparable to what crackheads or heroin addicts chased—good enough to make you steal from your own mother.

I felt giddy.

Blood gushed from Vito's, hot and fast, soaking his collar, painting the concrete beneath him. His mouth opened—gasping, choking.

I stood back. Watching.

Watching him die.

I heard the door slam open behind me. Heard Luciano’s voice, He was franticly calling my name, asking what I’d done.

But I didn’t turn.

Not yet. I needed to see him take his last breath.

“Ava!”Luciano’s voice cracked like it was ripped from his chest.

I finally turned.

He stood frozen, staring at his father’s body.

Saint was with him.

He shook his head at me. Then—

Bang. Bang.

Saint dropped the two guards where they stood.

Luciano didn’t move.

He just stared at me.“Why?”he asked, barely above a whisper.

I stepped around Vito’s body, sneering. It annoyed me that he was asking me this question. He knew why.“Because he deserved it. Just like the men who killed your mother.”

Chapter 50

Luciano

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