Page 67 of The Shadow King's Brother

"My little girl," she whispers. "You're still my little girl. You've always been. Don't ever forget that."

I want to scream, to tear her hand off me, but I stay still, frozen. I'm trapped. In her grip. In this room.

She pulls her hand away, stepping back just enough to give me space to breathe.

"I know you think you love him. But it's just a fling, a fascination. It will pass once he's gone. You know what they did to your father. What the De Luca’s did to us." She tilts her head.

My stomach drops. I want to say something—anything—to make her stop, but my words catch in my throat.

"You're scaring me, Mom," I finally rasp out.

"Scared?" Susan laughs. "Good. You should be. That'll teach you not to mingle with killers, mafia, traitors."

A pit forms in my stomach. I can't let her do this.

"You sent Eddie after me," I say, the accusation sharp, like a knife scraping across bone. "In the parking lot. That was you, wasn't it?"

Her eyes flicker for a second, a flash of something behind the ice. But she doesn't deny it.

"Yes," she admits. "I thought you'd be more useful if you were... distracted. I couldn't have you running to Elio with news about the Broad Corporation, my perfect front. I don't want to blow my cover. I mean, I will blow it—in time." She smiles. "Eddie can be... persuasive. Am I right?"

My hands are shaking. I don't know if it's the poison or my anger causing it. "What do you want from me, Mother? What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything. Just leave Elio and the De Luca’s alone!"

Her hand comes to my face again, but she's not stroking this time. She's pressing, her grip hard as she forces me to look at her.

"I want you. First, as bait, but I really want you to finally see things my way. Our way. Not Elio's way. You're stronger than that. Better than that. Better than that mafia scum family."

Her thumb caresses my cheek now, not with love but with ownership.

"And once Elio's gone," she continues, "we'll have the De Luca's wiped out, and we'll have everything."

I want to throw up. I want to run. But instead, I stare at her. She's too far gone. She's not the woman who raised me. She's something else. Someone who wants to see everything burn as long as she's the one standing when the ashes settle.

"You want control of the city? You want to take over and make the Galli's—the new mafia?"

She tilts her head, a slow, satisfied nod.

"You're sharp," she says.

"You can't force me into this," I snap, the anger finally breaking through my numbness.

Her smile doesn't falter. "You're already in this, darling. You've always been in it. You just haven't realized it yet."

I shake my head. "I don't want any part of this. I won't be your pawn."

Her grip tightens momentarily, but then she steps back as if done with me. "Don't worry. You'll learn. You always do. You'll see."

Tears press behind my eyes like a dam on the verge of collapse, straining against… everything. I refuse to let it spill. I won't give her the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart. But inside, everything is breaking.

A low rumble suddenly cuts through the room's stillness. It starts weak, like a dying engine, but then it builds, steady and relentless—the sound of a car.

I freeze. My breath catches in my throat.

It's Elio.

My mother's gaze sharpens, the corners of her mouth curling into an unsettling smile. "I didn't expect him here this early. He must really… like you."

Her eyes move toward the window, her lips parting slightly as she listens. The car noise grows louder, the engine roaring more clearly now, and then it stops.

---