Page 88 of Always A Villain
“Why?!”
The pliers tighten. I pull.
She screams, her entire body jerking back and forth as I rip her flesh. Blood drips from her nail bed, staining the concrete.
“BECAUSE MARCO DELUCA IS HER REAL FATHER!”
I freeze.
The pliers slip from my hand.
“What did you just say?” My voice doesn’t even sound human.
Her tear-filled eyes meet mine. “Conrad isn’t Rory’s father. Marco is.”
“Bullshit. Explain.Now.”
She gasps for air. “I don’t know everything, I swear. I only know her mother had an affair with Marco. Conrad didn’t find out until years later, after she tried to leave him.”
My mind is a storm.
“Why now? Why make her go to the Dolore now?”
She whimpers. “Antonio needs her. For some marriage, some deal he made.”
It clicks.
The divorce. The push to break our Bond. She couldn’t remarry while still tied to me. Conrad never cared about hersafety. He used me. Used her. Played us all.
My jaw clenches so hard I taste blood.
I grab her hand—her terror-filled eyes flicking between mine. Without hesitation, I rip off another nail. Her shrieks echo through the room, raw agony.
“AXEL! PLEASE! NO, STOP!”
“Where the fuck is Conrad?”
“I DON’T KNOW!” she sobs, convulsing against the chair.
I study her—every trembling breath, every tear, every quiver of her broken body. She might not know. Not the whole story.
Exhaling slowly, I force the rage to settle into something colder. More controlled.
“A team of mercenaries came for Rory last night. They knew everything. My security system. The layout of my house. The location of my goddamn bedroom.”
She swallows audibly.
“Not many people know those details, Alicia.”
I let the silence stretch.
“Only a select few.”
Her breathing turns erratic.
I tilt my head. “I can count them on one hand. Arsen. Griffen. Rosa. Henry, my butler. And…Travis.”
Her face drains of any remaining color.
