Page 72 of Ruined By the Enemy
Not to mention that I could’ve died if things had gone sideways. And something tells me that my uncle would’ve considered it a necessary sacrifice.
Who stands to gain, then?He made me believe it was all for me. That I was taking back what the Morettis stole from my family.
I believed it for years. Now? It seems like I’m fighting a war that someone drafted me into. A brainwashed soldier, nothing more.
And if that’s the way things are, I’m not sure I want to keep fighting.
Chapter Nineteen
Sophie
“Why?”
I fold my arms as my uncle closes the door to his study, shutting out my aunt to keep her from overhearing our conversation.
It wouldn’t do much if she decided to eavesdrop, but I don’t care. I’m way past being the diligent and devoted niece they want me to be. I’m here for answers—and I’m not leaving until I get them.
“Taking him out was never part of the plan,” my voice rings clear with accusation and anger. “Why did you change things at the last minute?”
He doesn’t reply, walking over to his desk at a slow pace intended to drive me to the wall, no doubt. It doesn’t matter, though, because I’m already through the wall.
I spent a week after we returned from Italy thinking over the events that happened that night. I tried to find excuses… the part of me that saw my uncle as the family who saved me, tried to make allowances for him.
But the only thing I could see, when I closed my eyes, was Dom. The blood spreading across his shirt, his face pale as a ghost, and his head reached out as he called my name.
Although he was shot and dying, he wanted to know that I was okay.
He cared about me, even if it meant using his last breath.
“I’m not leaving,” I say firmly, “until you start talking. And don’t try to paint me as soft and distracted,” I add, recalling how the conversation went the last time, “because this is no longer about me. It’s about you and the secrets you’ve been keeping from me.”
He exhales and runs a hand through his graying hair. “What do you want me to tell you?”
“The truth,” I bite hard. “Why did you lie to me that you sold the vineyard? Why did you send hired assassins after Dom without informing me?”
My uncle leans back, his expression lacking urgency or interest. To him, I might as well be a pesky teenager, and he, some saint with infinite patience. “I don’t think you can handle the truth, Sophie.”
I frown. What does that mean?
“You,” he clicks his tongue, “have always been headstrong, like your father. While it helped him in certain ways, it also blinded him to what he should’ve seen.”
His hand brushes over a document. “I thought you were ready when I sent you to him, but I realized my mistake too late. I’d taught you to use your anger when I should’ve taken it away from you.”
What on earth is he talking about? Where’s the accountability, for crying out loud? Thrusting my hands on my hips, I scoff. “I see. You’re saying I’m too emotional. If so,” I purse my lips, “then we have our flaws. I’m unstable and you’re… a liar.”
His gaze sharpens at that, and I know I’ve hit a nerve. Good. Maybe we’ll finally get things out without beating about the bush.
“Tell me, uncle,” I step closer, throwing embers into the smoke. “Did you lie to me so you could claim what yousaidwas mine as yours?”
I flinch when his hands slam on the desk, but I don’t move an inch. “How dare you?!” he thunders. “You have no idea how much I sacrificed for you! I had to leave everything I had, uproot my life, and go under because you had to stay hidden.”
“Why?” I retort, as my chest rises hard. “Why did I have to change my name? It’s not like Domenico changed his, and it’s his father who killedmyparents!” I strike my chest as my voice rises, my frustration pouring out.
My voice cracks and bleeds like a raw, gaping wound when I speak again.
“All my life,” I say, “you’ve told me the same thing. I have to make Domenico pay for what his father did by taking the Moretti Group from him. You made it seem like he took everything—every last thing.”
My breath hitches. “Only for me to find out that you lied.”
