Page 101 of Wrathful King
Asher’s left brow twitched. “’Cause these three are totally not interrupting your honeymoon.”
Ignoring him, I jutted my chin toward the secret compartment behind the fireplace. “When I’m done, I’ll stash them in there.”
He gave me awhatever you say, bossface and pulled his phone from his pocket. It was a miracle Asher and Dante didn’t get along better. They were the same. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m guessing there’ll be some bodies to bury.”
“You guessed right. Also, have one of the guards shut the windows and outside shutters on the first floor. I don’t want collateral damage or accidental witnesses.”
He nodded and left the room and it took a few seconds to hear someone outside the window, closing the shutters that barely ever got used.
I returned the attention to my prisoners. “Okay, Maria. Seems you have the hots for my mother.” She stiffened, her gaze darting to my mother for help. As fucking if. “Explain what exactly you did for Hiroshi and my mother.”
Almost as if Maria had detached herself from the current situation, she turned her head to the side, lips in a thin line.
I didn’t like hurting women. I really didn’t. But this one had been around Reina and Phoenix since they were little, conspiring against them the whole time. So I shot her. In the knee.
A loud wail traveled through the air. In hindsight, we should have probably left every window in the house closed.
“It will be your other knee next if you don’t answer my question.” And I’d enjoy it too. The threat in my voice and the promise of the next bullet must have spurred her on.
“I slipped Grace the information regarding Tomaso’s first marriage. I pretended it was a slip of the tongue, and then I begged her not to tell anyone. The idiot bought it.”
My jaw clenched. “Why?”
“Hana was suffering, and he was busy prancing around with his new wife.” Her tone was flat but her eyes were full of hate when she looked at Reina. “Angelo was beating her.”
Reina’s eyes filled with pity as they darted to my mother. Even after all this, she found it in her heart to feel sorry for her. Well, I couldn’t. I was no stranger to what went on in our house, but it was a poor excuse for ruining innocent lives.
“What else?”
“Stop talking, you stupid bitch.” Hiroshi was intent on keeping his secrets. I wondered what my mother was thinking. She remained silent, her gaze lowered to the ground. She wasn’t in her pink kimono. Just jeans and a dirty white T-shirt that was three sizes too large for her.
I aimed at her other knee. “I suggest you keep talking.”
“Okay, okay,” she whimpered, her eyes locked on the barrel of my gun. “I nudged Grace into Angelo’s arms, but instead of beating her, the idiot worshiped her. He wanted her to leave Romero and marry him instead.”
Angry tears filled Reina’s eyes and her hands curled into fists. I pulled her closer.
“Continue,” I hissed through gritted teeth, keeping my attention on Maria from the corner of my eye.
“It went on for years. But then Tomaso sweet-talked her back into his bed. It was a few months before she got pregnant. There was no tearing her away from that baby. But we bided our time.” She turned her head to look at my mother. “It was better for Hana when Angelo was infatuated with Grace, so we tried to bring them back together.” Fuck! My mother was in on it the entire time. “I kept Grace’s schedule and we arranged an accidental rendezvous. Knowing Angelo, he didn’t take her rejection well.” A soft gasp came from my wife. “He raped her, and since I tracked Grace’s periods, I knew exactly whose baby it was.” Her eyes flared when she said those last words.
“I… I’m a product of…” Reina couldn’t utter the word. Fuck, I wished I could have spared her this. This was a whole new level of woman scorned.
“And you were part of all that, Mother?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I needed her to admit to her sins, but she refused to acknowledge me. She wouldn’t even look at me. “Answer me, or I swear to God, Mother, I’m going to end you right here and right now.”
It sickened me to say those words.
“I was just so angry,” Mother rasped, clutching her hands together.
“Was it your idea?”
“Yes, it was her idea.” Maria grinned like a damn lunatic. “The only idea I had of my own”—she flicked a glance at Hiroshi—“well, not on my own. Hiroshi helped. It was when the Yakuza attacked Tomaso. Hiroshi wanted proof of Tomaso and Hana’s annulment. Well, he got it, and then he disappeared back to his country.”
The fake proof.My mother knew the annulment never happened, so why the pretense? I started to wonder who the true villain was here.
Reina’s shoulders slumped and her eyes locked on my mother. “Why?” Her voice was coarse. “Why would you take it so far?” My mother remained silent, not a flicker of emotion. I didn’t think she even knew who she was anymore. Reina’s eyes locked on the woman she’d known for decades. “What was in it for you, Maria?”
“To see Hana happy. At the end of it all, it would be just her and me.” Good God, Maria had a whole new level of delusion going on. “She was also very generous.” I sure as fuck hoped she meant generous in a monetary way, not sexually. “And she promised to sign over this house to my family. I spend more time caring for it than any of the Romero family combined.”
