Page 37 of Their Reckless Thief
I froze under his glare, every muscle in my body stiff with fear. My father was a towering figure, all raw power and unrestrained malice. And now, he was directing all of that venom at me.
My sister, Clara, hadn’t come home the night before. It wasn’t like her to not be home at a reasonable hour.
“Do you hear me?” he spat, taking a step closer. “If Clara isn’t found by nightfall, you’ll wish you were never born!”
“Yes, F-Father,” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. My stomach churned as I bolted from the room, my mind already spinning with possibilities. Clara had vices, yes—she loved the thrill of the forbidden—but she was careful. Always careful. She knew better than to test the dangers of The Below.
Where the hell could she be?
I stripped off my shirt and let my wings unfurl. In one fluid motion, I was in the air. The streets blurred past me as I raced through the territory, my wings slicing through the damp air as I flew to the only place I could think of—Ronan’s house. Clara had been seeing the shifter behind Father’s back for months. Perhaps she’d gone there, lost track of time, and fallen asleep in his bed. It had to be that.
It had to be.
I touched down in front of Ronan’s modest wooden house, my breath ragged, my chest heaving. Something felt wrong. The air was too still, too quiet, and dread clawed its way up my spine.
I banged on the thick wooden door. “Ronan, open the damn door!”
No response.
The silence pressed down on me, suffocating. “Clara! Are you in there?” My voice cracked, panic edging every syllable.
Still nothing.
I stepped back, scanning the house. A flash of blue in the corner of my eye caught my attention. The color stopped me in my tracks. It was the exact shade of the dress Clara had worn the day before. The delicate material was now splayed out across the ground in the backyard.
“No,” I whispered. My legs moved on their own, carrying me around the house. Each step felt heavier than the last, and my vision tunneled as I approached the still figure lying face-down in the dirt.
“Clara!” The word tore from my throat as I dropped to my knees beside her. I turned her over, desperation coursing through my veins. Her face was pale, her lips blue. Her eyes stared blankly at the sky, seeing nothing.
She was gone.
A guttural scream tore from my chest. I cradled her lifeless body in my arms, inhaling the scent of her favorite perfume that still clung faintly to her skin. Beneath it was another scent, something acrid and chemical. My eyes darted to the ground around us, where several empty bottles of the addictive drug were scattered.
“No,” I choked, my voice breaking. “No, no, no.”
The drug had taken her. I’d seen it before—the euphoria, the escape it promised. Clara had dabbled before, but she’d always pulled back before it consumed her. This time, it hadn’t let her go.
And Ronan? He was nowhere to be found. The coward had abandoned her, left her to die alone.
I should have been here. I should have stopped this. I should have protected her. But I hadn’t. I’d failed her.
A cold, empty void formed in my chest as I rocked her lifeless body, my tears mingling with the blood that stained her dress. I couldn’t save her. No one could. My sister—my only family—was gone.
The sound of heavy footsteps startled me. My father’s imposing figure cast a shadow over me, his face a mask of cold fury. He looked down at Clara’s lifeless form, the muscles in his jaw tightening. There was no grief in his eyes. Only anger. Disgust.
“She was weak. Good riddance.”
Something inside me snapped. I stood and clenched my fists to keep the rage coursing through me at bay. “She was your daughter,” I hissed.
“She was a liability. Just like you’ll be if you let this weakness fester. Emotions make you vulnerable, Vincenzo. Weak. And weakness gets you killed.”
His words cut deeper than any blade ever could, but I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. The man standing before me was no father. He was a monster. And in that moment, I made a vow that would define me for the rest of my life.
I would never let anyone make me weak again. Love was a trap, a poison that destroyed everything it touched. I didn’t need it. I didn’t need anyone.
Clara’s lifeless eyes burned into my memory, a haunting reminder of the cost of vulnerability. And as I carried her body back to the estate, my heart hardened, encased in stone.
From that day forward, I would be the master of my own fate. Cold. Ruthless. Unyielding.
