Page 69 of His Wife

I bite my lip, a growl tearing from my throat. “I’m going to kill you, you son of a bitch!”

Glass shatters. It’s an explosion of colored shards as Nicoli breaks through it with a leap, jumping through the window, covering his face and hitting the ground, rolling. I take my chance, rush forward, and grab Mira’s shoulder, forcing her down as I aim and pull the trigger without blinking.

The fucker jolts back on impact, falling on the bench and landing awkwardly on the floor. I have no idea how Nicoli got there so fast, but by the time I’m focusing on Mira, she’s already untied and cradled in his arms, blood dripping down her face.

I pull off my jacket and hand it to Nicoli to place against her wound. Her sobs are the saddest sound I’ve ever heard, and it’s slicing through my ribs as I watch a river of blood ooze from Micah’s skull, seeping into the grout. Adrenaline is swooshing wildly inside my veins, throbbing inside my head as my mind tries to process what the fuck just happened.

Maximo comes running in, and he’s at Mira’s side, hugging her, studying her, making sure she’s okay. I hear his curses as he examines the cut on her face. “Motherfucker! It was him?”

Maximo kicks at Micah’s dead body, then spits on his corpse. “Fucker! I can’t believe how close he got.”

“Alexius!” I turn to see Leandra rush toward me, but I grab and stop her from coming too close, not wanting her to see the bloody scene.

“Oh, my God.” She gasps. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Her arms are around my neck, and she’s squeezing me so hard I can feel her relief in my bones. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m okay.” I grip her neck and kiss her head. “I’m good.”

“Mira?” Her hair whips around her face as she searches, a cry leaving her lips when she sees Mirabella crying into Nicoli’s chest. “My God. Are you…is she…did he hurt her?”

“She’s okay.” I breathe out and watch as she runs to Mira. “She’s okay. Everyone is…okay,” I mutter, relief flooding my system with a violent wave. My legs go weak, and I take a seat on the bloodied bench, dragging a hand down my face, everyone’s voices drifting farther and farther away as I sink into my mind, my thoughts dragging me into this dark abyss.

Time is frozen as I glance at Micah’s dead body. I don’t doubt that he told the truth. I believe him because now, in hindsight, the truth was there in my father’s sad expression the night he spoke of his regret. It was all there, the pain and torment of making the wrong decisions. Micah’s life story was in my father’s eyes, and the demons of his deception and desertion, of his lies, haunted him on his deathbed—stole his peace along with his last breath.

I rub my hands together, watching Micah’s blood stain the floor of our family mausoleum. It's like my father’s ghost is whispering in my ear, warning me, telling me that there are few lies that escape judgment for their deception by getting buried. Truth uncovers most, exposes and forces them into the light. But every so often there’s a lie that rests in the grave only to be exhumed…like Micah. My father’s lie. His secret that has now become ours.

“Nicoli,” I call, and watch as he reluctantly leaves Mira’s side as Leandra tends to her.

“You okay?” he asks, studying me.

“Yeah. I’m good. But that cut on your face will need stitches.”

He touches the bleeding wound above his eyebrow. “I’m fine.”

“Mira’s good?”

“Yeah.” I can hear the anger still vibrate in his tone. “I’m glad you saved her, but I wish I was the one to plant the lead in his head.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s done.”

“You believe him?” Nicoli asks, glowering at Micah’s body. “You think Dad was his father, too?”

“I do.” I sigh heavily. “I do believe him.”

Nicoli arches his brows. “I can’t wrap my head around it. That Dad would—”

“Stop. We don’t have to wrap our heads around it. We don’t have to deal with this. It’s done. It’s over. I don’t know why Dad made the decisions he did, but it’s not up to us to question it now when he’s no longer here to defend himself.”

Nicoli narrows his eyes. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” I glance at Micah, “our father’s lie stays here.” I look back at Nicoli. “His secret will never set foot out of this grave. I believe that’s what Dad would want. Otherwise, he would have told us. So, this is our last gift to our father, ensuring his secret will stay buried with him. Always.”

“What about the others?”

We glance at Maximo, Leandra, and Mira, and I shrug. “I think we’re all in agreement.”

Everyone nods, and I hold out my hand to Nicoli. He glances at it, knowing it means a brother’s bond will seal it, a force that can never be broken.

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