Page 137 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

Enzo’s mouth opened and closed, his face paling slightly.

“I didn’t think he’d kill you for it.”

“I’ve told you so many times, you don’t know the real Gennaro. He was a monster.” I raised a hand, pointing upstairs. “What he did toMamáonly confirms that.”

It was Gil who took a step forward at the mention of our mother.

“What do you mean? She was in an accident.”

“No, she wasn’t. He did that to her. She was trying to leave him, Gil, because of the way he treated her.” Ari’s hand tightened in mine. “He hunted her down and beat her half to death, then he lied to everyone about how it happened. He paid those doctors to keep her alive to punish her for daring to leave him. She’s been in that fucking bed for almost ten years because of him. She’s never going to wake up and keeping her that way is cruel.”

I ran my free hand over my chin.

“Why do you think I broke away from him? He told me what he did to her and I couldn’t take it. He never lovedMamá. She was just a means to an end for him.”

Neither of my brothers spoke. Enzo looked stricken and even Gil’s brow furrowed, distress painted across his features.

“I’m sorry I kept it from you. Maybe if you knew the truth, none of this would’ve happened, but what’s done is done. I wanted to protect you. All this time, I’ve just wanted to protect both of you from him, even though I couldn’t. Not really.” I let out a breath. “Now he’s dead and I’m not sorry for it. He deserved it.”

Enzo dropped onto the sofa, putting his head in his hands as his shoulders shook. Ari looked up at me, then at my brother. I let go of her hand, giving her a nod. She went over to the sofa, sat down, and put an arm around Enzo’s shoulders. He deflated further, making my girl curl her other arm around him and rub his shoulder.

“Shh, it’s okay,” she murmured. “The truth can hurt, but now you can make it right. You can give your mother the peace he never let her have. It’s going to be okay, Enzo, I promise.”

Gil walked over to me, eyeing Ari and Enzo with a raised eyebrow.

“She’s quite something.”

I couldn’t prevent my lips from curling upwards.

“Isn’t she?”

He stroked a hand across his chin.

“I understand why you didn’t tell us… and why you killed him, but this leaves us in a precarious position.”

Ever the practical one, Gil was more like me than Enzo had ever been. We didn’t allow emotions to cloud our judgement. At least, I tried not to. My father was the only person capable of inciting the worst kind of rage inside me. Now he was dead, I no longer had to live in fear of losing the girl I was in love with. Now I could put aside my emotions and deal with the situation with a clear head.

“He didn’t tell you what I’ve been up to, clearly. We have much to discuss but now isn’t the time. We’ll talk about it when this is handled.”

“Agreed.”

I looked over at him.

“And we have to letMamágo. I can’t watch her like that any longer.”

Gil looked at his feet.

“I know you’re right.”

“But?”

“The thought of saying goodbye is… difficult.”

“And our father dying didn’t bring out the same emotions?”

He shrugged.

“He was a monster. I’ve seen him kill, Zayn. He got this look in his eyes like he enjoyed it. Like it fuelled him to cause other people pain. So knowing he did that toMamádoesn’t surprise me. In fact, I’m more annoyed at myself for not noticing how things didn’t add up. Maybe I just didn’t want to see it.”

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