Page 122 of Unchained

He hugs me tighter. “No. G. You didn’t ask for this. None of you needed to be beaten to become leaders. Do you hear me?”

I know. And I think deep down, I’ve always known it was wrong. But he was my father, and I never knew any different. And he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if it meant he would survive. So, maybe he did teach me something valuable after all.

I pull back, glancing over at Dom, his face completely stoic. “Dom…”

“Do it, G. Get us out of this, please.” His voice cracks.

It was only last year that I was visiting him in a hospital bed after Dad beat him so badly. I should have stopped him then, but every time I found the courage to try, it’s like he managed to rewire my brain. Dangle another carrot in front of me so I’d comply. I’d wait patiently, even when everything I loved was dying a slow death around me.

I drag in a shaky breath and take a step back. My father’s eyes follow me; his limp hand claws at Colten’s jeans.

“Please don’t,” he chokes out. “He’s lying.”

I shake my head and crouch down, even if my body screams at me for doing so. I have enough anger inside of me to push past any pain. I’m vibrating with spite, yet it’s mixed with anger, sadness, and everything else in between.

“Did you ever love me, Dad?” I ask, watching the trickle of blood fall down from his eyebrow.

My husband did that. For me. I never realized how much I needed saving, not just from my family, but from myself.

“Principessa, you know I love you,” my father whispers.

I fall back onto my butt, tapping my nails against the tiled floor. All I see is the hatred in his eyes when he came for me.

One more kill and the empire is mine.

My mom would tell me to save myself. So would Max. And now Dom is telling me to end this.

“This isn’t how you love your kids, Dad. This is how you’ve controlled me. Max’s death wasn’t my fault; it was yours. You ruined Fabio. You’re the one who started the war with the Greeks; I told you we were getting weak. We didn’t have the manpower to fight them on our own. And you went ahead and did it anyway. That’s what killed my brother. And Fab, why did he turn? Because he didn’t believe in you either. You created monsters for your own benefit, but I’m done being your puppet, Dad.”

Every word kills me; it’s the truth, but it’s a tough pill to swallow. I’ve lived a lie my whole life. I was never strong, only brave enough to stand a beating by grown men. Or to withstand being imprisoned in my own home until my punishment was served.

He did this to me. And my father doesn’t deserve a quick death with a bullet.

He shakes his head feebly; there is no love in his eyes. Just fear. Because the monster he created is turning on him.

“Se mi ami allora mi perdonerai.” If you love me, then you’ll forgive me.

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

Colten

Without a single word spoken, Dom strides over, handing a sharp blade to Gianna. He leans in and whispers something to his father in Italian as he grabs his dad’s hands and holds them above his head.

I keep my foot on his chest. I’ve knocked all of the wind out of the man already; he can’t fight back, and he knows it.

“I’ll see you in another lifetime, Vito,” Gianna whispers.

She’s fighting back the tears, smearing into the blood drying on her skin, and she cuts hard and fast along his throat.

I don’t believe she’s crying for her father. I think she’s crying for herself. Realizing she’s been a victim of his abuse. But her power is her own. It was never his. And I’ll do everything I can to make her see it.

The knife clatters to the ground as she shuffles back while her father chokes to death and bleeds out all over the floor.

I wonder how many times he’s had to clean his daughter's blood from this very floor.

He goes limp beneath me, and I rush to her, dropping to my knees and taking her in my hold. I don’t say a word; I rest my head on hers and close my eyes. “You fought back, G. You did it, and I’m so fucking proud of you.”

She erupts into a full-blown sob, and all I want to do is shield her from the world. These cries aren’t for the adult Gianna. This is all the years she’s lost because of this man.