Page 141 of Cara

My eyes dart to the door, where my husband stands, his face drained of color.

Revenge is easy until it’s right in front of your eyes.

My skin prickles. My father knows how to provoke fear. “Bo, take Xavier out of here, please.”

Xavier’s refusal is spoken through my name. “Sophie.”

“This is something only I can do. Ithasto be me, and I can’t do it with you watching.”

The silence is haunting, the air thick enough to choke on.

When Xavier turns on his own, needing no help from Bo,leaving me alone with my father, he takes the light out of the room with him.

What remains is odious… rotten.

“For many years now, I wondered if I would ever see you again,” Vito eventually says. “There wasn’t much hope until Dominic saw your picture. He heard the story of your life and linked your sick connection to the bastard who broke code and ruined countless lives. He offered me the whole world for one thing… you.”

“I'm not yours to give. Ineverwas.”

“Yet, here you are. Exactly where you were always meant to be.” His eyes explore my features, lingering on the scars that weren't there when he saw me last. “Except you’re stronger. You’ve finally come to understand our world, my darling.”

My lips shrivel in rage. “Do you know what they did to me? Could you evenfathomit?”

His eyes wince, his pupils perfectly still. “You spit on my help the moment you ran off with that man. You wanted to run? You wanted to leave your family? Fine. I let you get what you want.”

“What I want?” My eyes widen, horrified, relieving what he’s referring to. “What Iwant?”

“What would you like me to say, Sophia? That I regret leaving you with that Marcello bastard? Arturo didn’t tell me what they planned to do. He didn’t need to. The moment you were gone, Camilla was, too. Within a single year, my life fell apart. All because you couldn’t handle the life you were made for.”

“You’re a fuckingmonster.”

“So are you. So is your husband. Don’t act all saintly when you have a blade in your hands, Sophia. We are all a product of this world within the world.”

My thumb traces the blade’s hilt, my eyes trapped on the floor. “Anything else?”

Vito stiffens as if he’s forgotten his unlucky predicament, trapped in a crumbling building. He tilts his head, suddenly smirking. I dread what his horrifying mind has convinced him is an appropriate final blow.

He gives a glance to the front door. “Shame Camilla told you about the hit. All of this could have already been over.”

“She did it to help her daughter.”

His endless eyes widen past the point of an abyss, sucking me in. “Weaknesses get youkilled.”

Weaknesses…

Weaknesses get you…

It takes me just a moment to grasp it, to piece together the disturbing truth behind those words. Accept why he’s placed them in the same sentence as my mother. It requires understanding the demon in front of me to come to terms with what he’s telling me.

My legs straighten until I'm standing, gaping down at him.

As he tells me we’re the only two left.

As he tells me he’s stolen my entire family from me.

“You… didn’t.”

“She proved she couldn’t be trusted.”