Page 15 of Her Vengeance

“Why did you decide to leave me?” he asks, his voice barely keeping it together.

“Your father was a marriage I was forced into. I never wanted you,” she spits, and I watch him flinch before he turns it all off. He walks up to her and puts his gun to her forehead.

“Why did you wait until I was old enough to know you to burn it all down?” he asks, frustration shining through the pain. Bianca scoffs, and I want to rip her down.

“Your dad was too infatuated with his whore to notice,” she says, and I walk over to slap her.

“You will only refer to my mother as Anna, or I will start cutting your fingers off. Do you understand?” I seethe.

“Someone is defensive of their mommy,” she snarks at me, and I lose it.

“My mother died protecting her child, instead of being a self-centered narcissist who only cares about themselves,” I throw back and step back between Eva and Rome.

“The love of my life, Gia, was killed because I tried to see her after I married your father. Your grandfather had her heart sent to me with a note that said ‘I think this belongs to you.’ So I did what I felt necessary,” she attempts to justify the way that she has behaved and allows everyone else to take the blame.

“Did you have a hand in executing my mom?” I ask, wanting a definitive answer after all of these years.

“I planned the whole thing. I wanted to inflict as much pain as I could on Aldo,” she admits, and I see red.

“Claire, end her life as you see fit,” Leo says as he turns toward his father-in-law. Ella steps up beside him, and they have a silent conversation.

“Dad, your reign of terror is over,” Ella says as she brings her gun to his head and pulls the trigger. I raise my gun, walking up to Bianca, and smile.

“Good riddance,” I say to her as I pull the trigger and free us all from the nightmare that these two have concocted.

Epilogue

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Rome

Months Later

“Every pain that I have endured has led me to this, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Sitting on the couch in the hotel, I smile as I look over and see Eva teaching Claire knots. This is not where I saw my life going, but at the end of the day, we don’t get to make the path; we only get to choose which paths we walk. We will buy our boat tomorrow to sail around the Mediterranean Sea and enjoy calmer times. I walk over to the girls.

“Do you ladies want to go walk on the beach as the sun sets?” I ask, just ready for a calm, filled time with the most important parts of my life.

“I would love to,” Claire beams, and in that moment, I know this is all I need. I have my happily ever after. My best friend loves life with his wife, and whenever they need technological help, they can call me. Legally, Rome De Luca is dead, but in reality, I am living more than I ever dreamed of.

“That sounds magnificent,” Eva thirds the question and smiles at me. It isn’t always perfect, but we are all willing to work out any issues as long as everyone is safe.