Page 36 of Stolen Temptation (Irish Kings #3)

Kiara

The library doors fly open, slamming into the walls. I startle and drop the book in my hands.

A procession of furious men stalk in. I try to catch Rory’s eye, but his entire expression is blank.

My stomach roils. Something’s wrong.

Shane points to the table. “Sit.”

The iciness of that one word chills me from the inside out. I find the closest chair and plunk into it, my pulse drumming a techno beat in my ears.

The rest of them sit on the opposite side of the table, which does nothing to alleviate my nerves. I feel like I’m facing an inquisition. Rory continues to stare right through me.

What could possibly have happened in the past hour to cause this sudden change?

Shane leans back in his chair and gets comfortable. “So, why don’t you tell us a little more about your family, Kiara De Luca? After all, Enzo is your biological father, isn’t he?”

Oh shit. They know. Not the whole truth, but enough.

Frantic, my gaze falls on Rory. What must he be thinking? “Rory, I swear, I was about to tell you when?—”

He slams his fist on the table. “Shut. Up.”

The pure menace he exudes snatches my breath and stings my eyes. “Please, Rory, just let me explain?—”

“You’ll explain all right. But to everyone. Don’t address me without permission again because you won’t like the consequences.” He shakes his head. “I’m such a fucking idiot. I stood up for you, while all the time, you were playing me. You’re no better than Alayna.”

The disgust in his voice makes something in my chest shrivel. I want to protest, but one glance at his sneering face has me swallowing the urge. Now isn’t the time to test his control.

Despite my shattered heart, I manage to stop my shoulders from hunching and sit up straight.

This isn’t how I wanted the truth to come out, but it’s my fault. I waited too long. Now all I can do is hope that my honesty in this moment will be enough for damage control.

“Well?” Shane prompts. “We’re waiting. I’m not a patient man on a good day, and this is far from a good day.”

Lacing my fingers together in my lap and squeezing, I focus on Shane’s face. If I look at Rory, I might lose it and strain Shane’s patience past the breaking point.

What will they think of me once they know?

What will Rory think?

I guess I’m about to find out.

“Everything I’ve told you so far is true.

” My gaze falls to my hands. I thought I could maintain eye contact with Shane, but it’s easier to talk without seeing the contempt twist his face.

“The De Luca family has been making money off my and mother’s artwork for most of our lives.

But you’re right. That started because…” a knot forms in my throat, “…we’re De Lucas too. ”

I sense Rory’s hostility, but I refuse to glance his way as I continue my shameful tale.

“My mother was a mafia daughter. A Cornello.” That family doesn’t exist anymore. Leo told me that once after I found my mother crying. Most of her family members were massacred during a war with a rival family. “She was sold to the De Luca family when she was eighteen. Enzo wanted her for a bride.”

“So our source was correct. Enzo De Luca is your father? But if you’re Enzo’s daughter, why haven’t we ever heard your name spoken before?” Shane’s question is fair but a painful one to answer.

I ignore the furious whispers and heave a breath. I haven’t even reached the worst part. Not by a long shot.

“Enzo hated me.” I squeeze my fingers to the point of pain. “My whole life, he hated me. He didn’t want anyone to know I was his daughter.”

“Why?” Shane presses.

“I didn’t find out why until my mother died.

” Her sickly face and the tears in her glassy half-dead eyes the day she told me the truth still haunt me.

My shoulders tremble.“I thought Enzo hated me because I reminded him of my mother. He always told me that my mother was nothing but a tramp and a cheater, and that I would be just like her in the end.”

“What does this have to do with your mother’s death?” Shane settles into his seat as if preparing for a good story. Just wait until he learns how wrong he is. There’s nothing good about my story.

Not one single thing.

Beside Shane, I see Rory’s hands flex at his sides, but he doesn’t speak. I still can’t bring myself to look him in the eye.

“On her deathbed, she told me the truth about our family.” I ball my hands into fists. “She was chosen to be Enzo’s wife, and he loved her at first. But things between them started to sour when they couldn’t conceive. Rumors spread throughout the family that he…had a problem.”

I can’t bring myself to say the word impotent in front of these men.

Shane grips the lower half of his face in one of his massive hands and emits a soft humming noise. I force myself to keep going.

“As the rumors got worse, Enzo started to blame my mother, telling everyone that she was broken, that she was the reason they couldn’t conceive a child.

” I suck in a shaky breath and release it.

“She told me that from the moment she was sold into the family, Matteo watched her. He was always watching her. And one night, after the rumors got going and Enzo started mistreating her, he…he forced himself on her.”

I cover my mouth to keep a sob from flying out.

I hear Rory’s muffled curse, but I can’t focus on that.

Rage and shame burn so hot inside me, I feel feverish.

My mother’s admission still kills me to this day.

“Matteo raped her.” To say the words aloud is awful, but now that I’ve come this far, I’d rather speak the ugly truth than hold the shame of what happened inside myself. “And she got pregnant. With me.”

Seconds tick by in dead silence. Finally, Shane speaks. “You’re the illegitimate daughter of Matteo De Luca. Leo De Luca is your half-brother.”

All I can do is give a jerky nod. I loathe to claim him that way—maybe as much as he loathes to think of me like his sister—but it’s the unfortunate reality.

“It’s the only reason I’m alive.” I exhale hard, falling back in my chair.

“Enzo couldn’t go against Matteo, because Matteo was don then.

He could only turn his anger on my mother.

He blamed her, accused her of seducing Matteo, and demanded she get an abortion or face death for ‘cheating’ on him.

But Matteo wouldn’t hear of it. He refused to let his seed be eliminated. ”

And that’s my poisonous secret. I’m a rape baby. The product of my piece of shit sperm donor forcing himself on my mother.

That’s the only reason I’m here.

Because a horrible man committed a crime against my mother.

Because Matteo De Luca violated her.

Nobody reacts. The deafening silence churns my stomach, so I force myself to keep talking to ease the discomfort.

“It devastated me.” I close my eyes for a second.

“Until then, I didn’t understand just how terrible our family is.

” The faces of other De Lucas trail past in my mind, each souring my mood even further.

Another deep breath. “Until my mom got sick, I didn’t even know they’d been selling her paintings all these years.

Every time someone came to pick one up from her studio, she would tell me they were being taken down to the storage room for safe keeping. ”

When I think of all my mother did to protect me from the truth, tears fall down my cheeks and drip right off my chin.

Her life was so hard, yet she managed to provide the normalcy and joy of a healthy childhood.

Despite the circumstances behind my existence, she never made me feel unwanted or unloved.

As far as I’m concerned, my mom was a saint, and Matteo was a demon. If hell exists, I know he’s down there, hopefully experiencing excruciating pain.

“When she got sick, and suddenly the family moneymaker was out of commission, Enzo came to me and told me that I’d need to start painting in my mother’s place. To help the family. That’s when I learned they’d been exploiting her all that time, and that they planned to use me exactly the same way.”

“What changed?” Shane’s question surprises me enough that I lift my head. “A couple of weeks ago, you were on the auction block. You’re clearly an asset to the De Luca family, so why did Leo decide to sell you?”

“Leo hates me and wants me dead,” I say, point-blank. “He’s been saying that since before I can remember.”

“Does he know about the history between your parents?” I start at Rory’s question. His voice is off, and when I brave a peek at him, his face is pale, his jaw clenched tight. He looks ready to rip someone’s head off. Whether it’s mine or Leo’s is anyone’s guess.

I nod slowly. “I think he’s known from the very beginning.

I think…he hated me before I was even born.

To him, I’m just a grotesque reminder of our family history.

I suspect that he, like Enzo, was against Matteo’s decision to let my mother and me live, and my whole life he’s vowed to get rid of me one day.

I didn’t know when or how he might try, but the auction was his moment, I suppose. ”

“So he was happy giving up a solid income stream, just because you’re his half-sister?” Shane probes, crossing his legs. “Why would he do that when he could simply keep you as a prisoner for the rest of your life?”

It’s a solid question.

I shrug. “Maybe the money he was going to get from selling me to the highest bidder made it worthwhile.” I sag into the chair, exhausted.

“Honestly, I think getting rid of me was at the top of his priority list. He was just waiting to come into power, and with Matteo and Enzo gone, this was his first chance to make good on his promise to make me disappear.”

Shane’s phone shrieks, interrupting my tragic saga. “Tell me,” he demands into the device.

Based on the grim line his mouth forms, whatever he hears isn’t good news. “When?” His knuckles turn white. “I’ll send someone out.”

When he hangs up, everyone is staring at him.

My gut dives down to my toes.

“What is it?” Finn asks.

“Fire.” Shane’s voice is grim. “Madden is burning.”

A second passes before the room explodes into motion. Shane barks orders while I just watch with my heart in my throat.

Rory races from the room without so much as a glance in my direction.

Shane addresses me. “Back to your room. If I find you wandering anywhere else, you’ll wish I’d sent you back to Leo.” Despite the threat, his voice isn’t as harsh as earlier.

I scramble to my feet. “I understand.”

I hurry to do his bidding, rushing down the hallway. I want to reach the privacy of my room before I completely break down.

While curled on the bed, choking on sobs, nausea crashes over me.

I don’t know what caused the fire, but I have a terrible gut feeling that my family is at the bottom of it.