Page 55 of Dark Consequences

“French toast, dear. Would you like to help? I warn you, though, it gets messy.”

Mei smiles big. “I like messy!”

Alice peers up at me. “Would you be a dear and grab the flour for me? It should be in the pantry.”

Oh...shit. My eyes snap to the open door, and before I know it, I'm inside the room, staring at the white powder mess on the shelves and floor. We really did a number in here.

“Did you find it, Lily?” Alice calls.

I zero in on an unopened bag of all-purpose flour and leave the pantry quickly. I’m hoping Alice doesn’t know about the mess in the pantry, but when I meet her eyes as I hand over the bag, the spark in her dark eyes answers my question.

“There’s a broom in the room over there,” she says casually, pointing at a closed door.

“Thanks,” I mumble as my face burns hot from embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, dear,” Alice calls after me once I’m back in the pantry, sweeping up Raphael’s and my mess. “The DiAngelo men are very passionate lovers.”

Oh my God. Kill me now. Rose walks in with Liam just as I finish cleaning the pantry.

“Morning, Lily,” she says as I approach and take a seat beside her. From the shadows darkening her green eyes, it’s clear she knows about Dominic. I doubt Michael would have kept something like that from her anyhow. “How are you feeling?”

I sigh, staring down at my hands. If I look hard enough, I can still see his blood on my skin and under my nails. “It’s hard anytime I lose someone. Especially when I couldn’t do anything to save him. It’s even harder knowing that his death was intentional and not an accident. That Xiao planned this in retaliation for Mei and me.”

“Which doesn’t make any of it your fault, remember?” Rose stresses. “It’s terrible what happened, but you didn’t drive Xiao to do this. He chose to do it himself.”

“So I keep hearing,” I mumble. “How are you doing? You had to have known Dominic better than me.”

Rose kisses the top of Liam’s redhead, tugging him a little closer as if she needs the reassurance that he’s really there. “Dominic brought Liam back from Italy after Michael rescued me. I’ll always owe him for that, but after that, we only met a handful of times, mostly when he’d come to the penthouse.”

“Sounds like he was a good guy.”

“The best cousin a girl could ask for.” Gabriella’s voice interrupts us.

Rose and I turn to see the youngest DiAngelo standing in the open kitchen doorway. Her eyes are red, and her face is splotchy like she’s been crying.

Alice turns off the stove’s griddle and then helps Mei down from her stool. My daughter runs over to me while Alice goes to hers.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Alice says softly into her youngest’s hair while she caresses it. “It’s not fair, Mom,” Gabriella cries, breaking down in her mother’s arms.

“I know. But we’ll get the one responsible for this. Your father, uncle, and brothers will not let Dominic’s death go unanswered.”

Gabriella pulls away from her mom with a hard sniff and rubs at her eyes. Alice kisses her daughter’s cheek and gives her a sad, comforting smile before turning back to the stove.

The feeling of responsibility and guilt continues to hang heavy on my shoulders. I know it’s not my fault, but just because I didn’t pull the trigger doesn’t mean I didn’t hand Xiao the gun when I left.

“Mommy, can I have extra syrup?” Mei asks, completely unaware of the heavy atmosphere in the room.

I squeeze her tiny body closer, needing the reassurance of her presence, just like Rose did with Liam. “Of course, princess.”

Mei jumps off my lap and hurries back to her stool, where Alice meets her.

When Gabriella sits beside me, I drop my eyes, unsure of what to say. She bumps my shoulder. “Hey.”

I raise my eyes to meet hers. She doesn’t look angry, just sad.

“I heard what happened. I know you did everything you could. You did everything right. So thank you for trying.”

I nod mutely.

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