Page 78 of Dark Consequences

Mom and Dad enter, followed by my brother and Rose, and then Enzo with Evie, who holds Mei in her arms. The sight of them all gathered here serves as a harsh reminder of Dominic’s absence. The sadness lingers, but his death has been avenged at last.

Evie puts Mei down, who then rushes over to her mother. Lily picks her up and sets her down next to me on my hospital bed.

“Thank you for saving us,” Mei says to me softly.

I reach out my hand, and when she doesn’t shy away, I push her hair back so I can see her face. She looks at me through her bangs, her blue eyes so much like her mother’s. A vivid image of a baby boy with the same eyes flashes through my mind, but it vanishes as quickly as it appears.

“Always, Mei.”

Children wear their emotions on their sleeves. So it’s easy to watch the nerves melt off her shoulders as confidence fills her again. Mei scoots forward and gives me a big hug, which, for her small arms, barely circles my chest. I hug her back before planting a quick kiss on the top of her head.

Rose approaches. “Come on, little one. The men want to talk, and I think ice cream sounds better. Don’t you?”

“Yay! Ice cream!” Mei jumps into her arms.

Lily squeezes my hand before she follows Rose and Evie out of the room.

Once gone, the atmosphere grows tense the moment the door clicks shut.

“What is it about my sons and their incessant need to nearly die?” Dad asks with a raised brow.

Michael bows his head to hide his smile because he was in the same position as me not long ago after saving his family.

“Michael started it,” I point out, knowing I’m playing with fire.

“And you will be the end of it,” Dad snaps with a frown. “No more. It’s upsetting your mother.”

Dad knows we can’t make any promise of the sort because death is a thin line we walk every day...but... “We’ll try our hardest.”

I peer around, noting an absence. “Where’s Uncle Leo?”

Dad’s frown deepens as he crosses his arms over his chest and exhales harshly. “Drinking himself into an early grave.”

I catch Michael’s eyes, and we share a look of concern. Losing a loved one is never easy on anyone, and while his ways of coping are understandable, our uncle has a way of taking everything he does to the extreme.

“And Emilia?” The taste of her name on my tongue is bitter, as her actions replay in my mind.

“On her way back to her father with her tail between her legs,” Michael answers with a grunt.

“He has apologized for his daughter’s actions,” Dad says.

“He’s lucky we didn’t just kill her for what she did,” Michael cuts in.

Dad shoots my brother a sharp glare for interrupting him, but continues. “And is forever grateful for sparing her life. He has also given me his word that she won’t set foot in Miami again.”

Good. What she did is unforgivable, and I never want to lay eyes on her again.

“We have news about the auctions,” Enzo shares, changing the subject.

“Before we sank the yacht, we found evidence confirming what Xiao told us,” Michael explains. “He had books recording every auction with lists of victims.”

“Did you find the list for Rose and Lily?”

“Yes. I can show you Lily’s, but there’s not much to go on.”

“Evie’s checking, though,” Enzo adds. “In case we missed anything.”

I nod my thanks to my friend.

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