Page 65 of Of Vows and Betrayal

I flinch, and my father’s hand tightens on my shoulder.

Javier’s face contorts with rage. “Don’t you dare touch her!” he snarls, taking another step forward.

Dario raises the gun, pointing it at Javier. “One more step, Reyes, and I’ll put a bullet in your head. You’ve already caused enough trouble.”

“I wouldn’t advise it if I were you.”

The church becomes utterly quiet as a tall man dressed all in black enters. He walks slowly up the aisle, drawing wide-eyed stares from everyone, including the judge, who doesn’t seem able to hide his own surprise.

The man stares at Dario with eyes so dark they look like bottomless pits, and the first thought that crosses my mind is that he’s Death coming to claim me.

Dario’s hand shakes as he keeps his gun pointed at Javier, the only sign of his fear, and that, too, is a surprise—I didn’t think Dario Carmine was afraid of anything.

“It has nothing to do with you, Lucchese.”

Ah, Rafaele Lucchese… also known as The Reaper.

“It does now,” Rafaele says, his voice cold and unyielding. “Javier Vargas is under Lucchese protection. You kill him, it’s war.”

“Fine.” Dario turns his gun and points it straight at themiddle of my forehead, and once again, I don’t feel fear and hold the man’s eyes defiantly, almost tauntingly.

“Not her either,” Rafaele says just as my father swipes his arm to push me behind him. I think it’s the first time he has actually stood up to Carmine for me. “She belongs to him; that puts her under my protection too.”

Dario’s nostrils flare with annoyance as he directs his gun toward my father’s head. I try to get in front of him, but he’s too strong and keeps me back.

“Any objection, Lucchese?”

“Nope,” The Reaper says, popping thePlike it’s nothing more than a game.

Dario grins. “Any final words, Angelo?”

My father turns his head to the side and gives me a sad smile. “You’re my greatest achievement, Ophelia, and my greatest pride. I’m sorry, but it’s how it’s supposed to end. Close your eyes, sweetheart.”

I don’t have the time to blink, think, or even breathe. The shot is fired, and suddenly, I feel the warmth of blood all over my face. As my father falls heavily to the floor, his head with a giant hole, someone starts to scream, and I realize that someone is me.

Time seems to freeze as I stare at my father’s lifeless body, my mind unable to process the horror. The scream tears through my throat, raw and guttural, echoing off the walls of the chapel. I fall to my knees beside him, my hands shaking as I reach out to touch him, the blood seeping into the white lace of my dress.

“Dad, no! Please, no!” I sob, holding him tighter, my entire being shattering with the loss.

Dario’s voice cuts through my grief, cold and heartless. “The blood has been spilled, the betrayal repaid. Take your whore and go now. The Gambinos are washing their hands of her.”

Javier steps forward, his face a mask of anguish. “Ophelia, we need to go,” he urges, trying to pull me away from my father’s body. “We can’t stay here.”

“Get away from me!” I scream, shoving him back with all my strength. “This is all your fault! You should have left me to die! I will never forgive you!”

“Ophelia, I never wanted this to happen,” Javier says, his voice breaking. “I was trying to protect you. Please, we have to leave.”

But I can’t hear him, the rage and grief consuming me. “I hate you!” I scream, my voice hoarse and filled with venom. “You ruined everything!”

Rafaele steps forward, his presence like a dark shadow over us. “Ophelia,” he says softly, his voice a stark contrast to the chaos around us. “We need to get you out of here.”

I turn to face him, my vision blurred with tears. “I don’t care. Let me die here with him.”

“I’m sorry,” Rafaele murmurs, and before I can react, I feel a sharp pain in my neck. My vision blurs further, the world tilting on its axis as darkness engulfs me.

The last thing I see is Javier’s face etched with sorrow and guilt before everything goes black.

Chapter 17

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