Page 154 of Bride By Initiation

I shake my head. "It's not. I have a video of it."

He stares at me, momentarily speechless, then demands, "I want to see this video."

I shake my head. "No."

He seethes, "What do you mean, no?"

"It doesn't matter. The only thing on it is you killing those men."

"Who would send you such a thing?" he questions.

"Just tell me why you killed them," I beg.

He looks away and takes his hand off mine. He puts it on his thigh, and it trembles. I stare at it, and he slowly closes it into a fist.

"Dad?"

He jerks his head toward mine. "Who is doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Sending you photos and videos about my past! Things you should not know and which are not your concern."

I soften my tone, putting my hand back on his. "I can't unsee what I've seen, Dad. Tell me why you killed them."

He snarls, "They were enemies."

"Ivanov? O'Malley? O'Connor? Your own flesh and blood, a Marino? How are they an enemy?" I cry out. And then the heavy remorse over the people I killed floods me again.

Bile tries to rise up my throat, and I put my hand on my stomach, swallowing it down.

"You look sick. Do you need the bathroom?" Dad questions.

I close my eyes for a minute, breathing through the nausea, then shake my head, claiming, "I want to know everything. And I know about Aurora and Finzia."

My father's face fills with shock.

A chill races across my skin.

He doesn't say anything for a few moments, then he asks, "How would you know about her? Who's revealing things to you that need to stay buried?"

I cry out, "Why does Finzia need to stay buried? There's nothing wrong with her."

He warns, "You don't know who she is."

"No, you don't know who she is!" I insist.

He puts his finger in the air. "Listen to me closely, myfiglia. You are to stay away from her."

My voice raises. "I'm not staying away from her. She's my family.Ourfamily."

"What's going on in here?" Mom interjects.

I glance at the door.

Her hair is wet, and she's in her pink robe. Her gaze darts between my father and me.

Dad blurts out, "Someone is poisoning Zara's mind."

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