Page 80 of Deadly Vows

“Like me?” he asks.

I meet his gaze as I speak, no longer letting my fear of him control how I respond.

“A killer without remorse,” I say.

Luca laughs, looking away from me to the window.

“A killer…” he says to himself.

“You know, you’re so self-righteous. You stand there judging people like Enzo and me because we didn’t have the choice you had. You stand there,breathingbecause I am a killer, don’t forget that, Elise,” he says.

Instead of anger, however, I see irritation in his expression. It shocks me and for a moment, I don’t know how to respond.

“Luca, I—”

“You are the daughter of a man so wicked, he would sacrifice your life to get his goals. You act like either of us was born into a normal family with normal jobs, and I justchose to be this way. But we weren’t, Elise. And just because your duty to the family was a marriage doesn’t make you any better than me. You did what you had to do. You followed orders. Your biggest issue was your father not paying attention to you. Mine was making sure I hit my target between the eyes and not the neck because if I fucked up, it was my life on the line.”

Luca stands, his gaze narrowing as he looks at me.

“This life was never a choice. You of all people should know that. You want to hate me because I allowed your brother what neither of us was given? I could have told him to fuck school and spend his life serving this family, but I didn’t for you! I really thought things were changing between us, but God, you are so selfish, Elise, looking down your nose at us for doing what needs to be done for this family. You paint me to be this horrible man when I’ve done nothing but provide for you, protect you, and care for you!” Luca shouts.

My eyes widen, but I don’t speak. I’ve never seen this side of him. He’s never cared what I think, or shown that he did. But something has changed, and he’s ready to release all the resentment he feels.

“You keep acting as if you were the only one forced into this marriage,” he laughs humorlessly, “Do you think Iwantedto marry you? Do you have any idea who you are to me? You can’t begin to imagine my shock, my guilt, and my rage when I found out that I had to marry the girl whose mother I shot in cold blood right in front of her! Imagine when I have to look at you every day and look at that small scar on the side of your temple fromme! From beating you almost to death! Because if I didn’t, guess who would have come after me and my family? Your father!”

Luca is full-blown shouting now. But my eyes are wide and in shock. He briefly mentioned my father was the cause of my mother’s death in the past, but I brushed him off, thinking it was just another reason for him to prove my father’s level of greed. But now, he’s admitting to it.

All those times he touched my face, gently stroking my temple…all those times.

“You what?” My voice comes out in a broken whisper, and all the anger that was present on Luca’s expression evaporates in an instant as he realizes his mistake.

“Oh, God…Elise—”

He takes a step forward, reaching for me, and I quickly move away. My fingers tremble as I touch the scar on my temple. All these years, I thought it was a birthmark. But it’s from Luca. The man responsible for my life, the moment he destroyed everything that I knew.

We both continue to stare at one another in silence until I finally take off out of the room. And to my relief, Luca doesn’t follow me. I push past all the security in attendance, making my way to the nearest car, and I note one of Luca’s men immediately approaches at the same time, probably on his orders.

“Do you need something, Mrs. Pasquino—”

“Take me away from here,” I murmur, crawling into the backseat.

I wait until we are up the driveway to look back. Luca stands on the porch, watching me leave. But he doesn’t stop us as we pull away. I don’t know if it’s because he feels bad about his revelation or because he knows that once I’ve calmed down, I’ll have nowhere else to return but back to his graces.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Elise

I rarely venture outside of my home. Even growing up, my father kept me close to home at all times, only letting me leave for recitals. I’ve lived a sheltered existence from the moment I was born. And as I sit on the bench in the park, watching people go about their lives, I feel a sense of unease wash over me.

A mother and her daughter step in front of me, hand in hand. It makes me wonder about the night of my mother’s demise. I can’t even remember it happening. Were we hand in hand? Was she carrying me? Was she trying to escape because she knew what my father was planning?

I release an audible sob, wiping the stray tear that falls from my eyes. My father never spoke about my mother growing up, and now I know why. He never gave her a second thought. She was just another roadblock in the way of his plans that needed to be removed, just like I ended up being. Or would have been had Luca not developed a strange desire to protect me from my father’s plans.

I think back to his rant, my confusion deepening. His anger stemmed from my judgment. I laugh to myself. I can’t believe he called me selfish for wanting my brother to have a chance at a normal life.

In the end, we’re all messed up. And I was dumb enough to think I could somehow be excluded from it. But Luca is right. Nothing in my life was my choice. My marriage, hobbies, and even my “friends” were all chosen for me. My father mapped out everything meticulously, including using my brother.

I take a deep breath, leaning back against the bench. The sky is gray, and thunder rumbles in the distance.

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