I raise an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“I want to help you.”
“Why?”
“Because Rose deserves better. And Sofia…” He trails off looking at his feet like he can’t admit what he’s wanting to say.
“What the fuck about Sofia?” I snarl.
He looks up, and I see it, something akin to the fury inside me. “Sofia won’t make it to Christmas if we don’t do something.”
I snarl, clenching my fists. Otto dares to hurt her? Dares to lay a finger on her? It’s hard to contain my rage, it’s hard to know that this too is my fault, that I set this in motion when I agreed for the whole fake dating charade to go ahead and yet I’m doing absolutely nothing to stop it.
“What of my daughter, what of Lara?” I ask. I need to know she’s okay, I need to know that Darius hasn’t laid his filthy hands on her as well.
His eyes widen. He looks like this is complete news to him. “How is she your daughter?” He says.
I tilt my head. “She’s mine and Rose’s.” I state. “She’s our child.”
He blinks, his eyes darting from side to side as if he can’t quite digest that information. “How?”
“What does it matter?” I snap. The logistics don’t matter. She’s my daughter, that’s what counts, and I have to protect her. Though I’m doing a shit job of that so far.
“You were…” He trails off shaking his head. “She was pregnant, that’s why she went away.” He says putting it together. “I never understood why she was so heartbroken by Tybalt. They never even liked each other. But she wasn’t was she? They were hiding her, hiding that secret.”
“She was pregnant.” I confirm.
He slumps against the wall. “How the fuck did I not see it?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “No one did.”
“But her parents knew.” He states it like a fact. Like he understands it all now. Like suddenly it makes sense to him.
“They blackmailed Rose with it.” I confirm. “Used Lara to make Rose do whatever they wanted.”
“Including marrying Darius?” He says.
I shrug. I don’t think that was so much her parents as Darius himself seeing as he has them both in his possession. I’ve seen glimpses of them, fleeting shadows as they’ve moved through the house on the CCTV. None of them have ever been clear enough, I’ve never been able to see their faces, to truly see them.
“How the fuck did I not see any of this?” He growls.
I don’t reply. I can’t answer it. The man’s clearly been oblivious for so long while I thought he was part of the conspiracy.
“They’re selling people.” He states. “I was there, at one of their compounds. They had children. Fucking teenagers. They steal their organs, sell them on the black market.”
“I know.” I reply. “I was trying to stop it.”
“Darius took Rose there.” He continues.
That gets my attention. “Why?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I think to make her comply more. She’s been fighting him. At least trying to.”
I hate the way he states it. The way it just sounds like a fact of life. And I hate the fact that this is happening to her and there’s nothing I can do.
“Look, I’ll do what I can, whatever I can.” He says. “Darius trusts me, Ignatio trusts me too.”
“I don’t know if I do though.” I reply.