Page 98 of Ruined By Blood
"Maybe you enjoyed it," he sneers, releasing my arm to pace the room. "Maybe all these years, I've been doing you a favor. Perhaps you've developed a taste for it. Letting men use that body of yours. Is that it? You're no better than a common whore now?"
Something inside me snaps.
"A whore?" I stand up, trembling with seven years of suppressed rage.
"You didn't give me anything!" My voice rises. "You sold me! Over and over again, to anyone willing to pay the price or offer you something in return."
"Watch your tone?—"
"No!" I scream, my hands balling into fists. "You watched while men hurt me! You listened while I begged you to make it stop! What kind of father does that?"
His face darkens. "I am a businessman?—"
"You're a monster!" The words tearfrom my throat. "My mother knew it. That's why you locked her away—because she tried to save me from you!"
Henry's eyes narrow to slits. "Your mother was weak, just like you."
"She was brave," I counter, tears streaming down my face. "And now she's free. Enzo will protect her just like he protected me."
My father's cruel laugh echoes off the walls. "Protected you? Is that what you think he did? You naive little fool. Men like Feretti don't protect. They possess. You've simply traded one owner for another."
"He's nothing like you," I spit, my whole body shaking. "MONSTER."
My father's open palm connects with my cheek before I can react. The force of it snaps my head sideways, sending me stumbling back against the wall. Pain blooms hot and sharp across my face.
"You little bitch," he hisses, advancing on me.
His fist drives into my stomach next. I double over, gasping as the air rushes from my lungs.
"This is how you repay everything I've done for you?" Another blow lands on my shoulder. "Everything I've built? The connections I've made?"
I start to laugh.
It begins as a small, broken sound that bubbles up from my throat. Then it grows louder, wilder, until I'm practically howling with it.
Henry freezes, his fist pulled back for another strike. Confusion flickers across his face.
"What's so funny?" he demands.
I look up at him through my tangled hair, tasting blood where my teeth cut into my cheek. "Go ahead," I gaspbetween bursts of laughter. "Kill me. It's the only thing I'd ever be grateful to you for."
His eyes widen slightly.
"Do it," I taunt him, still laughing. "At least death would free me from you. From all of this."
Henry's arm lowers slowly.
"Always the dramatic one, just like your mother." He straightens his suit jacket, composing himself. "Unfortunately for you, death would be too merciful."
He steps back, looking down at me with contempt. "The only thing saving you right now is that I need Charlotte more than I need you."
I spit blood onto his polished shoes. "He'll never give her back to you."
"We'll see about that. First, I'll get your mother back." His voice drops to a venomous whisper. "And then, Sienna, you'll die. I promise you that."
"You're going to lose everything," I scream as he turns toward the door. "Enzo will destroy you! You hear me? He'll burn everything you've built to the ground!"
"Keep his name out of your filthy mouth," Henry snarls over his shoulder. "You've dishonored this family enough."
