Page 121 of Little Deer
“And yet, that is exactly what will happen,” Dante interrupts. “I told you, Father, that I would take everything you had. I would burn it to the ground and then I’d build it up so much bigger and better than you ever could.” He looks at Lazaro. “Gag him too, would you? We’ll finish this argument later.”
Gregorio fights, tries to scream, but Lazaro gags him as well.
“Amara? Lucy? Anything to say?” Papa asks them.
Amara and Lucy exchange a look, and then they both step forward. Amara looks at Giovanni and Orlando. “You know, I’ve been through a lot, but I’m glad I never had either of you in my life,” she tells them quietly. “But I want you to look at me,and I want you to see my mother’s face. The face of the woman you beat mercilessly and know that she’s going to live on. I found a picture of her. One she tucked into a hidden sleeve in the journal. And I look like her. My sister looks like her too. She deserved so much better than you. Than a husband who despised her and only married her for power and connections. And a son that saw her as his punching bag and someone to torment because his father gave him permission.” She looks at Orlando. “She loved you, you know. Even with all of that, she never hated you. She wrote that she only wished that she could have protected you from him just like she did me.”
Something flashes in Orlando’s eyes. Surprise? Regret? But then it’s gone. “She was fucking worthless,” he hisses. “Just like you.” He lets out a grunt when Lazaro punches him in the side of the head.
“Thank you, honey,” Amara says sweetly.
I look at Lucy and I see her staring at Leonardo thoughtfully. “You know,” she says slowly, carefully, “I might have come into this late, but I really don’t feel anything but pity for you. You really were an insecure man that thought brute force was the only way to be powerful. And it cost you everything. Your family, your territory, your daughters, and your wives. And now, your life. You’ll never know your grandchildren, and that’s probably for the best. My son won’t even know your name if I have my way about it. All our children, they’ll have people who love and care for them, and you’ll fade from memory.” She gives him a cool smile. “And I think that will kill you more than knowing that we’re happy. It will be even more torture for you in hell to see us moving on and refusing to talk about you, to even mention your name again.”
Leonardo’s eyes stare at her hatefully, but he doesn’t say a word to that.
I think she hit that a little too close to home.
“Let’s go,” Gia says then. “I don’t need to be around to see you all die, but I’ll sleep well tonight knowing you are.” Then she turns, and Sienna takes her hand. Amara and Lucy follow, taking their hands as well, before walking out. A united front.
I’ve never been so fucking proud in my fucking life.
“Before I go, I want to say one thing if I may,” Ada says softly.
“Of course,cara mia,” Papa says with a warm smile.
Ada eases forward, her eyes on Gregorio. Dante is quickly behind her, a menacing presence as a reminder to his father. When she finally gets to him, she smiles. A sweet, warm smile, but her eyes are cold, hard. Then, her hand hauls back, and she slaps Gregorio so hard across the face, his head whips to the side, the sound of it echoing in the room. “Fuck you, Gregorio. The only good thing you ever did was give me Dante. Other than that, you can rot in hell. I know where every penny sits, where every dirty secret you thought you hid lies. Everything you worked hard for, it’ll be gone before you’re cold in the ground.” Then she turns, and steps away.
Sofia steps forward and follows up with a hard slap on the other side of his face. “I’d rather shoot you, but this will have to do. That’s for what you did to that woman and what you did to your son. I hope you rot.” Then she moves and does the same to the other men hanging there. “And that is for everything you did to Gia, you worthless pieces of shit. I hope you burn.” Then she takes Ada’s hand and they walk out as well.
The silence that follows is brief, but then we all grin at each other. And that right there, is why we love the women we do.
“Well, since they’re gone, I say we get this party started,” Alessio announces excitedly. “Do we just get to pick the one we want to start on, or are we going to have to pick straws or something?”
It takes a few hours, but by the time we’re done, it’s finally fucking over. They all tried to hold out, tried to keep their secretsand take them to grave, but like everyone else, they all spilled it when they couldn’t take the pain anymore.
Papa got his revenge on Esposito for the death of his wife, but considering both Dante and Papa shot him at the same time, I think it was a mutual death. Papa hit Esposito in the throat, while Dante got him right between the eyes. Execution at its finest.
Leonardo and Giovanni both tried to remain stoic, to not give in, but they begged for death before the end. Nico was the one to end their lives, his own retribution for Gia. Sinead tried to plead and beg, but Alessio killed her swiftly with a bullet to the head.
Finally, it was Orlando’s turn. We wanted all the information he had, and in the end, even he told us everything. It was Carmen, Leonardo’s wife, who found Gia, Sienna, and Lucy’s mother’s journal. By accident, apparently, in an old room in the house that few remembered. Amongst the books, she had hidden it behind a stack of books, still covered in dust from the years.
Carmen wanted to take over, and she saw Orlando as the one to help her make it happen. The two of them were sleeping together, and they came up with the entire twisted plan. Carmen slept with Marco and Giovanni, while also still going to Leonardo’s bed when required. Nico kidnapping Gia threw a wrench in their plans and started the blocks tumbling down on the life they were trying to construct.
It’s a fucking twisted tale of events, but finally, it’s over with one more bullet, this time from Lazaro. As was his right with it being Amara’s brother.
We walk out silently, a sense of finality moving between us. The only thing I care about now is getting to my woman, knowing we can finally move forward.
53
LUCY
“It’s over,”Gia breathes softly, looking utterly exhausted. Looking around, I see the rest of us are all the same. We’re all in Gia’s old room, spread out and processing it all. Well, other than Sofia and Ada. The two of them have gone back to Dante’s quarters, but I saw the tears on Ada’s cheeks. Sofia wanted to be with her.
I think those two are about to be very close, and it warms my heart. They’re going to need each other.
“Not quite,” Sienna says tightly. “Alonzo has to get Rori back.”
“He will,” Amara assures her, reaching out to take her hand and squeeze it tightly. “If anyone can, it’s him.”
