Chapter 40 Lila Has To Die
Nico POV
Uncle Lucas straightened his jacket, then stalked toward the door. “I will no longer be a part of this.” He turned his gaze to me. “My advice for you, Nico, is to not let other people define who you really are.”
“Get out!” my mother yelled, tossing Uncle Lucas empty glass at him. But he had already closed the door, the glass bursting into pieces, shattering on the floor.
I’ve never seen my mother this angry, this infuriated.
The way her veins bulged in the side of her neck and her heavy breathing provoked a kind of suspicion inside my head that if true, it would be soul shattering. Was my mother keeping something from me?
“mother?”
She turned to me.
“Is there something I need to know?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear, taking a deep breath. “Of course not, Nico. Do not let an old man’s ramblings let you doubt what we have worked months on to achieve.”
I cocked my head to the side. “It’s not his ramblings causing me to doubt it.”
Dark eyes that mirrored my own studied me, glowered at me, and my suspicion just kept on growing.
“Has Mr. Falcone responded yet?” she asked in a lame attempt to change the subject.
I would let it slide, for now.
Sitting back down, I checked the mail, glancing up at my mother every few seconds. She was pacing, pressing the crucifix against her lips.
Just as I had suspected, Falcone had followed my instructions. There was one email in the inbox sent from an unfamiliar address as specified with subject: Final Payment.
I clicked on it and opened the email.
Final payment will be made in forty-eight hours into the specified account as requested.
It would be greatly appreciated if the product of purchase could be delivered in perfect condition…as per our new agreement.
In other words, he was giving himself up, and wanted his little girl set free.
I looked up at my mother. “He’s agreed to the trade.”
She kissed the crucifix then smiled my way. “I didn’t doubt that he would.”
After deleting the email, and closing the email account, I closed my laptop. There was something heavy in my gut, something unsettling.
“There is still time, mother.”
“Time for what?”
“To put a stop to this.”
"What are you saying, son?”
I sighed, placing my elbows on the table and leaning my chin against my fist. “I’m saying that there is still time to stop this from going any further.”
She stopped pacing. “Are you saying you don’t want to go through with this, Nico?”
“I’m saying that maybe we should reconsider.”
“Excuse me?” She leaned with her hands on the desk
“Killing him won’t bring Nikolai or Dad back, and neither would killing lila.”
“lila?” Her eyes narrowed. “lila? Are you and Miss Falcone on a first name basis now?”
Exasperated I leaned back in my seat, slamming my hands against the desk. “That is not the point.”
“That is exactly the point. My God, Nico, do not tell me that, that woman has managed to get her claws into you as well.”
“Of course not.”
“Good.” She stood up straight. “Then you will have no problem going ahead with what we planned.”
My gaze found hers. Deep inside my gut I knew that I had no choice. Whether my mother’s motives could be questioned or not, I had no choice but to execute this plan and execute lila along with her father.
If I didn’t, I would face the wrath of the rest of the Moretti family. Risk being exiled or executed myself, and lila would still die.
There were enough Moretti men who would happily step up to the challenge. Lila was dead no matter what I did, what decision I made.
With a heaviness inside my chest that I couldn’t explain, I nodded at my mother. “I will see this through, mother.”
“Promise me, nico.” The same words she uttered at my brother and father’s graves. The same vow she demanded me to make.
“I promise, mother.”
She walked around the desk, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I trust that you are a man of your word, just like your father was.” She squeezed my shoulder. “Do not disappoint me, my son.”
And then she left, the click of the door behind her resonating like a drum through the room.
I was left alone with my thoughts, the ache of guilt, and the twinge of dread defeating me so damn easily.
Glancing out the window my mind was a bloody warzone. Battles raged between my heart and my head, images of lila and what we did earlier the weapons of mass destruction threatening to destroy me.
But unfortunately for her and me, my brother’s birthright had become my curse, and now I had to carry that curse up until the day I finally take my last breath.
Freedom was no longer a luxury I could bask in, replaced by
responsibilities I would ultimately drown in.
No matter how hard I tried to fight it, the blood running through my veins had made this decision for me.
I would kill Lila Falcone.