Chapter 19: Father and Daughter

Marco's POV

My grandmother's ancient magic crashed into Viktor's dark power like lightning hitting a mountain. The impact threw everyone to the ground and lit up the night sky with silver and black light.

But through all the chaos, all I could see was my daughter.

Aria was kneeling in the snow, silver magic still glowing around her hands, looking exactly like the little girl I'd lost three years ago. Same dark hair, same determined eyes, same stubborn tilt to her chin when she was scared but trying to be brave.

My baby girl was alive.

"Aria!" I called out, trying to get to her through the magical battle raging around us.

She turned at the sound of my voice, and for one perfect moment, our eyes met across the battlefield. I saw recognition flash in her face, followed by something that made my heart break.

Not love. Not relief. Not even anger.

Disappointment.

"Papa?" she said softly, but she didn't run to me. She didn't even smile.

Instead, she moved closer to the wolf boy, like she was protecting him from me.

"It's okay, little star," I said, putting my weapon in it case and raising my hands to show I wasn't a threat. "Papa's here. You're safe now."

"Safe from what?" she asked, and there was ice in her voice I'd never heard before.

"From him," I said, pointing at Kael. "From all of this supernatural madness. I'm taking you home where you belong."

Aria laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "Home? You mean the mansion where you taught me to kill people? Where you trained me to be a weapon?"

The words hit me like physical blows. "I was protecting you. Teaching you to survive."

"You were destroying me," she said simply. "And now you want to destroy the first person who ever made me feel human again."

I looked at the wolf boy - Kael - who was watching our conversation with golden eyes full of worry. He loved her. I could see it in every line of his body, in the way he positioned himself to shield her from danger.

But he was still the enemy. Still one of the creatures who had taken my daughter from me.

"He kidnapped you," I said desperately. "He's been holding you prisoner for weeks."

"He saved me," Aria corrected. "When your own people were trying to kill me, he risked his life to keep me safe."

"My people would never hurt you!"

"Your people shot at me, Papa. They chased me through the mountains. They would have dragged me back to that horrible life whether I wanted to go or not."

The truth of her words was like a knife in my chest. I had been so focused on finding her, on bringing her home, that I hadn't stopped to ask what she wanted.

"I just wanted my little girl back," I whispered.

"Your little girl died three years ago in that warehouse fire," Aria said, her voice breaking. "Along with Elena. Along with my innocence. Along with any chance we had of being a normal family."

"We can still be a family," I said, taking a step toward her.

But she backed away, staying close to Kael.

"Can we? After everything you've done? After all the people you've hurt?"

"I did what I had to do to survive in this world."

"You did what you wanted to do," she shot back. "You chose power over love. You chose fear over trust. You chose to be a monster."

The words hung in the air between us like a wall I couldn't cross. Around us, the magical battle between Viktor and her grandmother was getting more intense, but all I could focus on was the pain in my daughter's eyes.

"I never wanted to be a monster," I said quietly. "I wanted to be strong enough to protect the people I loved."

"And how did that work out for you, Papa? Did your strength save Elena? Did your power keep me safe? Did all your violence and control make our family happy?"

I couldn't answer because we both knew the truth. My strength had failed when it mattered most. My power had pushed my daughters away. My violence had destroyed everything I was trying to protect.

"I know I made mistakes," I said, my voice rough with emotion. "But I can change. We can start over."

"Can we?" Aria asked sadly. "Can you really change who you are after fifty years of being Marco Castellano?"

"For you? Yes. For my little star, I would change everything."

For a moment, hope flickered in her eyes. For a moment, she looked like she wanted to believe me.

Then Kael stepped forward.

"Tell her about the warehouse," he said quietly.

"What?" I asked, though my blood was already turning cold.

"Tell her what really happened the night Elena died. Tell her about the orders you gave your men."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The orders to burn the building down with everyone inside," Kael continued relentlessly. "The orders to make sure no witnesses survived to tell the story."

"That's not true," I said, but my voice sounded weak even to my own ears.

"Isn't it?" Kael asked. "Didn't you tell your men to use accelerant? Didn't you make sure the exits were blocked? Didn't you plan the whole thing as a trap to wipe out the Shadow Moon Pack?"

Aria was staring at me with growing horror. "Papa? Is that true?"

I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell her that I was innocent, that I'd never planned the fire, that Elena's death was a tragic accident.

But I couldn't. Not when she was looking at me with those trusting eyes. Not when this might be my last chance to tell her the truth.

"Yes," I whispered. "It's true."

The admission broke something inside her. I could see it happen, like watching a window shatter in slow motion.

"You killed your own daughter," she said, her voice barely audible.

"It was an accident! Elena wasn't supposed to be there!"

"But you knew I was there. You knew I might be in that building when you gave the order to burn it down."

"I... I thought you would stay outside. I thought you would listen to me for once and stay safe."

"But I didn't. I ran in to save people. And Elena followed me because she didn't want me to die alone."

Tears were streaming down my face now. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, little star. I've regretted it every day since."

"Sorry?" Aria laughed bitterly. "You're sorry that your plan to commit mass murder accidentally killed your own child?"

"I never wanted Elena to die!"

"But you wanted everyone else to die. All of Kael's family. His friends. His pack brothers and sisters. You wanted them all to burn."

I couldn't deny it. It was true. I had planned the fire. I had given the orders. I had turned a business meeting into a death trap.

"They were our enemies," I said weakly.

"They were people," Aria shot back. "They had families. They had children. They had lives and dreams and people who loved them."

"It was war."

"It was murder. And Elena died because of your choices. Because of your cruelty. Because of your need to win at any cost."

The words hit me like hammer blows, but I deserved every one of them.

"Do you remember me, little star?" I asked, my voice breaking.

Aria looked at me for a long moment, and I saw three years of pain and anger and disappointment in her eyes.

"I remember what you did to his family," she said finally. "How could you?"

The question hung between us like a sword. How could I explain the man I used to be to the daughter I'd failed? How could I justify the choices that had cost me everything I truly cared about?

But before I could try to answer, Viktor's laughter cut through the night air like a blade.

"How touching," he said, pausing in his battle with Aria's grandmother. "A family reunion at last. But I'm afraid it's time to cut this short."

He gestured to his transformed wolves, and they began closing in on us from all directions.

"You see, Marco," Viktor continued with cruel amusement, "your daughter is quite right to blame you. But she doesn't know the whole truth yet, does she?"

"What truth?" Aria demanded.

Viktor smiled with those horrible pointed teeth.

"The truth about who really ordered me to set that fire. The truth about who paid me to betray both families. The truth about who wanted you and Kael to find each other so badly that he was willing to murder dozens of innocent people to make it happen."

My blood turned to ice as I realized what Viktor was about to reveal.

"No," I whispered. "You promised you would never tell."

"Promises to dead men don't count," Viktor said cheerfully. "Tell her, Marco. Tell your daughter who really killed her sister."

Aria turned to stare at me, her eyes wide with dawning horror.

And in that moment, I knew that whatever chance I'd had to win back my daughter's love was about to disappear forever.