Page 75 of Queen of Misfortune (Shadows of Redemption)

I cock my head to the side. “I’ll be sure to tell him you said that.”

She jerks her head away. She knows that if my father knew she felt she was the brains of the business, he’d kill her. My father won’t put up with that sort of disrespect.

I pull up a chair and sit in front of her. “So, all the horrors I went through. They were your idea? I know the trafficking deal was yours, but all the others too? How about killing Dylan and making me watch? Was that your idea?”

She purses her lips. “The killing was your father’s idea. In front of you was mine. You had to be punished for what you did. The truth is, the boy died because of you, Lucia.”

“Do you know how Giuseppe treated me? Did you care?”

She looks at me like I smell rotten. “He was supposed to kill you.”

That takes me aback. A growl escapes from Donovan.

I manage a smile. “Too bad for you, he didn’t. In fact, Giuseppe was the first person to show me there could be kindness in the world. He was good to me. He’s left me an estate, you know. And money. Freedom.”

I hear shifting, and I turn to see Donovan rolling his shoulders, his expression unreadable.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because Dad is a menace. All Elena and I want is to be happy. And it’s become painfully obvious that it can’t happen as long as Dad is alive. Tell us where he is, and perhaps you can learn about kindness and mercy.”

“You always were a problem.”

“Always? Even when I was a baby? A child? Did you ever love me?" My breath holds, although I don’t know why. I know the answer.

Her lips twitch, almost imperceptibly, as if the word 'love' is foreign to her. "Love is a luxury. There’s no room for it in our world. I think I told you that already.”

My gaze locks onto hers, searching for a hint of maternal affection but finding only calculation. “So that’s a no?”

"Your value was never in who you are but in what you could offer. And the only thing of worth you had was your youth, your beauty."

I know this already, and yet hearing her say it is like a stab to my very soul. It taps into all the times I felt like nothing, like no one.

“No…” Niko says.

I turn to see him putting his hand on Donovan, who appears to be taking a step toward me.

“She’s got this,” Niko finishes.

For a moment, Donovan’s and my eyes lock, and emotion—hope—fills me.

“Where is Dad?” I ask one more time.

“You’ll never get me to turn on him.”

I let out a breath and rise from the chair.

Her eyes follow, and while I see defiance, I finally also see fear.

I turn to Donovan. He meets my stare unflinchingly. He steps forward, his gun out. I move out of the way, but he extends his hand, offering the gun to me.

"Your choice, Lucy," he murmurs. "Whatever you decide, I'm here."

I look at the gun. Can I do this? Can I kill my mother? Can I become what I’ve for so long despised?

“Or I’ll do it. You can go upstairs. Lou can take you back to the penthouse so you can see Elena.”

I glance at my mother. She’s the embodiment of evil. But beyond being the source of my pain, she’s a threat to all I hold dear. To Elena. To Donovan.