Page 196 of Taming Seraphine

Gabriel wipes his eyes with the backs of his hands and nods. “Two of his guards came to where I was staying and brought me home. They said there was a family emergency.”

I glance down to find Seraphine nodding. This part of Gabriel’s story matches up with what we learned after interrogating those bastards.

“When I got there, Mom was strapped to a gurney, and they were loading her into an ambulance. She looked terrible. Dad was raging and crying and waving a gun.”

My gaze darts down to Seraphine, her face is a blank mask. According to her story, this was when the driver took her to her grandmother’s house, where she stayed the night. I lean down and place a kiss on her temple.

“I kept asking what happened and where you were, but Dad said Enzo Montesano and his sons came to the house and murdered Raphael. Then they attacked Mom and took you.”

“That’s not what happened,” she says.

Gabriel looks up, his expression pained. “Yeah. Mom finally told the truth. She said that Dad and his guards were her attackers.”

“What else did she say?”

“That Dad took you in payment for the money he spent raising you as his daughter under false pretenses.” He hiccups. “Mom said you were trafficked.”

Seraphine and I exchange glances.

“And probably overseas?” she asks, her words clipped.

I lean down and whisper into her ear, “Are you alright?”

She nods.

Today is about getting closure for Seraphine. If she isn’t ready to share the details of what happened in that basement, then I won’t push her, but she needs to know what happened to her family after she was taken.

“What happened after that night?” I ask Gabriel.

“Mom spent the night in the ER and Dad told me to pack a bag because the house was compromised.”

“What does that mean?” she asks.

“He said Enzo Montesano would be looking for me.”

“But why?”

“Enzo was Dad’s boss, who liked to punish his underlings for their mistakes by attacking their families.” Gabriel raises both shoulders. “Dad said his numbers were declining... Something like that, and Enzo took you and hurt Mom as an incentive for him to bring in more money.”

My nostrils flare. He probably made up that lie to isolate and subdue his liver donor. If Gabriel thought he was hunted by Enzo, then he was more likely to leave behind his life to go into hiding.

“Dad moved me to an apartment and let Mom join a few days later, after she was released from the hospital. He said we’d be safe there from the Montesano family as long as we didn’t leave.”

Seraphine places a hand on my thigh, and I give it a gentle squeeze. The last time I saw her look so expressionless was after the poker massacre.

“Did your father explain what the Montesano family were supposed to have done with Seraphine?” I ask.

He nods. “A couple of weeks later, Dad came to visit us, looking devastated, and said Enzo Montesano had killed Seraphine along with the cook, the driver, and our grandma.”

She inhales a sharp breath, her body tensing. I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into my chest.

“How long did you stay in that apartment?” I ask.

“Until the first transplant.” Gabriel rubs the spot beneath his right rib cage and grimaces.

“Were you still in hiding?” I ask. “Enzo Montesano had died by then and Roman was in prison.”

“Dad told us he murdered Enzo for what he did to Sera, and his sons would be hunting me down for revenge. After the first transplant, he drove me to the burned ruins of our old apartment.”