War of A Rose

War of a Rose • Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-two
Rosaelia

"She's dead." I sobbed, clutching the only piece I had left of my mother, "She's dead. My mamma is dead." I rocked myself on the hard floor, unable to breathe. I'm sure my cries sounded more like breathless heaves, but I did not care. She is dead. My mother. My life. Dead. I looked down at the letter.

You have proven to be my biggest failure in life. That's all a woman is good for. Failure. I should've killed your mom after she gave birth to you. Her only responsibility was to provide me with an heir, and she failed. So when my brother's wife birthed a son, I killed them and took him for myself. Gabriele was everything you weren't, and your mother failed him by loving him. When I finally killed her for her betrayal, he tried to avenge her. It was sad. How hard he tried to kill me. You see how it ended. I should have killed him too. Alas, I wouldn't have an heir for my empire. I had to spare him only because I'm going to kill you. I'm going to remind you where you belong in this world. I'm coming for you, my darling daughter, and don't expect that husband of yours to save you because when he learns about your plan to destroy his family from the inside out, he will hand you to me. But until then, enjoy this last piece of your mother. It is all that is left of her.

I read over the letter again and again. I knew that Alessio had been standing beside me. I knew that all of them were. I couldn't stop staring at the blood-red words. She had died because of me. She was killed because of me. I couldn't breathe anymore. I couldn't function. I felt frozen—stuck. Empty.

Alessio dropped to my side but didn't dare to touch me. I was glad he did not because I didn't have the strength to pull away from him if he did. On his knees, he reached for the letter, but I couldn't let him see it. I was so angry with him because he locked me inside this house and kept my cousin from me.

I was livid that he took my brother's bruised and unconscious body to the basement to be tied to a chair. Like he was a traitor. I should let him read it. Let him discover my betrayal. If he did, I would be put out of my misery. I could be with my mother. But then my father would still be walking this earth while we rotted in the ground. And I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let him. I pulled myself out of my trance and tore the letter from his hold.

"Don't touch her!" I cried out, clutching the paper to my chest, to my heart. Not the letter. Her. My mother. Alessio's eyes widened. He pulled away so fast that he fell back onto his butt. He scrambled away from me as if I had an infectious disease. I hoped my deranged state would distract him from wanting to read what was written in my father's letter. I prayed that he would let the gentle Alessio in long enough for me to destroy it.

My heart shattered at the thought. I would have to destroy the only thing I had left of my mamma in order to keep Alessio from learning my secret. For a moment, I wanted to give up. I wanted to hand the letter to him and let him read it if it meant that I got to keep the last piece of her. Before I could, he stood from the ground and turned to the men behind me.

"Get out. All of you." His command was almost silent. I didn't need to turn to know that they were all gone the second he finished speaking. The only ones still in the room were us, Enzo, and Liliana. She had found me in here. She had walked into the room the second I picked up the letter. She had listened to my screams and watched me fall to the floor as I read it for the first time. And she cried with me.

"Enzo." The blonde unwrapped his arms from Liliana and headed to the door without a second glance. Alessio looked to his sister, who stood plastered to the floor in front of me.