𝐈𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 ✔️

25

I twirl the pasta with my fork. A drop of sauce falls from the noodles as I raise it to my mouth, and my dad lets out a laugh.

"Don't laugh, or else my fork will go in your neck," I tease while covering my mouth with my hand. My dad laughs again at this. 

Although I'm sitting here, eating with him, laughing with him, I'm not happy. 

I'm not happy because I know who killed my mom, but he doesn't.

He drinks lemonade with me and eats pasta that he cooked, trying to get through his grief with me. Meanwhile, I know the answer to the question he wants to know more than anything else.

My husband killed my mother. The same husband my father arranged for me to marry.

"I haven't seen much of you lately," he states before taking a sip of his drink. "I'm sorry if I did anything-"

I cut him off and set my fork down, "Dad, you've done nothing wrong. I promise. I've just been incredibly busy."

He gives me a small nod in response. I sigh and lean back in my chair, running my hands through it since what I was about to say stressed me out. I rub my lips together before speaking, "I'm sure you've heard about the hit on my life."

"No, I haven't," he shakes his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Somebody put a 500 million dollar hit out on me," I tell him. I nearly laugh while saying it. Not because it's funny, but because of how crazy it is that somebody would spend that much money. "So, I've just been at home a lot lately."

He rubs his jawline, moving his beard around. He shakes his head and I watch him as he looks upset.

"First, somebody kills Morgan and is still out there, then some mysterious person is trying to have my daughter killed," he speaks, the whites of his eyes turning red and glossy. My heart dropped to my stomach as he sniffles. "I just wish I had answers. That's all I want."

My heart breaks apart in my chest as I watch him wipe the water away that falls from his eyes. I watch him cry, desperate for the answer that I hold. 

"Dad," I say his name while reaching across the table and holding his hand in mine. His eyes look into mine as my mouth hangs open, it's forceful to get the words out. "I know who killed mom."

His eyes widen. He removes his hand from mine and leans back in his chair in shock. I continue, "You don't need to worry about them. They aren't somebody who knew who she was-"

He cuts me off, "You knew, and you didn't tell me?"

"It's complicated-"

He stands up so quickly that the chair behind him gets knocked onto the floor. He shouts, making me wince, "It's not complicated! Who is it, Sabrina?"

I don't say the name. I don't say the name because I want to protect Valerio. I don't want my father trying to keep me from him, I don't want him going after Valerio. 

"They've already passed away," I lie. His eyes feel like knives, stabbing into me.

"Bullshit," he spits. My heart begins to pick up in my chest as he starts walking around the table. I stand up, eyeing him cautiously as he stops before me. His face is a shade of red. "I can always tell when you're lying. Tell me the truth, right now."