Shadowbreath: The New Avenger

Chapter 6

Note: Edit (02/01)

Alex collapsed at the foot of her bed, sinking down to the floor and clutching her knees. Sobs erupted from her throat, causing her entire body to shake violently. She didn't bother trying to justify what she did to calm herself down. She deserved every ounce of pain and heartbreak she was feeling right now.

She had killed her grandfather. A man who loved her, and who had looked after her for ten years. Alex clenched her unsteady right fist together, holding on to the last splatter of blood that stained her skin. She hiccuped, as her guttural cries slowly grew softer as an hour passed, but made no move to stir from her position.

A knock sounded at the door, and she ignored it. She didn't want to see anyone right now, and the thought of someone recognizing the monster she had become caused another round of fitful cries to escape her lips. Whoever it was didn't seem to want to respect her privacy, because a key unlocked the door and someone sauntered in. Alex refused to look up, instead burying her face between her knees again.

A weight settled on the bed behind her, and her father's voice filled the terse air. "Alexandria, look at me."

Damnit. That was a direct order, and she knew it. He was so very careful in the way he addressed her now. She wanted to hate the man so much. The agony and frustration bubbled beneath her skin. How could he ask her to kill her own grandfather? His own father? The Boss, the capofamiglia of the Genovese Family. How could he make her do something so heart-wrenchingly evil?

Alex sniffed loudly and tried to dry her tears on the fabric of her suit. She slowly turned and raised her gaze to meet his, trying to communicate all of the emotions raging through her system right now. He didn't so much as flinch, and instead patted the space next to him. Alex turned her head slightly to the side, silently telling him to go to hell.

Joey scowled, "Alexandria, sit down and let me explain."

Fuck. She reluctantly moved to the bed, choosing to sit as far away from him as she could while still obeying. Her father sighed dramatically, "I know you don't understand what happened tonight. I know you must hate me right now." He studied her face, and the pinched look she must have given him proved his line of thinking was correct.

"I need you to know that we did the right thing. We couldn't let my father become capo di tutti capi, it would have been detrimental to our family." She scoffed at his use of the word "we," but he ignored her and continued. "Alexandria, he was going to use you."

His words finally got a reaction out of her, and she raised her eyes to meet his. "Once the title was official, he was going to use you to hurt the rest of the family. My father was power hungry, you must have seen the signs." Alex chewed on the inside of her cheek and tilted her chin downward, silently agreeing with him. "He needed to step down before he killed us all. And if you remember, he tried to kill me." She flinched. "You protected me, Alexandria. When I tried to keep the family together, he went after me. And you saved me. You saved us all."

A few moments of silence passed as Alex tried to gather her thoughts. Her grandfather was a bad man, she knew that. She knew what the Genovese Family, and the others, did was wrong. She wasn't stupid or naive. But they took her in, treated her as their own. She owed them her life. And that meant unwavering loyalty.

But the idea that Joseph would turn against his own family? It felt wrong, but her father had never given her any reason not to trust him. And hadn't he asked her to do just that before the mission? Oh god, did he know what was going to happen? That she would have to do this?