Page 71 of Ruin
The moment that will determine whether I walk out of here alive.
I meet her eyes, see the pain and rage and desperate hope that maybe, somehow, this isn't what she thinks it is.
I destroy that hope with the truth.
"Your father was building a RICO case that would have brought down everything. Not just me, but my father, Vincent, three generations of what my family created. He had evidence of money laundering, witness testimony, financial records—enough to dismantle everything."
"So, you killed him."
"I eliminated the threat."
"He was a good man!"
"He was a liability."
"He was trying to stop monsters like you!"
"He was trying to destroy the livelihood of hundreds of people who depend on this organization. Dock workers,truckers, restaurant owners, gallery operators—legitimate businesses that exist because of the foundation we built."
"Built on blood and corruption!"
"Built on necessity. On the understanding that someone has to control the darkness in this city, and it might as well be us."
She's shaking now, gun trembling in her grip. "And my mother? What threat did she pose?"
The question I've been dreading.
The one that has no good answer.
"She wasn't supposed to be there. Intel said she was in Connecticut, visiting her sister." The words taste like ash. "Wrong place, wrong time."
"You killed her because she was inconvenient."
"I killed her because she walked in while your father was... dying. Because she saw my face."
"Because she was a witness to your murder of her husband."
"Yes."
The simple confirmation breaks something in her.
She makes a sound that's half-sob, half-scream, the gun shaking violently in her hands.
For a moment, I think she's going to shoot me.
Part of me almost hopes she will—it would be easier than watching her suffer like this.
Instead, she staggers backward, hitting the wall, gun still raised but wavering now.
"You destroyed myentirelife because of your family business," she whispers.
"I destroyed two lives to save thousands." I lean forward slightly, careful not to move too fast. "But you—you I created."
Her eyes snap back to mine. "What the fuck does that mean?"
"You think your transformation was organic? You think you naturally grew into someone who belonged in my world?" Ishake my head. "Little wolf, I've been cultivating you since you turned eighteen."
The words hit her like punches to the gut.
