“Dmitri is the one who killed your father. He framed Antonio for it.”
It feels like I’ve been shot in the stomach. I have to look down just to be sure I haven’t, that Dmitri isn’t hiding somewhere with a gun.
The edges of the world are red, bleeding. They threaten to block everything else out.
But I can see Rose looking at me, horror and sorrow mingled in her eyes. I know what she’s thinking about, and I know what this revelation means.
I’m almost knocked to the ground. All this time, all those things I thought were true—and they’re shit.
It’s all lies. It was never Antonio.
It was fuckingDmitri.
“Why?” I ask, my voice shaking with anger. “Tell me why.”
“He’s been planning it for years,” Willow replies quietly. “He has a plan. He wants to destabilize the Assembly. Pit the families against each other, let them pick each other off.” She drags in a breath, then looks up, her wide eyes meeting mine. “He’s going to swoop in and claim power when a vacuum opens up. Game over. He’ll become king of Boston.”
Not if I can fucking help it.
I’m shaking my head, I realize. Willow watches me and the determination in her gaze melts a little. The strength I saw in her earlier looks like it’s slipping away. All that’s left is the reality that Dmitri is more dangerous than anyone realized, and he’s the one with all the power in her life.
Willow swallows, hesitating for a moment before speaking again.
“He’s been undermining every family. He’s breeding anger and distrust. That’s his game. That’s what he wants. And he won’t stop.”
CHAPTER33
Rose
Dmitri.
So he’s the one behind all of this.
My jaw clenches, my shoulders going so tense that it makes my abused muscles ache. I can believe that Dmitri would do anything to get what he wants. I believe he’d throw people away like trash for power or money. The fact that Willow couldn’t tear herself away to tell someone the truth for years is a testament to that.
I only just learned that Aiden suspected my father, and now I know the truth. I can see how deep this goes. Dmitri is just one part of the Assembly, but he’s trying to take the whole thing down. He wants more than he has. He wants everything. And just like when I was in high school, he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Aiden’s father was just the first casualty in Dmitri’s fucked-up plan.
Willow is silent. She’s spoken all the words she came to say, maybe even more. She looks even smaller now, empty almost, like she’s been drained of all the strength she found to bring her to Aiden’s door.
“I have to go,” she says quietly. “Before he realizes I’m gone.”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I want to tell her to stay, but what do I know? Can we even protect her?
I know that if Dmitri finds out what she did, he may kill her. I might never see her again. She’s the one who gave Aiden the closure, the truth, and she’s going right back to the one man that could kill her without hesitation.
“I’m sorry,” Willow whispers. She looks at me like she’s looking at someone else, or maybe a mirror.
I wonder if she sees something in me. Maybe she can see a life she never got to have, or maybe it’s just in my mind that I think that. Maybe all she sees is me and what Dmitri has done to me. To Aiden.
Willow slips away.
I watch her go, then look to Aiden. He’s still watching her, pain and anger brewing on his face. I can’t imagine what he feels right now.
Aiden finally turns, a hand on the small of my back as he guides me inside. This moment feels heavy. I know he’s in pain. I follow him silently, shutting the door behind us and curling onto the couch in the living room as he sits.
He’s beside me as he calls his brothers. He tells them what happened.
