Vicious Minds: Part 2 (Children of Vice 5)

His meaning—even this, billions of dollars stolen from this family all but overnight, would not be enough. Nothing short of blood would be enough.

I always knew I was going to have to kill the people I loved. I had waited all my life for this, but I also came to dread this moment. Turning off my phone, I moved to leave but caught my reflection in the mirror. My gray eyes now stared back at me. I saw it….my own desire for more time, even though more time would not change anything.

Hesitation was weakness.

If this were the old me, the me before Ethan, before Gigi, I would have long since pulled the trigger. “You grew a heart, and it has made you weak, Calliope,” I whispered.

Gripping the doorknob for a moment longer, I had to take a breath and put the mask back in place before stepping into the hall.

For a little bit longer, I just wanted to have everything. And yet in the back of my mind, I heard my grandmother’s voice saying gently, “Qui totum vult totum perdit.” He who wants everything loses everything.

“Papa!” Her voice was so loud that even though I was two floors up and behind glass windows, I could still hear her.

Moving to the window overlooking the courtyard, I could see it was nearly pitch-black outside, the only lights now coming from the patio and outdoor pool. In the water, Gigi’s brown hair floating all around her, and standing poolside, looking very concerned, was Evelyn. I had asked her to watch Gigi while I went to Ethan, and somehow, that little girl had convinced her to let her go swimming in the pool outside—it was winter. There was an indoor pool she could have gone to, wasn’t there?

That water better be heated, I thought as I watched Ethan come into view.

Gigi swam to him, and he knelt at the side of the pool, speaking to her. I disliked not hearing what they were saying, so much so that I had already started to move to go out to them, only to bump into something.

“You most definitely can’t be an assassin if I can sneak up on you,” Wyatt said as I met his green gaze. His eyes weren’t as sharp as Ethan’s. They had a hint of brown in them, while Ethan’s were pure emerald.

I forced a smile and nodded. “I told you I wasn’t, but you all seemed so sure of yourselves.”

“Papa!” Gigi’s voice captured my attention again.

When I looked out, I saw that instead of bringing her inside, Ethan had joined her in the water. He was still dressed in his button-down shirt and trousers, both of which now clung to him. Gigi splashed water back at him only for him to return a wave toward her. Her whole face exploded in laughter as she tried to swim away. He ducked beneath the water, swimming right under her feet to tickle her. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ve never seen him so happy,” Wyatt said beside me as he watched, too. “I thought I had, but apparently, I was wrong. Because this Ethan…he’s new to me. It makes me wonder how different everything could have been if you hadn’t kept her away from him for so long.”

“You are free to keep wondering,” I muttered, annoyed that I was up here with him and not down there with them.

But I didn’t leave because I wanted to know why Wyatt was on this side of the house. This wing of the house was for guests; nothing of real importance was kept here. Which meant he had no good reason to be here.

“I will,” he said, turning to look over to me again, and I turned as well. “I will keep wondering and keep digging until all my questions are answered.”

“Your questions were answered, Wyatt. You just don’t like the answers.”

His jaw clenched. “Because the answers don’t make sense. Did you really think I, or anyone else, would just take you at your word?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

He glared into my eyes. “Then that would make you an idiot, but that cannot be possible because Ethan hates idiots. So that means you are a liar. A good one. But a liar, all the same.”

I dropped the smile, tilting my head to the side as my eyes narrowed on him. “What do you want, Wyatt?”

“The truth.”

“Ethan and I gave that to you earlier. Do we have to keep having the same arguments? Do you really want to see him throw another plate at someone’s head?” I questioned. “Why is this hard for you to accept? You should know your brother and trust him, at least.”

“I do trust my brother.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “No, you don’t, or you wouldn’t be hounding me like this.”

“I trust my brother. I just love him more, which means I nag and hound until this feeling I have goes away,” he replied.

“And what feeling is that?”

“Danger.” He frowned, looking me over again. “Something about you is off. I feel it. I don’t know why Ethan doesn’t, or maybe for the sake of your daughter, he is letting it go. That’s his business. Mine is to protect my brother.”