The Life: Sacrifice (The Life 3)

“I know, I’m sorry. I won’t ask you to forgive me, but I hope one day to make it up to you.”

“I don’t understand; why did you change so much? When mom was alive, we were so close. You’d never let anyone hurt me.”

“I admit I was a different person back then. I had my head on straight. Your mother was my guiding light. With her by my side, everything always seemed so much easier. After your mom passed away, I didn’t know what to do. I thought that all the things I did were for you for your benefit.”

“I didn’t know how to be a mother and father to a girl, a young girl who just lost her mom at that.” His voice broke, and he looked like he’d aged ten years. While they talked, I kept my ears pricked for what was going on in the rest of the house. Becky might be thinking she’d got away with this one, but she can have no idea that this was just the beginning.

“I swear I only had your best interest at heart. Things got away from me, I guess. I only wanted to give you the best in life. That’s why I married Becky in the first place. She convinced me that as your mother’s close friend, she’d take care of you. So, I held onto that with the hope that you’d not suffer your loss too much. The more you fought against what I was trying to do, the more I pushed back. I see that now. I admit I wasn’t in the best place back then; I was in no condition to raise you on my own, but I did everything wrong, I know that now.”

“I can’t blame Becky for any of this. It was all my doing. I never saw her for what she was. Now that I look back on it, all the things that you endured while I turned a blind eye, things I should’ve noticed. I’ll never forgive myself for that, but not to worry, I’ll make reparation for my sins.”

“What does he mean by that?” Gianna asked me since Fontane seemed to have gone off somewhere in his head.

I shrugged my shoulders to put her at ease, but I’m hoping he means to jump off a cliff or some fuck.

“We should go; it’s getting late.”

“Yes, you kids should go on ahead; I’ll talk to you later. It’s been a long day.” He got up from his seat and started walking us to the door. Gianna walked out ahead of me because I was still trying to pick up anything from upstairs. I need the next scene in this play to play out before I can get rid of Victoria as well. I can tell that Fontane still has his head buried in his ass.

Just because she came forward and sold out her mother, he seems to think that gives her a pass. Me, not so much. He stopped me at the door and took a step back from the look I gave him.

“Uh, one last question before you go. Your dad came to visit me while you were gone. He mentioned in passing that I should cover the portrait in glass, even told me where to go. Was that your idea?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know?” I just smiled and walked out the door.

“I don’t think we should’ve left Victoria in the house. I don’t care where she goes; she needs to go.” Gianna pounced as soon as I got in the car where she sat waiting, breathing fire like a dragoness.

“Not yet; we’re not done.” I turned up the device in the car so she could hear what I’d caught, what I was hoping to catch.

“Why did you sell me out after everything I’ve done for you?” Becky’s voice came through loud and clear.

“I told you I wanted back in that school. I told you I wanted the designer clothes that you promised when you had all that money. You didn’t give me any of the things I asked for. Besides, I don’t owe you anything. I’m a minor, remember. I’m just a kid. All of this was your doing.”

“You’re lying. You hated Gia; you wanted her life, even as a little girl. To the point that you poisoned everyone against her. Remember that?”

“Yes, just like you wanted her mother’s life, so don’t act all innocent. So what if I mistreated her? What if I took everything she had and loved? Why can’t I have nice things too? It’s not my fault. It’s yours and Jimmy’s that my life was worse than hers. At least I didn’t kill her.”

“I can’t believe you. I can’t believe that after all the things that I’ve done, getting blood on my hands to give you a better life, that you’d just throw me away like trash.”