LILY
I staysilent during the ride back to the house. My head is spinning from what Chase said, but I can’t process it. His words won’t sink in, they just rerun in my brain over and over.
My mom is dead.
All this time, I thought she ran out on us. That she didn’t care enough to stay in touch. It was devastating when she left, but over time, the hurt hardened into anger and abandonment, thinking she didn’t want anything to do with Teddy and me. Like we weren’t good enough for her shiny new life.
But all along, she was dead. Nero was the one who ordered it.
He has my mother’s blood on her hands.
My heart is frozen like ice in my chest. I barely notice when we pull up at the house. I follow Nero inside, still numb.
“I think I’m going to take that lap-dance now,” he says with a wolfish grin, closing the door behind us. He reaches for me, but I recoil in shock.
His gaze darkens. “What is it?”
I shake my head, backing away from him. “I… I… Can’t.”
“Lily?” Nero’s voice softens with concern. “What’s going on, baby? Talk to me.”
He reaches for me again, but that just makes it worse. I wrench away with a sob.
“Don’t touch me!”
My voice echoes in the foyer. Nero goes stock still.
“Chase told me.” I blurt.
“Told you what?” Nero’s voice turns guarded.
“What you did.” I suck in a breath, forcing myself to say it out loud. “My mom’s dead. You had her killed.”
Nero doesn’t say a word—but he doesn’t have to. I can see the guilt written on his face, plain as day.
I feel sick.
“Oh my God, it’s true. You…” I swallow hard. “You killed her.”
I turn away from him, reeling. My world turning upside down.
“Lily…”
I whirl back. “How could you?” My voice breaks, and I hate it. “I’ve spent all these years thinking I’d been abandoned, cursing her name, praying she’d come back to us… And she was dead the whole time?”
Nero looks away. “It was Roman’s call. He wanted your entire family to pay for what your father did.”
The shutters are coming down in his expression. He’s distancing himself from me like he has so many times before, but that’s not going to make this blow over. He went too far.
“But you didn’t stop it?” I demand.
“Why would I?”
I gasp. “Are you kidding me? Your father was in prison. He couldn’t have hurt her. You didn’t have to follow his orders!”
Nero narrows his eyes. “They weren’t just his orders. They were mine, too.”
“No…” I sob.