Prologue
Xander
The gun was heavy in my sweaty hands. I wasn’t afraid of killing my father. I’m sure he knew it was coming far before I decided to do it, but tonight was the night. He wouldn’t hurt Damon and me ever again, and I’d be fucking sure of it.
I walked down the dimly lit hallway, and then down the steps toward the patio.
“I’ve always thought you were the weakest link of this family. It seems the beatings never really did anything to you. You’ve still shown weakness…and weakness just isn’t acceptable in our family.” My father’s voice carries through the house as he talks down to Damon.
Anger surges deep inside me, on the verge of exploding outward. I see the glint of a gun in the moonlight that pours from the night sky as I turn the corner.
“You’re a piece of shit. A monster who will never amount to anything,” Damon spits. “And someday when you’re old and gray, I’m going to treat you the same fucking way you treated me and Xander.”
I can’t see my father’s face, but I’m positive there is a cruel smirk on his lips. I wonder if this is the moment I’ve been dreading. I knew it was coming for a while but I’m not sure this is it until I see my father raise the gun and point it at Damon.
There’s not a damn bone within my body that is scared of killing my father. After all, this is what he had planned for me, for us, right? I wait, watching, to see what his next move is.
“You won’t be doing shit but letting the worms and bugs crawl through your decaying body.” My father flicks the safety and aims the gun. I don’t really understand why Damon still stands there, but he does, his eyes never wavering from Dad’s.
“Don’t make fun about it, just fucking do it,” Damon grits out, darkness resonating out of him. As soon as the words are said, everything seems to slow down.
I don’t know why Damon and our father are fighting or what it was even about, but when I see him squeeze the trigger on his gun, I know I have to end him. He’d hurt us for so many years, abused and killed those we loved.
He was the real monster, and I was ready to put a bullet in his head.
Lifting my gun, I watched in horror as our father shot Damon in the shoulder. Maybe it was his intention, or maybe it wasn’t. I don’t really know. I didn’t really care or stop to ask. In fact, I was past caring. He deserved to die.
Flicking the safety off, my eyes met Damon’s and for a fraction of a second, he sees me. The real me, the man who had spent years taking beatings so his life could be easier. The poison of this world was slowly seeping into my veins, but it didn’t have to taint Damon.
I pulled the trigger without another thought, watching as the bullet went straight into my father’s chest. When he started to fall over, his knees slamming onto the hard ground, I walked over to Damon, gripping him by the arm. I looked straight into my father’s eyes, right into the dark orbs that had promised me nothing but death and pain all my life.
“Looks like the worms and bugs are going to be crawling through you soon.” Then I shot him again, right in the stomach. If the shot to the chest didn’t kill him, then he’d most likely bleed out. His mouth popped open and a vacant look appeared in his eyes.
You could say that was the day I became fully invested in the man I was—the dark monster he had crafted and molded me to be.
The day I took over the Rossi Empire.
Chapter One
Ella
A million scenarios are running rampant in my mind as I try and sit up and stare into vacant space. Each one has the same ending, with me dead.
Tied up in an empty room, I gaze down at my body. Fear trickles down my spine when I take in the revealing lingerie that covers little pieces of my creamy white skin.
Who dressed me up in these?
I’d never wear anything like this… never.
There’s a pounding directly behind my eyes like I got hit by a bus or something. I might have. I don’t remember much of how I got here or even where I am.
I was looking for my sister, my sole purpose in life since she’d gone missing a month ago. She is the only family I have left, and I have a compelling need to find her.
For so long, that was all I could think about… finding her, making sure she was okay, but now I’ve gotten myself into something dangerous, something scary.
My surroundings are eerily quiet, like there is no one else in the bedroom, or maybe even the whole house? I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse, to be left alone in silence.