Chapter 7 – THE WEIGHT OF A FATHER’S LOVE

Raymond stumbled, crying out in pain. The knife slipped from Lily’s throat.

Gabriel moved faster than I thought humanly possible.

He grabbed Raymond’s wrist, twisted it until a sickening crack echoed through the night, and threw his brother to the gravel.

I pulled Lily into my arms, burying her face in my shoulder so she wouldn’t see.

Cassandra tried to run, but Matteo’s men blocked her path.

Gabriel stood over his brother. “You killed my wife.”

Raymond spat blood on Gabriel’s shoes. “She was weak. Just like you.”

Gabriel didn’t yell. He didn’t lose control. He just looked at Matteo.

“Take them to the Commission,” Gabriel said coldly. “Give them the ledger. Let the old men deal with them.”

“No!” Cassandra screamed as the guards dragged her away. “My son! What about my son!”

“Your son will be raised far away from this life,” Gabriel said. “He will never know your name.”

The black SUVs pulled away, taking the traitors into the night.

The silence that followed was heavy.

Gabriel slowly turned to me and Lily. He dropped to his knees on the gravel.

Lily ran to him. “Daddy!”

Gabriel held her so tight I thought she might break. Tears streamed down his scarred face.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he choked out. “I’ve got you. Nobody will ever hurt you again.”

He looked up at me.

“Thank you, Natalie.”

I smiled through my tears. But as I turned to walk back to the servant’s quarters, Gabriel caught my hand.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

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