He stares at Sean as his men grab him by his arms and drag him to the water. Sean is still alive, swearing, trying to pull away, but he can’t. One man holds him while the other thrusts his face into the water and holds him there. Sean’s arms and legs flail as they try to drown him.
I rush forward, ready to beg for Sean’s life, but the man applauds slowly, one clap at a time.
“That was fucking beautiful. You played this asshole for months, strung him along, and led him straight to me. No wonder why Pop didn’t want you around. You’re one heartless bitch.” He follows my gaze to the water where I’m watching Sean struggle less and less. Vic snaps his fingers, and his thugs pull Sean’s face out of the water.
Sean comes up gasping and choking. His entire shirt is bright red and clinging to his back. Sand sticks to the side of his face as water rolls down his cheeks. He looks up and sees me standing next to my brother. The way his eyes flash with understanding scares the hell out of me.
Sean’s voice is rough. He spits onto the sand and tries to pull away from the men holding him, but he’s too weak. He glares at me.
“You fucking whore. It was you.” He chokes again and lifts his sagging body, before trying to rush at me. Vic’s men hold him back. “It was you! This whole time, everything that happened, everyone who died! It’s your fucking fault! You were working together from the beginning!”
It feels like he stabbed me in the stomach with an icicle. Fear races through my veins as he pieces everything together, forming a pattern that lines up with my other lies. He thinks we planned this together--that Vic and I were coming at his family from different sides. Without the Ferro clan in the way, my family keeps a firm control on New York--on every wealthy family, every corrupt businessman, and every two-faced politician.
I’m so dead. We both are if I don’t say the right thing right now.
I glance over at my brother and step closer to him with a soft, confident smile on my face.
“Blood is thicker than water. You better remember that next time I see you. Oh, wait. There won’t be a next time.” I arch a single brow at him, feigning confidence and turn on my heel.
Vic laughs and snaps his fingers again.
“Get rid of him.”
The men drag Sean away, even though he fights to break free. I hope they can hold him because if they can’t, I’m dead. He won’t wait for me to say a word, not with the nails I drove into his heart over the past few days. I finally had my beautiful, caring, vulnerable Sean, and I destroyed him.