I Was the Family Scapegoat Chapter 07

I Was the Family Scapegoat Chapter 07

Warehouse 13, West District.

The rusted iron door was covered in flaking paint. Sea wind howled past, carrying the smell of salt and rot.

The second Dominic and Ethan stepped out of the car, they headed for the side entrance. Dim yellow light seeped through the cracks.

Voices inside.

Ethan moved to kick the door in. Dominic grabbed his arm.

“Wait. His voice dropped. “Someone’s in there.”

They pressed against the wall, peering through the gap.

Vanessa stood in the middle of a cluster of old shipping containers, facing a middle-aged man. The guy wore a filthy jacket, face covered in stubble-looked like a drifter who’d hit rock bottom.

“Are you out of your MIND?!” Vanessa’s voice was shrill, nothing like her usual soft, sweet act. I gave you a fortune! How much more do

you want?!”

“How much?” The man laughed coldly, stepping closer. “You’re living in a mansion, wearing designer shit, driving fancy cars. And me? I ve been hiding in a goddamn sewer for NINE YEARS!”

He grabbed her jaw, voice turning dark. “Don’t forget-I’m your father. Without me paving the way back then, you think you’d be where

you are now?

Dominic and Ethan both went rigid.

Father?

Vanessa was supposed to be an orphan.

She said so herself-parents dead, grew up in foster care. That sob story was exactly why Father took pity on her and brought her into the

family.

The conversation inside continued.

“Without me, how do you think you got into the Moretti family?” The man’s head swayed smugly. “That woman and her daughter-who do you think took care of them for you? Who pushed that idiot out to take the fall?”

Ethan stopped breathing.

That woman-

His mother?

“Shut UP!” Vanessa wrenched free, face pale. “That was nine years ago!”

“Nine years ago?” The man laughed. “Who are you fooling? That rainy night-who was the little girl crying and luring them into the alley? Who handed me the knife?”

Dominic felt his blood turn to ice.

The man kept going. “That kid-the one who just died-1 kept her locked in my basement for six years. Screamed her lungs out every day. You got so annoyed you told me to cut out her tongue-

“ENOUGH!! Vanessa shrieked, cutting him off. What do you WANT?!”

“Simple. The man held up five fingers. Five million. Get me out of the country. Otherwise

He leaned in close, voice dropping to a serpent’s hiss. Otherwise I tell everyone everything. How do you think those Moretti men are

gonna

deal with you?”

The door exploded open.

The crash echoed through the empty warehouse. Vanessa and the man spun around.

Dominic stood in the doorway, backlit, face in shadow.

But whatever was burning in his eyes made Vanessa’s legs buckle.

“Dominic… Her mouth moved, face drained of color. “Let me explain-

Ethan shot past Dominic like a rabid animal.

He grabbed Vanessa by the throat, lifted her clean off the ground, and slammed her into a container.

“EXPLAIN?!” Ethan’s eyes were blood-red, voice shredded. “What the FUCK is there to explain?!”

“You… you killed my mother…”

Vanessa’s eyes rolled back, feet kicking in the air, hands clawing desperately at Ethan’s arm.

“No… cough cough… I was just a kid… he made me…”

“MADE YOU?!” Ethan’s fingers tightened, knuckles cracking. “You handed him the KNIFE!! You locked my sister in a basement for SIX

YEARS!!”

Vanessa’s face turned purple.

Just as she was about to black out, a hand gripped Ethan’s shoulder.

“Let her go.”

Ethan whipped around, eyes wild. “Dominic! You-

“I said let go.”

Dominic’s voice was soft. Soft like the silence before a hurricane.

“Dying’s too easy for her.”

Ethan froze for a second. Then slowly released his grip.

Vanessa collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, gasping for air.

“Dominic…” She crawled toward him, sobbing, reaching for his leg. “I was forced into it… I was so young… he threatened me….

Dominic looked down at her like she was already a corpse.

“Vanessa, his voice was calm, “you really played us all these years.

“No… Vanessa shook her head frantically, makeup smeared, looking like a wreck. “I love you, Dominic, I really love you…”

“Love?”

Dominic crouched down, gripped her chin, leaned close to her ear.

“You love me? What about Rosalie? She was carrying my child. When you had your men kick her in the stomach-was that love too?”

Vanessa’s pupils shrank. Her lips trembled, but no words came out.

“Those guys confessed everything.” Dominic released her, stood up, looked down at her. “The gang rape in the alley. The threats in the dressing room. Pouring liquor down her throat until her stomach bled-all you.”

“You really do love me, his voice rasped. “Loved me enough to torture my wife to death.”

“Dominic…”

“Don’t say my name.”

Dominic turned to his men. “Take them. Both of them.”

“Give them proper hospitality back at the house.”

He paused. His voice dropped to ice.

“Let them experience everything Rosalie went through.”

“Every. Single. Thing.”