“If Marcella wasn’t my real mother, where is Amelia?” I had a feeling I already knew the answer, but I needed to ask anyway.
He let out a sigh and bowed his head slightly. “She passed away some time ago.”
I felt a sharp pain, as if I was being stabbed in the gut.
“What did you do to her?” I accused. The thought of losing someone I never had a chance to know tore at my insides.
“I didn’t do anything to her, Mason. Contrary to what you may believe, I’m not a monster. Well, let me rephrase that. I take care of what’s mine. Amelia was diagnosed with ovarian cancer right around the time you were five. It was aggressive, and we didn’t catch it in time.” He shook his head as if remembering.
I didn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth. “You’re a fucking liar.”
Donicko sighed and raised a hand in defeat. “Believe what you must, Mason, but it’s the only truth I have.”
A knock sounded at the door and I furrowed my brow. He’d made a call and demanded someone come to the room, but too many things were happening at once to even register it.
“Ah, she’s here,” he stated as he sat up a little straighter. “Come in,” he bellowed across the room.
The door opened slightly and in walked a woman wearing designer jeans and a soft, white blouse. I tried to get a look at her, but her dirty-blonde hair was loose around her face.
She walked straight to Donicko’s side and knelt down at the floor, bowing her head. I observed in disgust as he reached a hand out and petted her head like she was a fucking dog. I couldn’t stay and watch him put on a show. Fuck him and fuck his truths. I needed to get out of there and contain everything eating away at me inside. I was a ticking bomb ready to explode.
Standing up abruptly, I didn’t say away word; I just walked toward the door.
“Leaving so soon?” Donicko antagonized.
I stopped at the threshold and said one last piece.
“I’m done with all of this, Donicko. Do not call or text me. Do not seek me out. Pretend I don’t exist, like you’ve done all these years. I’m fucking done. Do what you want with the tapes, I don’t give a shit. But I will never stop trying to find a way to bring you down.”
I turned and walked through the door, but not fast enough. I heard his parting words, which stopped me in my tracks.
“Wouldn’t you like to say goodbye to Sophia first?”
I turned my head as if I could replay what he’d just said. I knew I must have heard him wrong, but he’d grabbed my attention.
I turned around and walked back into the room, my body freezing mid-step as I stared on in shock.
“Hello, Mason.”
The blood drained from my face. It couldn’t be.
I looked from her to Donicko, a smug smirk on his face, then back to her. I ran a hand through my hair and took a step closer.
Her hair was pulled back from her face and her blue eyes were looking back, but they were vacant.
So many feelings came rushing back: the pain, the guilt, the loneliness, the devastation of losing her. Being a complete failure.
“Sophia?” I breathed. I wasn’t sure whether to address her or question her existence.
She smiled brightly at me, and I couldn’t help the one I shared with her as I stared at her beauty. I’d never seen her fully smile. She never had a reason to. I’d always told myself that the first time I’d see her smile would be the day I got her out of the hellhole, and I’d failed.
I wouldn’t fail her again. I rushed toward her, the smile falling as I reached for her and grabbed her arm, causing her to gasp in shock. I pulled her with me and held her small frame behind me.
Donicko stood abruptly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“She’s getting out of here, and she’s getting out of here with me,” I informed him sternly.
She wiggled behind me, trying to break free from my grasp, and I tightened my hold. I wasn’t leaving this fucking Hell without her.
“Let me go,” Sophia demanded as she tried to pull my fingers loose from her arm.
Donicko chuckled then sat back down in his seat as if he wasn’t worried about my attempted departure.
I turned toward Sophia and released her arm. I grabbed her shoulders and really looked at her.
“Sophia,” I breathed, as I looked her over. “I—”
“Let me go, Mason,” she stated sternly as she gripped my hands and pulled them free from her shoulder. I stared on in disbelief as she walked past me and sat back down on the couch.
Donicko laughed again. “Maybe next time, make sure the person you’re trying to save wants the saving.”
I didn’t know what to say; I just stood there, staring. The knife twisted in my gut as I watched Donicko place a hand on Sophia’s leg and she looked at him with admiration. I was dumbstruck. This couldn’t be fucking happening.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”