I crept to the doorway and stood in my usual place in the shadows, wishing that Nico hadn’t decided to not come with me. Even though he was older, he couldn’t find any reason to spy on our father any longer. Instead, he said that there were more important things to do now.
“What about Capo Gresham?” my father’s second-in-command asked. “What do you want to do with him?”
“Kill him,” my father growled. “Make a spectacle of it so the others see.”
I toed the wood flooring, the words no longer having any effect on me. I knew that my father killed a lot of people, sometimes in his own study late at night, when he thought that Nico and I were in bed. He didn’t have any regard for human life, and the older I got, the worse I thought about him. He wasn’t warm like some of the other fathers I had been around. He wasn’t going to take me to piano recital or play catch with Nico.
Those were trivial things that Carmine D’Agostino didn’t have time for.
With our mom gone, we had to rely on the servants and each other to give us an ounce of warmth sometimes. And now that Nico was getting older, I was deathly afraid that soon I would be by myself, without anyone to care about me.
Suddenly, the door swung open.
“What you doing here?”
I looked up at my father’s angry gaze and immediately lowered my head. “I-I…”
My father pointed to his study, his second-in-command eyeing me in a way I didn’t like as I entered. I wore a pair of sleep shorts and a crop shirt, my go-to pajamas, and it was rare that anyone saw me like that outside of my bedroom.
I ducked in quickly and the man chuckled, shutting the door behind me. “Why you were listening at my door, Leda,” my father demanded, turning my attention back to him.
I swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to, Father.”
“Liar.” His stare was even and his voice calm, but it did nothing for my shaking heart. “But since you’re here, Leda, I’ve been meaning to discuss something with you.”
Surprised, I met his gaze. “You have?” Maybe he wasn’t mad at me! Maybe he thought I was finally doing what he wanted me to do.
He rounded his desk, seating himself back in his chair. He had told Nico and me once, long ago, that the chair belonged to some king, and every time he sat in it, he channeled his power.
His eyes roved over me, and I fought the urge to tuck my arms over my chest, knowing full well that the frigid air was causing my nipples to stand at attention. Suddenly I felt horribly dirty at the way my own father was looking at me, a gleam in his eye.
“You’re very pretty, Leda.” He said in a deep voice. “Like your mother.”
I shivered inwardly, wishing I had worn something less revealing.
“Which means,” he continued, oblivious to my discomfort. If he saw it, he didn’t care. My father never cared about me. “The next time I find you snooping around, Leda, I will sell you.”
“What?” I didn’t understand what he meant.
“I will sell you to the highest bidder. Do you understand me?”
My breath caught in my throat. Sell me? “But I’m your daughter,” I protested, shocked and disgusted that he would even say such a thing.
He chuckled. “And you will fetch a high fucking price. Don’t listen at my door again, Leda. I don’t need you. You were nothing but a mistake, an accident I hadn’t planned on. You are disposable.”
His words hurt me deeply, but I didn’t let him see it. “Yes, Father.”
“Good,” he announced, leaning back in his chair. “Go to bed. Or I’ll have Louie here escort you.”
I glanced over at my father’s second, seeing that he was watching me in a way that was downright unnerving. “No, I can find my own way.”
“Too bad,” Louie murmured. “We could have a lovely conversation.”
I didn’t answer him, shivering now. “Good night, Father.”
My father only grunted as I hurried out of the room, not stopping until I was in the safety of my room with the chair shoved under the knob. I would never forget the way that they had both looked at me tonight.
I drew in a sharp breath as I shook out of the memory, finding my hands shaking. I had known a little about why they had looked at me like that, but now, as a grown woman, I found it repulsive. It wasn’t so much that my father had threatened to sell me but more so that he had looked at me like hewantedme. From then on I had stayed out of his way, no longer listening at the door and attempting to pretend that the night had never happened.