The Devil (BOOK I + II)

12 | "Tears Are Weakness"

Chapter Twelve
"Tears Are Weakness"

"nothing can dim the light
which shines from within,"
~ maya angelou

┏━━━━━━━┓

   It took a while to get access to the guest list. Mostly because I had to slip into papa's office at the most perfect time, under the pretense I would be waiting for him inside.

   Surprisingly, none of the guards questioned me. Daemon was in the hall with them after he closed the door, so I took the few minutes alone to go through papa's drawers.

   I found the five-page guest list a minute before papa entered the room.  Luckily, I was on the opposite side of his desk, rocking back on my heels with the sheets tucked into the waistband of my pants.

   That was yesterday.

   But after swimming some laps today, I showered and quickly dressed into joggers and a tee shirt before making my way to the drawing room, the list of guests in hand.

   Now, I was sitting in front of the fireplace, legs tucked under me while my eyes scanned each name with scrutiny. The guests were separated by which Dynasty they belonged in, and while highlighting potential suspects, I noticed the guests were listed by how much power they held.

   My jaw clenched when I got to the Italian Dynasty. No matter my history with Angelo, that meant nothing in this world. And right now, Stefano, his dad, was my top suspect.

   Who would get the most out of papa's death? The one Dynasty who has been fighting for papa's power.

   I was drilling my gaze into Stefano's name when suddenly, the pages were snatched from my grasp.

   "What the fuck is this, Roza?" I heard Micah bite out just as I lifted my head, meeting his heated glare. He was towering over my seat, his blond hair ruffled.

   I stared at him indifferently, but I untucked my legs, so my feet were flat on the floor. "The guest list. Aka, a list of potential shooters, obviously."

   His eyes flared with anger before he started to tighten his grip on the paper. My eyes widened briefly before trying to grab it from him. He quickly snapped his hand away, still narrowing his green eyes on me.

   "I can see that, Roza," he hissed. "But why do you have it?"

   "Because someone has to be useful," I glared and stood up when I realized he wasn't planning to give me the list. "Give it back."

   We stood across from each other, but he made no move to listen to my demand.

   "Useful? What makes you think this is useful?" He scoffed in disbelief. "Roza, do what you do best and disappear."

   I gaped, both with surprise and unwavering anger. "Fuck you, Mickie. Fuck you." His eyes flashed with fury, but I cut him off from his upcoming rant. "You're torturing people with Vladdie and Lev, and it's getting you nowhere!"

   "And we both know if I disappeared, you'd miss me too much," I drawled with a smirk, just to annoy him.

   A dry laugh left him. "Let's put that to the rest, Roza. Go and disappear."

   "Gladly." I felt my skin burning with unmarked rage, but when I saw Micah's eyes briefly flash with... something, some of my anger lowered.

   I peered over to the list again, which was still in his tight grip. I tried reaching for it again.

   He glared again before stretching his arm to his side. "The Dynasties are built on loyalty—"