The Devil's CrownPart Two - Monica James Page 0,19
her as their property, and she allows it.
Fearful I’m about to be sick, I retrieve my cane and limp out the door. If this is what caring for someone entails, I want out.
Ella
I STAND TALL and unbending until Alek’s footsteps eventually fade into nothingness. The moment he’s gone, I lock the door and slide down it, allowing myself to crumple.
Drawing my knees to my chest, I hug them tight, silently crying tears I fought so hard to keep back. Hurting Alek was the only way to keep him safe, which is ironic, considering that is what he did for me. But the tables have turned, and now, I must protect him.
It saddens me that he believed my lies so readily, but didn’t I do the same?
I believed he kissed Willow because he wanted to, that he wanted her more than me, which is why I decided to hand myself over to Santo. If he cared for Willow, then I would do anything to save her, and the people he loved dearly.
That’s how much he means to me.
Even though I believed he didn’t want me, I happily walked up to Santo’s door and gave him what he wanted. I knew what that meant for me, and I was okay with that. But then I soon discovered that things weren’t as they seemed.
The Macrillos were only siding with Alek and helping him with Serg because they wanted to gain Alek’s trust, hoping he’d help them. To the outside world, The Macrillos are untouchable, but on the inside, it’s a completely different story.
The family is on the cusp of being bankrupt and because of this, even though they once only dealt in weaponry, Santo decided to try his hand in drug distribution as well, but Serg was in the way. Santo had the Italian mafia helping him with grade A drugs, but Serg had taken over Russia.
No one would buy from Santo, no matter how pure his product was. So Santo needed to get rid of the competition. Alek and he wanted the same thing, but Alek just didn’t know it.
Serg didn’t want to get his hands dirty, seeing as Serg was respected and Alek wasn’t by most. He cut a deal with Alek, so he could put the blame on Alek for Serg’s death if anything went wrong. His plan was for Alek to kill Serg so he could manipulate Alek into going into business together.
Alek’s reputation is still notorious, regardless of what he’s done. And Santo needs that.
He may have most fooled, but people are starting to talk, and the Macrillo name is losing face. Santo needs a partner in crime, and what better person than the ruthless Alek who just gouged out the eyeball of one of his peers without breaking a sweat.
He needs Alek’s name, but more importantly, he needs Alek’s knowledge to help him build this new empire, and then once he’s back on top, he’ll kill Alek, as there is room for only one leader. He needs Alek to watch and learn.
Serg would never go into business with Santo, but Alek was desperate and needed help, which is why Santo went to Alek with a hidden agenda. He knew Alek had ties to the orphanage and that I was hiding out there.
But that wasn’t the only reason he asked Alek to help him. He needed Serg gone to implement his plan. And once Serg was disposed of, they’d go after Raul so the drugs from the Italian mafia were the only ones being distributed in Russia.
This would encourage Alek to believe he and Santo were allies, but in reality, he would be biding his time, waiting to take out Alek and rule Russia.
Santo can’t do it alone. He has no idea about drug dealings in Russia, but Alek does, and he plans to exploit that. He’ll learn from Alek, only to discard him once he’s done.
And I can’t allow that to happen.
I only know about this plan because Santo’s feelings for me stem deeper than I thought. So deep, he’s delusional to the truth that I hate him.
I offered myself over to him, certain he’d kill me for my betrayal, but he did the complete opposite. He kissed me. He told me he missed me and that he wanted me to be his mistress. Of course, I refused, but when he locked me in the basement and had one of his men torture me until I couldn’t stand it anymore, I surrendered.