Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 176

Delilah:

The silence in the hallway was thick, almost too thick.

I still didn’t know who the maid that spoke the other day, who told Giovanni about Lysandra breaking down. I had tried to find out, but to no avail. Of course, no maid would be foolish enough to tell me. She knows that I’d have her head. No questions asked.

I’d felt it before the call came. The whisper, the rustle, the whimper. But it wasn’t just noise anymore. It was something else. Something hollow. Something broken.

“Help…”

The voice was faint. Hoarse. A ghost of itself. But I knew it.

Lysandra.

She was still here, though I didn’t know where he had her locked up. She wasn’t before, he had brought her back, but when, why… I didn’t know. I just knew. I just felt it. I heard her… and today wasn’t the first time that I did.

My steps faltered at first, then quickened as I made my way toward the corridor that led to the locked quarters, Giovanni’s private prison. A place few dared to even glance at, let alone enter. The guards moved aside when they saw me, uncertain, but knowing better than to question.

I didn’t wait. I didn’t ask.

The heavy door to Giovanni’s study was already ajar.

I crossed my arms over my chest, holding my ground as I looked at him.

“Help me,” her voice cracked again, almost inaudible.

“She’s not to be seen,” Giovanni said, not even looking up from his desk. His tone was casual, too calm. He sipped his drink as if we were talking about a discarded item. I still could not understand how a man like him could raise a daughter only to give her up like that. She was always by her side, how he had disregarded her so easily. I did not know.

“You locked her in,” I said coldly. “I heard her. Her voice has been closer for the past two days, and I want to know where she is.”

“You’re softening.” He stood now, slow and deliberate. “I warned you. Let her rot. She’s useless to me now. I’m not going to care about the person who has failed me so many times.”

My eyes narrowed. “Then why keep her? Why keep feeding her enough to survive if you want her gone? You could easily let her die. It would be an easier option for you. You would be done with whatever disgrace you feel.”

He smirked. “Because sometimes, reminders are important. For her. For you. To show what happens when someone fails me. You never know, I might need her only when she has been reshaped, when she’s grown stronger.”

I clenched my jaw. “I want to see her.”

“No.”

“I need to see her.”

He tilted his head. “She’s feral. Gone. You’ll be next if you think you’re immune. You play around with empathy, and soon you’ll forget who you are. You’re going to soften towards her, and not only her, others too. I don’t think that I can allow that for you.”

I stepped forward, eyes unblinking. “Then open the door, Father. Let me see the monster you’ve made. You chose to turn me into one killing machine and you are choosing to turn her into a monster. I want to see her.”

That got his attention.

There was a flicker of something in his gaze, danger or amusement, I couldn’t tell, but he turned and pulled the iron key from his pocket.

She let me help her stand, barely. She was light, too light, her skin bruised and raw. I led her to my room, past the guards who now refused to meet my eyes. Even they were confused. That’s her sight, but neither one opened their mouth. Giovanni did not say a word either.

The water ran warm in the tub as I undressed her gently, washing away days of dirt, blood, and bile. Her breathing hitched at first, then steadied.

She didn’t speak.

Neither did I.

Because I knew now that the walls had ears.

I kept my touch steady. My face unreadable.

But my mind?

It was chaos.

All I could think of was what she’d said in the past. What I’d heard from Ethan and Carter. What I suspected.

I wrapped her in a towel, tucked her into clean sheets, and sat by her side as she finally drifted into a medicated sleep. Then I whispered, soft and low, so only the silence would hear.

“They took everything from you. And they’ll pay for it. One by one.”