"And what about the day she was in that hospital bed, broken and bleeding, and you knelt at her side and promised you'd never hurt me? That you'd take care of me for the rest of your life? That was a blood debt, Colino. And you swore on your family's honor."
His jaw clenched, his expression hardening into granite. "Don't throw ancient history in my face. I've given you and your mother everything for years—food, clothes, a place in this house, respect you never earned. Whatever debt I had, I paid it off a long time ago."
Then, as if to twist the knife deeper, he let out a bitter laugh.
"This is about money, isn't it?"
He flicked the check at me again. The edge sliced across my cheek, drawing a thin line of blood that dripped onto the pristine white marble.
I bit down hard, fists clenched until my nails carved crescents into my palms. "I don't want your money. I want Piper to be held accountable for what she's done."
He chuckled, a smug little breath through his nose—the sound of a man who'd never been told no. "Go ahead. Let's see which mouthpiece is dumb enough to take that case and face the Marconi Family in any courtroom in this city."