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Chiara saw the darkness and the hate he held on the verge of the surface. She recognized the similarity between their desires for Bulldog to pay for the pain he had caused her.
For his part, Tanner’s heart tugged a little as he watched his daughter slip the knife into her belt. He caught her eye and held her gaze unblinkingly.
“Father Sanchigo, you say? I don’t know how you got to be with him, but whatever he has taught you, and for whatever purpose, I beg you not to forget who your real father is, Savannah.”
“Gmpf,” she snorted as she took her spot next to Sanchigo again. “There was a time that sweet talk worked on me. Unfortunately for you, I’m not that sappy young girl anymore. Why do you think we’re even here, Senator Tanner?”
Tanner ignored the hold Bulldog had on his neck and bore upright. “I don’t know, Savannah. Why don’t you tell me?”
“My fucking name is Chiara. Call me by that atrocious name once more, and I will gouge your eye out, too!”
Sanchigo placed a hand on her shoulder. For a moment, it appeared tender, but the tightening grip caused Chiara’s eyes to water. She winced, and her hand rose, trying to claw at his fingers, but before the message from her brain could make it to her hand, she stood still. Then her hand fell back to her side.
“Let the name-calling stop. Our little princess is growing a backbone and making sure no one calls her anything she dislikes. Yes,Savannah,” Sanchigo cocked his brow in a sinister smirk at her, “I might have failed in keeping her as a child, Senator Wilde, but her training in the ways of being a powerful member of the Sanchigo Family is going exceptionally well. Bulldog made sure to follow my every wish to have her molded into a full-fledged member of the Cosa Nostra, and not only a member... a future leader. A formidable leader.”
He leaned back and studied Tanner, and though his demeanor exuded relaxed satisfaction, he knew his gaze hid the fierce envy within him.
“You have no idea how lucky you are, do you? A senator, a man with power and the freedom to rule in the way he sees fit. Well, I’m fucking sick and tired of hiding behind the curtains. I am more powerful than the entire fucking Senate, and it’s time everyone realizes it!”
Tanner ignored his diatribe. “And you’re never going to stop until you reach the White House, or the Oval Office, to become President of the United States. Is that why you have VP Delaware’s son as one of your cronies? So, are you, Sanchigo? Is that what this has been all about? Why you’ve stolen Savannah? Why you’re trying to ruin Sera, her mother?”
A wistful smile cracked the menacing façade of Sanchigo’s face.
“Love. You don’t believe in love, Senator Wilde, just as I don’t. The fact that you’re still unmarried at your age is proof of that. What the fuck does a word mean, anyway?” He drew himself up and spat the next word at him with cold determination. “Power is a far superior notion to fall for. If it wasn’t for power, you wouldn’t even be considering marriage now, would you? A wife is just one more acquisition to tick off in your life as a senator.”
“Oh, please, this entire façade is becoming exceedingly boring. Can we just move on and finish what we came here for?” Chiara interjected with a clipped tone. She gestured at Tanner and said with disdain, “So, who’s going to do the honors? Bulldog, you, Father... or me?”
Sanchigo barked out a laugh. “Do you hear that, Senator Wilde? Your beloved daughter is all too eager to be the one to end your miserable life.”
“What a shame she won’t have that pleasure.” Sage’s cold voice drew a groan from Chiara. She growled out her annoyance as they all turned to find Sage, Keith, and Kaden, surrounded by ten guards of the Triple K Security Firm standing behind them.
“Your stupid assholes! I thought you said you secured the perimeter?” Sanchigo bellowed out his anger at being sidelined. His guards didn’t bother to attempt an explanation as they were quickly overpowered by Kaden’s men.
“This is why you came here, Sanchigo? To kill me?” Tanner drew his attention back to him.
“You and that bitch Sera Brookes deserve to die. You made a fool of me, lied to me in my face, and for that, you will pay, but not in the way you believe. Sera Brookes is the one I will enjoy facing because she took my family away from me, leaving me to hide like a lost hound. If not for her continuous interference, they would never have been forced to leave the country.” He pointed at Chiara who watched him unblinkingly. “That is why she is here. To—”
“Oh, God! It’s you… tell me I’m not dreaming,” Sera said from the stairs as she took the last step and stumbled closer. “Savannah? Is it really you?”
In that moment, a change came over Chiara as she faced her mother for the first time ever. Her eyes widened and softened, allowing the vulnerable little girl she used to be to step back into the light.
Her chin wobbled as long forgotten memories surfaced, so faint they seemed ghostlike, but the familiarity clawed at her heart. In a soft whisper, she breathed, “You... are you my real mother?”
Everyone stilled, not a single soul moved or breathed for a couple of seconds. The silence echoed, as their hearts bled for the young girl who was denied the affection and comfort from the woman who loved and adored her since the very day she was born.
Sera took a few steps closer and came to stand before her. Chiara flinched slightly when Sera’s hand came up to cup her cheek. She hesitated when she saw the love shine from the beautiful azure orbs of her real mother. A touch that was all-too familiar and yet so different from any she’d ever received from the woman who had brought her up.
“Chiara! Get away from her. Now!” Sanchigo’s voice cracked like a whip, and she automatically stepped away from Sera. “You will not forget why we’re here.” Before anyone realized what he was about, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Sera. “If anyone moves, know this… my aim is true, as is Bulldog’s. They will both be dead before you can blink.”
Tanner cursed himself for not disarming Bulldog when the troops arrived, but he had been too caught up with Sera arriving and knowing that the two most precious people in his life were now in danger.
Sanchigo’s eyes locked on Sera, and his voice turned cold.
“Because of your incessant interference, my family was torn apart. I might never see my children again.” The smile on his face was pure evil. “I came here to return the favor. You both will suffer the consequences of interfering in my life. You’ve just been reunited with your sweet, little daughter, Sera Brookes. Now watch her die!”
“Nooo!” Sera screamed and flung herself in front of Savannah as he pulled the trigger.
The room quivered with Chiara’s terror-filled scream, coinciding with Tanner’s frantic warning as he charged forward. But time cruelly slipped away, and Sanchigo’s bullet crashed into Sera, propelling her back into Tanner’s waiting arms. His heart quailed, fear gripping him like an unmerciful fist in a powerful clutch. He watched life ebb from her beautiful eyes as blood bubbled past her lips.
