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Mikhail’s hands curl into fists, fury etched on his face. But he doesn’t dare move. We’re completely at my father’s mercy.
Unless I can stop him.
My breath comes fast and shallow. This ends now. One way or another, I will not let him terrorize us any longer.
I meet Mikhail’s eyes, trying to convey with a look what I cannot say out loud.I’m going to end this. Trust me.
His eyes widen slightly in understanding. He gives me an almost imperceptible nod.
My heart pounds wildly. It’s time. With one last prayer, I make my move…
I bite my father’s hand and twist it back, instantly grabbing the gun. It all happens so fast, and now, I hold the gun to his forehead.
Chapter 23 - Mikhail
As I watch Caterina’s trembling hand clutch the gun, pointing it at her own father, I realize just how far Don Genovese has gone to manipulate his own daughter. It’s a moment of deep clarity, the realization that Caterina truly did not set out to hurt my family. The rage boiling inside me is held in check only by my determination to protect her from making a decision she’ll regret for the rest of her life. She’s always been strong, but the weight of this moment threatens to crush her.
“Let Emiliana go!” Caterina demands, her voice shaking with fury. Sweat glistens on her forehead, and her green eyes burn with a desperate intensity. “Now!”
I wait, my body tense with anticipation, for the right moment to intervene. Don Genovese sneers at his daughter, clearly believing he still holds all the power. But he underestimates both Caterina and me.
“Or what?” he spits contemptuously. “You’ll shoot me? Your own father? You don’t have the guts.”
“Test me,” she growls, her finger hovering over the trigger.
He laughs, and to my horror, Caterina raises the gun momentarily and shoots in the air. Her father crouches low for a brief second before standing again, now realizing he truly might not know his daughter the way he thought.
I too, feel fear. For Caterina. I know she’d never forget killing her father, never heal from it. It might change her permanently.
But I can’t intervene right now, as Don Genovese’s man still holds our daughter at gunpoint. My eyes keep dartingbetween Caterina and my little girl. Emiliana looks petrified, and watching her suffer wrenches my heart in ways I never knew.
“Let her go,” Caterina demands again.
Don Genovese narrows his eyes but then commands his man to release the child. I motion to Sergei, but I don’t have to, for Sergei is already by her side. He takes his niece in his arms, kisses her gently on her forehead and rushes her into the back of one of our waiting cars. Thank God, he’s wise. He picked the bulletproof Hummer.
The air crackles with tension, and I can feel the storm building within Caterina. It’s a maelstrom of love, fear, and betrayal that has been brewing for years, and it’s about to burst forth. But I won’t let it consume her, not if I can help it.
“Enough!” I finally intervene, stepping forward and placing myself just behind her father, so I can look Caterina right in the eyes. I lock eyes with her, willing her to see the love and resolve that courses through me. “Caterina, you don’t have to do this. Let me take care of everything.”
She hesitates for a moment, searching my face for any sign of doubt or deception. But all she finds is the unwavering devotion I’ve held for her since we first met. And as the tears begin to fall from her eyes, something breaks within her—the chains of her father’s manipulation, perhaps, or the last remnants of fear and doubt that have held her captive for so long.
“But, but…he’s tortured me for far too long, Mikhail,” she sobs, tightening her grip on the trigger again.
“Don’t do this, Bunny,” I say gently as I inch closer, my own pistol aimed at the back of his skull. “This is not you. He manipulated you, twisted you to his will, but you are better than him.”
Her eyes flick to me, wide and uncertain. “But Emiliana—”
“Is safe,” I assure her. “Sergei has her. You need not bloody your hands for her sake.”
She nods slightly, and I know she needs a little more encouragement.
“Caterina,” I say, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. “I love you, and I swear on my life that I will take care of everything.”
Our gazes lock, and though her eyes are filled with unshed tears, I can see the strength and love that have always been part of her very essence. She is a warrior, a force of nature, and I have never been more certain of my love for her than in this moment, when she stands before me with the weight of the world on her slender shoulders.
“Bunny,” I whisper, again.
Caterina’s eyes, rimmed with tears, flick from me to her father and then to the gun in my hand. Her gaze settles on the weapon, and I can see the desperate plea on her face. She wants him gone—permanently. It’s a quiet request, but one that resonates deep within me.
