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"Remember," I say as the convoy of SUVs purr to life behind us, "our priority is getting Tatiana out of there safe. Anyone who gets in the way is to be eliminated. Is that clear?"
Matteo hurries to catch up, laptop clutched in his hands. "The car turned off the highway, heading east into the countryside. Mostly rural roads from here on, so there is less camera coverage to track them. But we're deploying drones to monitor from the air, and we have a general direction to follow."
"Then we move out now." I slide into the passenger seat of the lead SUV, grabbing a headset to remain in constant contact with Marco and the rest of the team. "The faster we mobilize, the faster we retrieve what belongs to us."
Tatiana. Our child. The future of my empire.
A chorus of affirmations answers me, and satisfaction curls in my chest. They understand that this is not just about reclaiming what is mine or avenging betrayal. This is about protecting the future ofLa Famiglia, about safeguarding the heir who will one day rule in my place.
I check my gun one last time. The weight of it in my hands feels as natural as breathing, an extension of my body honed to deal with death with mechanical precision.
"Move out," I order, and we speed off into the night.
Chapter 44
Tatiana
My fingers tremble as I face him, the knot in my stomach pulling tighter with each word that escapes my lips. "How can you claim to know my uncle? For years, I've searched, scoured every lead, every whisper of his existence... and nothing." The words rush out in a torrent, my heart thundering against my chest.
Martin's piercing eyes, usually so sharp and commanding, now swim with confusion. He sits beside me, driving like a maniac, his raven-black hair falling over his forehead in disarray.
His hands, normally steady and sure, reach for mine with an uncertainty that does little to ease my roiling emotions. I recoil, but he holds them in place.
"Please, Tatiana," he implores, his voice a mixture of desperation and conviction. "I need to show you the truth. It'snot what you think. He came to me. He trusted me with the truth."
"What is the truth?" I scream, tears running down my face. "What is it? Some ghost of a man I can't trace, my blood, my uncle, came to you and not me? Martin, think!"
"He's Russian. He's Russian, Tatiana. He's come all the way here to save you. Don't you understand? He needs to be the one to show you."
I go quiet, all the demons and angels in my head singing to their tune. I sob, quiet tears, distraught, not knowing what to believe. I want to believe my uncle is back. Yet, it seems too good to be true.
I want to believe Philippe is the right man for me, but meeting the man I've searched for all my life could shatter the only reality that gives me joy.
I want to go back in time; I never have invited Martin for our engagement.
"Show me? Show me what?" My voice sounds foreign to my ears, fractured by betrayal and doubt.
"Everything," he insists, swerving again, the air between us charged with unspoken tension.
"Slow down, Martin," I screech, but it's like he doesn't hear me.
I’m conflicted between a sense of danger and a desire to know the truth finally. My instincts tell me to run, to escape, but I'm shut in, forced to hear him out.
"And before we reach him, I can't hide this from you any longer. I love you, Tatiana."
The world tilts, my breath stolen by his revelation. Love? How can he speak of love amidst all this madness? My heart races, pounding a fierce rhythm against the cage of my ribs. Is that why he is doing this?
"Love?" I echo my voice barely a whisper. The word hangs in the air, a fragile thing, ready to disintegrate.
"Yes," he says, his gaze holding mine while he drives ahead. I keep my eyes on the road, panicking. "Martin, please. The road – "
"I never intended for this, but it's the truth. And I swear on everything I am, I will protect you. I love you."
My mind desperately wants to believe the good in him. I was just sixteen when I met him. He has no right to talk to me about love. We are professionals first, friends second and nothing after.
Though his words should comfort me, they instead add weight to the dread that coils within me, a serpent lying in wait. I should be able to trust a man who loves me, not to hurt me, but he's causing me all this pain right now.
I have no choice but to play along, to keep myself safe.
