Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
VINCENT
“ V incent, wait,” Nico calls out, stopping me. “Why are you leaving? Is it something we said?”
I turn back around to face him. “I have to know something. Did you kill Igor Antonov?”
Nico’s face tightens. “Why are you asking about Igor Antonov?”
“I just need to know. Did you kill him?”
“I invite you into my home, and you make accusations of me? Who do you think you are, boy?”
His words remind me so much of my own father’s words—snapping at me. Scolding me. Calling me boy.
“I just need to know,” I repeat.
“So you can do what?” Nico’s eyes narrow. “Why did you come here?”
“Because I won the competition, and you invited me.”
“You’re right. But there’s another reason, isn’t there?”
I hold my hand out. “I’m here for the money.”
Nico shares a look with Aurora and nods. She grabs an envelope off a side table and hands it over. “There,” Nico says as I check the envelope, seeing all the money inside. “There it is. You can go now. But … I wanted to offer you a job, Vincent. You’re a fighter. I could use a fighter like you working for me.”
“You killed Igor Antonov, didn’t you? Why?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you. Do you want the job or not?”
“Not.”
Nico sighs and opens the front door. “Then you may leave. Enjoy your winnings.”
With one last look at Nico and a lingering look at Aurora, I leave the house. Since I came here in Nico’s car, I have to walk a bit until I reach a bus station.
Nico all but admitted to killing Igor. He refused to deny the accusations, which means he did kill him. But why? Why kill my father?
I didn’t get the answers I wanted, but I did get the money, and that’s good enough for now. I can get Ellie out of her father’s house. We can have a fresh start.
When I make it back to Mr. Moore’s house, he’s waiting for me in the foyer. “Well?”
“Well, what?” I ask.
“What happened with Nico Mancini?”
I stuffed the envelope in my jacket pocket before I came through the door so Mr. Moore couldn’t see the money. “Nothing happened. He wanted to offer me a job. He didn’t even pay up. Cheap bastard.”
Mr. Moore huffs. “Seriously? I’ve known Nico Mancini to be a man of his word. No. You need to go back there and demand the money you’re owed.”
“Sorry. I’m done with Nico. And I’m done with you. I’ll be moving out since you won’t need me anymore.”
“Done with me? Oh, Vincent. We are far from done. No, you won’t be leaving. I need something from you.”
“Oh, yeah?” I cross my arms. “And what’s that?”
“I need you to kill Nico Mancini.”
My stomach drops to my feet. “Why do you need that?”
“Why do you sound upset? I know you want him dead. For killing your father, if I recall.”
“I did. I do. But?—”
“But what?”
But I want to leave with this money and save Ellie. She’s more important than vengeance.
Of course, I can’t tell Mr. Moore a single word of my plan.
“You want to run away with my daughter, don’t you?”
I blink and try not to show any emotion on my face. “We’re married now. Ellie and me.”
“And you think that gives you a right to her?”
“Doesn’t it?”
“Here’s my proposition, Vincent. Kill Nico for me, and I’ll let you have my daughter. I’ll back off. How does that sound?”
“Using Ellie as a bargaining chip?”
He shrugs. “I do what I have to do. So, what’s it going to be?”
I get right up in his face as I answer. “No. I’m leaving now.”
“Then you won’t ever get justice for your father’s death.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“Then you’ll never learn the truth.”
I pause and slowly look at him. “What truth?”
“I think you know.”
His cryptic words hit me in my core. The reason everything felt familiar with Aurora. The reason I have the same pendant as their kid. The fact I have the same name even.
I need to know if I’m really Nico and Aurora’s son.
But I can’t do what Mr. Moore wants from me. If Nico is somehow really my father, then I can’t kill him. I need answers.
I also need Ellie.
“I’m leaving,” I say.
“Then you won’t get Ellie. She’ll remain here under lock and key until you do what I want. Until you kill Nico Mancini. Is that clear?”
“I can just save her now.”
Mr. Moore pulls out a gun but doesn’t point it at me. We’re not at that point yet. This is a threat. “You won’t get my daughter. I’ll make sure of that.”
“If you kill me, then I can’t kill Nico for you.”
“It’s not you I’ll kill.”
I suck in a breath. “You would kill your own daughter?”
“If it meant keeping her pure, then yes. She can be pure in death.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t I?”
We have a stare-down, with me sweating and Mr. Moore looking the picture of cool. Would be really kill Ellie just to keep her from me?
I don’t want to risk it and find out.
“Fine,” I spit out. “I’ll do what you want.”
“Good. Then return to Nico and kill him. I’ll be waiting.” He puts his gun away.
I leave the house before I run into Ellie. If I see her face, it will stop me in my tracks.
I keep the money on me. For right now, that’s the safest place it can be.
Feeling like an idiot as I go back to Nico’s house, I force myself to knock on his door. After a few minutes, the door opens, and he’s standing there.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry for how I acted.”
Nico looks at me for a long moment before opening the door wider. “Come in.”
And I do.
“So, Vincent, why are you back? And so soon after you left?”
“I thought more about your job offer. I’d like to take you up on it.” I know I can’t just kill Nico right this second. Besides, I need answers. I need to know if he’s my father, but I can’t just ask it. For some reason, the thought of asking makes my heart constrict.
“Would you now? And why the change of heart? So fast?”
“I realized I could use the job. I could use the money. I’ve been struggling for a while.”
Nico nods once. “All right. Well, I’ll have to vet you first. But you can come in and have dinner with Aurora and me. I like to get to know any potential employees first.”
He leads me into the dining room, where a fancy meal has been set. “I’ll ask the chef to bring out another plate.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“It’s fine.” Nico takes his seat at the head of the table with Aurora sitting next to him, so I sit across from her. The warm smile she gives me sets me more at ease.
“So, Vincent, how did you get into fighting?” Aurora asks.
“Uh … my father. He had me learn.”
“And your father was …?”
“Igor Antonov.”
I study their reactions, and it’s not what I expect. Aurora turns her eyes downward, looking pained, while Nico’s face turns so tense it’s like marble.
“Did you know him?” I ask.
“We knew him,” Nico mutters.
“And that’s why you killed him?”
Nico’s eyes flash. “What are you doing here, Vincent? If you think I killed your father, then I’m guessing you’re here to kill me. Is that your plan? Because, I’ll have you know, it’s not easy to kill me. Aurora even tried.”
“Clearly, I didn’t succeed,” she says, grabbing his hand.
“Why did you kill him?” I ask. “I need to know.”
Nico sighs. “Because he stole our son. Kidnapped him when he was only a toddler. Then he killed him. I waited a long time for revenge, and then I finally found it. It’s funny … he named you after our son. I think it was just to spite us.”
So, that must be why I have that pendant and why I share the same name. It’s not because I’m Nico’s and Aurora’s son—it’s because Igor was just trying to hurt them.
“I’m sorry you went through that,” I say. “And to be honest, I never loved my father. When you killed him, it was a relief. So … no. I’m not here to kill you for the murder of Igor. I’m here for a job.”
I don’t have to kill Nico and play by Mr. Moore’s rules. I can make my own money and save even more until I can get Ellie out of that house.
Nico nods once. “I believe you. I’m not sure why I do, but I do.”
Aurora lifts her glass. “Why don’t we eat dinner? I’m starving.”
“I’m sorry about your son,” I blurt out. “I never knew that about my father.”
“It was a long time ago,” Nico says.
“Twenty-three years ago,” Aurora says. “He was three when he was taken.”
My fork clatters to the table. I’m twenty-six, which means that if this boy was taken twenty-three years ago, I would’ve met him. I would have been three myself.
No …
I look at Nico and Aurora harder, taking in their face. The color of Nico’s hair that matches mine. The way Aurora’s eyes crinkle as she smiles—it’s so much like my own.
All the evidence is pointing to me being their son. But that just can’t be because if that is the truth, then … my entire world would be upside down.
I need to get proof, and to do that, I need to a paternity test. I could ask Nico, but I’m not sure how he’d take it. He might get offended and throw me out of his house.
“I’m sorry. May I use your restroom?” I ask.
Nico tells me the bathroom is down the hall, and I rush to it. My hunch proves right. After checking the cabinets, I find a comb with short, dark hairs still in them. Nico’s hair.
I grab the comb and stuff it into my jacket pocket.
When I come back to the table, Aurora asks me if everything is all right.
“Everything’s fine,” I say, giving her a small smile. She smiles right back.
Everything is not fine because I might be eating dinner with my real parents. And if that’s the case, then how in the world can I kill Nico and save Ellie?