44. Liana
FORTY-FOUR
LIANA
“ W ell, well, well. What do we have here?” I instantly tensed, that familiar pitch I had been trying to forget for years too close for comfort. My brothers-in-law shoved me forward, playing the part of my executioners perfectly. “It’s the Russian whore. Kill her.”
Romeo and Cristiano tensed at my sides, but thankfully their mother didn’t pick up on it. Giovanni, on the other hand, growled lowly in his throat, his whole body shifting forward as if preparing to attack his own mother.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked calmly.
Julia’s lips—God, it was hard to think of her as anything other than The Mistress—curved up into a smile, that malicious, superior smile that I remembered so well. I felt Romeo and Cristiano stiffening at my back, and a part of me was so fucking thankful for them at this moment.
Julia’s eyes were glued on me as she addressed her men. “Kill the girl. Leave my sons alive.”
My eyes flicked to Giovanni. I noted the red imprint of a palm on his handsome face, but other than that he was unharmed. Our eyes locked wordlessly and he nodded slightly, as if he could read my thoughts. I really hoped he could. I left him to keep him safe, not wanting to cause him more hurt, but in the end, his mother hurt him anyhow.
The corners of his lips lifted, and the look in his eyes told me everything. I love you. I believe in you. We’ll make this right.
I returned my eyes to the woman in front of me who had caused me so much pain and humiliation.
“You know, if you hadn’t been so greedy, he would have never learned how truly evil you are,” I said casually. “You made a terrible mistake by kidnapping my husband.”
“He’s my son,” she screamed.
“Which hand?” I asked, keeping my cool despite the rage flowing through my veins. She stared dumbly at me. “Which hand did you use to touch him? Because it will be the first part of you I slice.”
Julia glared at me, then shifted and slapped Giovanni across the face so hard his head flew to the left. I winced at the impact but kept my nonchalant expression as I looked at her.
“Right hand, duly noted.”
“And what are you going to do? You may be a mafia princess, supposedly untouchable, but that’s never really helped you, has it? You always lose. You’ve been losing for the past eight years.” She cackled like some mad witch from Salem. “And now you pulled my son into it.”
I snickered. I had never seen a mother discard her child so quickly, maybe aside from Sofia Volkov. The pair should hang out together in the deepest pits of hell.
“You really think so? Because from where I stand, you look like the loser.”
She strutted toward me, and it occurred to me just how pleasing it would be to watch her downfall in real time. Because for the first time, I could see how insecure she was. Scared and alone. This time, it was me she slapped.
A quick glance at my brothers-in-law and the rest of it happened fast. Cristiano and Romeo sprang forward, attacking the two closest guards while Giovanni attacked the other two. Julia, so typical of her, bolted from the cell.
I couldn’t worry about who could hold their own here, instead I went after her, and before she could reach the end of the hallway, I grabbed her by her chignon and yanked her back.
“Not so fast,” I tsked. “We’re not done here.”
Gunshots rang out from inside the cell, but I blocked it out. I focused on the woman who killed my baby, who stole my dignity.
I shoved her down on her knees and slapped her so hard she fell over, her head hitting the filthy stone. I grabbed her right hand and smiled viciously.
She started screaming and I struck her hard, breaking her nose in the process.
“A promise is a promise after all,” I purred.
I reached for the revolver tucked in the back of my jeans, but before I could shoot her right hand, a guard tackled me from behind. Instinctively, I punched him in his sternum, then landed a blow to his kidneys, and finally a kick to the kneecap.
He grunted, but before he could do anything, I straightened to my full height and kicked him in his chest, sending his body flying back.
I turned my attention to Julia, who was attempting to crawl away while groaning in pain. I raised my arms, gripping the gun, and aimed.
Bang .
Her scream pierced through the air and she brought her bloodied hand to her chest, cradling it like a baby.
“Revenge is sweeter than I could have ever imagined,” I said, my lips curving into a smile. I picked up my foot and drove it into her abdomen. “For Giovanni and my baby.”
Her eyes widened with fear as she gurgled, choking on her pain. The sounds were better than any Eminem or Sarah McLachlan song, better than Beethoven’s or Mozart’s symphonies.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for so long,” I drawled. “After what you did.”
“I secured my son’s place in the cartel,” she hissed.
I scoffed. “I never wanted it.”
“But your child would have taken it.”
“No…” My voice was brittle as I narrowed my eyes. “If you would have let me, I would have disappeared. You let me think I could, let me run through the woods while I was eight fucking months pregnant.” I closed my eyes, but I wouldn’t let her win. “You could have had your precious lover and the cartel for your son.”
She let out a strangled breath as if she didn’t believe me. It didn’t matter though, because her life was finished. She would pay for killing my baby and for daring to hit Giovanni.
I took a deep breath and aimed my gun at her skull. “Any last wishes?”
Her eyes, so similar yet so different to her three sons, lifted to me with so much nonchalance, it took me aback.
“Question is… do you have any last wishes?” My brow furrowed and she chuckled. My finger tensed on the trigger and I was ready to end this once and for all, but she continued speaking. “Maybe someday you’ll meet your son.” I froze, my brain unable to process her words. She watched me, cackling. “Although, maybe it’s better that you don’t because it’ll be messy to explain to the kid that you married his father’s nephew.”
My face paled as I stared back at Julia. A son . I had a son. I had assumed, but I never knew it for sure. Tears burned my lids as my mind whirled like a cyclone.Then the meaning of her words sunk in. She made it sound like my baby was… alive.
It’s a lie. She’s lying.
I ground my feet into the stone floor, anchoring into the present. No . I would know if my baby was alive.
“You’re lying.” Giovanni’s voice came from behind me, echoing my own thoughts. I turned and saw him standing tall, though looking a little worse for wear. He and his brothers came to surround me protectively, their glares locked on their mother. “Have you truly no decency, Mother? After all the damage you’ve caused?”
Julia’s expression was cold, her entire body still.
“Am I lying, Giovanni?” she uttered. “Do you think I’m capable of killing a baby?”
“Yes,” all three brothers answered unanimously.
“I saw you…” I shuddered with the memory. My voice cracked and I swayed, but Giovanni’s hand wrapped around my waist, offering me support. “I saw you… I saw you throw him into a trash bag.”
My heart was shriveling in my chest. Julia had fooled me so many times, taken advantage of me and killed any decent part of me with her cruelty. This had to be another one of her schemes. A way to prolong her undeserving life.
“He’s a tough little fucker,” she said casually, like she was referring to a puppy at the pound. “When I got to the car, he wouldn’t shut up, kept crying, so I took him out and decided that I could use him for some leverage of my own.”
“What…” When I spoke next, my voice was barely audible. “Where is he?”
“Ahhh.” She laughed mockingly. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Mother!” Romeo hissed.
“You sick bitch,” Cristiano growled.
Giovanni got in his mother’s face, pressing his own gun to her skull, and pushed on it so hard that her head fell to the side. “You will tell us where the child is.”
Oh. My. God.
My lips trembled. Tears streamed down my face, every joint in my body frozen as one thought struck me repeatedly. I abandoned my baby. He’s been alone for years and I never even looked for him. I played hide and seek like a coward while he waited for me to save him.
“Fucking end her and we’ll find the kid,” Romeo said, glowering at his mother. “Everything that woman sputters is a lie. She’ll give us the run-around until she can end us all.”
The grim expression on the Agosti brothers’ faces told me they meant every word.
But I was still gaping at the woman, starved for information. It was my last chance to learn something, anything about my son.
Cristiano glared down at her and brought out his own gun.
“No,” I screamed. The brothers exchanged a look hesitantly, but they remained in place. “No, I need to know where he is.”
Julia smiled victoriously. That same smile that told me she had me exactly where she wanted me. One step ahead of me.
“Get those guns away from my face,” she said with calm determination.
Suddenly, chaos erupted. A guard staggered into view, bloodied and disoriented, his gun trembling as he aimed it at us. Without hesitation, Giovanni pushed me behind him, shielding me with a fierce grunt.
“Noooo!” I screamed as the guard pulled the trigger without hesitation. My heart made the decision for me. I shoved him away from me. Pop. Pop. Pop.
Commotion. Screams. Blood.
The world was spinning. My ears rang and I touched my stomach, wincing with pain. I looked down in confusion to see blood coming out of me.
Someone called out my name, but I couldn’t focus.
Then everything went silent, and I was so grateful that the world stopped spinning as I fell into a cold darkness.