Chapter 36
CHAPTER 36
MACKENZIE
I know this basement inside out, and so getting in through the cellar was easy. It was still the same rows of cells my father kept his whores and captives in - his own daughter included.
“My mother has to be keeping Gabriella in here,” I whisper to Flynn and Jenson as we stealthily make our way through the damp stone corridors, the air thick with the stench of mildew and decay. The silence is suffocating, broken only by our soft footsteps against the concrete floor. My heart pounds in my chest, every instinct telling me to hurry, but I can’t let my fear override the mission. Not now. Not when I’m this close.
Flynn’s hand rests on the hilt of his knife, ready to strike at anyone who crosses our path. Jenson’s expression is grim, his jaw clenched tight as he moves with precision. They’re both here to protect me, but I don’t need their protection. Not anymore. Not when it’s my daughter’s life on the line.
“This way,” I murmur, leading them through the winding hallways, my fingers brushing the rough walls to steady myself as I navigate the maze-like underground. The faint sound of distant water dripping from somewhere deep in the shadows sends a shiver down my spine, but I keep pushing forward.
I’m almost there. Almost to Gabriella. I just have to keep it together.
The cellar’s dank air is oppressive, and my mind can’t help but drift to the memories of this place—how my father kept me here like I was just another possession. It’s hard to reconcile the past with the present.
I have to focus. Gabriella's here. She has to be. The mantra repeats over and over, a desperate reminder that I have to find her, I can’t let my mother— that woman —take her from me again.
I reach the first door, my fingers trembling as I grip the handle, pulling it open with a slow, deliberate motion. The silence in the room is suffocating, and when my eyes scan the space, the hollow emptiness of it hits me, I move to the next and then the next. Flynn and Jenson do the same.
“She's not here,” Flynn’s voice cuts through the suffocating silence, but his words feel like they’re being pulled from a distance. Like they don’t even matter.
I swallow, but the lump in my throat refuses to budge.
How could she not be here? I feel like I’m suffocating, the weight of the air pressing in on me from every side. I clench my fists, biting back the urge to scream, to rage against the fucking universe that seems intent on tearing apart the only thing worth anything in my life.
“No…” I whisper, the word barely escaping my lips, a pathetic attempt to deny the truth sitting right in front of me. “She has to be here.”
Jenson steps forward, his stance tense. !We thought she’d be here,” he mutters, his voice thick with frustration. “This doesn’t make sense.”
I turn away from the empty cell, my heart sinking deeper with every passing second. It’s like I’m being pulled in a thousand different directions.
My mind spirals, images of Gabriella alone in a cell, terrified— my fault - for not getting to her sooner.
And then the footsteps. Heavy, deliberate, drawing closer.
I freeze, my pulse leaping in my throat. It’s like my body knows before my mind does that this isn’t over. That there’s someone here, and they’re coming for us. Jenson cocks his handgun. Flynn stands ready to drive a blade through anyone.
I turn slowly, my breath shallow, but then I see him emerge from the shadows—Creed. His eyes lock onto mine, and for a brief moment, it’s as though the rest of the world disappears.
I open my mouth to speak, but the words choke in my throat. His presence is enough to cut through the fog of confusion.
“Creed,” I say, my voice strained, barely a whisper. I try to keep my tone steady, but I can’t shake the rawness clawing at the edges of my words. “What the hell’s going on? Where’s Gabriella? Amelia—”
Creed steps closer, his expression hard enough to silence me. Something heavy was bearing down on him. He looks at Flynn, then Jenson, before his gaze settles back on me. His jaw tightens, and I see the familiar coldness in his eyes—the man who doesn’t flinch, doesn’t break – not anymore. He knows something I don’t.
“She lied to us, Mackenzie,” Creed says, his voice low, each word deliberate. “Gabriella’s not here.”
The air in my lungs freezes. “What do you mean? She’s not—where is she then?”
Creed doesn’t answer right away, his gaze hardening, as if he’s choosing his words with caution. The silence between us stretches painfully, like I’m on the verge of a cliff, teetering on the edge of something I can’t control.
“Amelia’s upstairs,” he says, finally breaking the tension. “She has Gabriella somewhere else. She wants to see all of us.”
A sickening weight falls into my stomach, the realization crashing down like a tidal wave. I feel the floor beneath me shift, my world tilting, spinning with the force of his words.
I blink, trying to process what Creed’s telling me, but I can’t focus on anything beyond the panic clawing at my chest. “Creed?” My voice cracks. “Why the hell does she want to talk to all of us?”
“Because she’s still playing her game, Mackenzie,” Creed replies, his tone biting, but it’s tinged with something else now—an urgency that I can’t ignore. “This war has nothing to do with us personally. Diego wants power. He wants my operations, and he wants an agreement with St. Jude’s. If we don’t do as he says, he’ll take Gabriella. If we hurt Amelia, he hurts Gabriella.”
I don’t know whether to scream or collapse right then and there. The crushing weight of his words presses in on me from all sides, and it feels like I’m suffocating under it. “This was never about a few fucking containers. This was always about power.”
I lock eyes with Creed, and for the first time in forever, I feel the distance between us. It’s not the distance of love or betrayal. It’s the distance of truth. And the truth is, I’ve been playing my mother’s game all along. I just didn’t know the rules.
I take a shaky breath, trying to steady myself, but it feels like the ground is slipping from beneath me.
“Let’s go,” Flynn says. “We’re done playing this bitch’s games.”
He signals for Jenson to follow, but as I move, I know that nothing will be the same once we face Amelia. Not when she’s finally shown me who she really is.
And I can’t let her win. Not now. Not ever.
* * *
“Now that we’re all here, here are your options,” Amelia says when we’re gathered in the living room.
Flynn scoffs in disgust, but the rage bubbling inside of me keeps my body rigid, taut, like a coiled spring ready to snap. Flynn shares the same hatred for this woman. He knows what it’s like to have monsters in place of actual parents. Thankfully, his anger is controlled. Mine? Mine is dangerous, primal, bubbling underneath the surface. I can barely stand the sight of her, let alone hear her voice again after everything she’s done.
Amelia stands there, calm, composed, as if the years haven’t passed. There’s something almost maddening in the way she pretends like she still holds power. But the power has shifted, and she hasn’t realized it yet.
She doesn’t even look at me. Not once. She just walks past me like I’m a shadow from her past—something to be ignored, something to be cast aside. This is the woman who gave birth to me? This is the woman who never once tried to protect me?
“Amelia,” I say, my voice low, dripping with disdain. “You’ve played your games, now let’s talk?”
She finally turns her gaze on me, and there’s no warmth in her eyes. She tilts her head slightly, like she’s studying me, assessing me. It only makes the anger inside of me flare brighter.
“You’ve gotten weak, little Kenzie?” she says, her voice so smooth, so calculated, as if everything she’s done has been justified. “You’ve always been a pawn. You were never more than that. You’re still just that—fighting over something you’ll never control.”
“Fuck you,” I snap, stepping forward. “You’re standing here after kidnapping your granddaughter. For what? Power? Control? Your own flesh and blood means nothing to you, and now you expect me to just sit back and let you continue this bullshit?”
Her lips curl into something close to a smile, but it’s more venom than anything else. “If you’re looking for a fight, darling, you’ve come to the right place. But let’s be clear, you’re in my world now. I’ve always been in control.”
The words don’t land on me like they used to. I’m not that scared little girl anymore. I’m not the same person my parents tried to shape me into. And she knows it.
Creed takes a step forward, his presence unmistakable, commanding attention, but his eyes dart to me first, waiting for my approval. I shake my head, trying to ignore the wave of disgust that’s rising up my throat, but I can’t.
“You think you’re safe. Hiding behind Diego and Linc,” I say, voice trembling with something darker, more dangerous than I’ve ever felt. “But this game you’ve been playing, Amelia? It’s over. I’m done with you.”
Her eyes narrow, and she opens her mouth as if to respond, but I cut her off before she can speak.
“You’re not even a mother. You’re a fucking snake,” I hiss, my voice rising with each word. “You’re going to give me Gabriella. Or you’ll regret it.”
Amelia’s face doesn’t change, not even a twitch. It’s as though nothing can faze her, and it makes the fury inside of me grow until I feel like I’m about to explode. But I don’t. I stay still, my breathing sharp, controlled.
She doesn’t back down either. She doesn’t flinch.
“I’m not giving you, Gabriella,” she says finally, her voice icy cold. “Not unless you do exactly as Diego says. If you don’t, your precious girl will be the one to suffer. And you’ll never see her again. You know what men like Diego do to pretty little girls, don’t you?”
The words hit me like a gut punch, but I stay composed. I’m done. Done with the threats, done with her lies, and done with playing by her rules.
“Twenty-four hours,” I say, my voice steady, deadly calm. “You want Creed’s operations, you want money from the Guild, you bring Gabriella to me. Alive and unharmed.”
My words hang in the air between us, the weight of them heavier than I could ever have imagined. Twenty-four hours to make a choice. Amelia will either comply, or she’ll risk everything, including her own safety. And I won’t hesitate.
Her eyes meet mine, gray on gray, unyielding, and there’s no trace of motherly affection, no sign that she cares about the mess she’s created. Maybe I gave my daughter away, but I did it to protect her.
“You’ve made your demands clear,” she says, her voice like ice. “But let’s be realistic here. It is you who doesn’t have a choice in this.”
I force myself to swallow the lump in my throat, pushing my emotions down where they can’t break free. “You have no idea how far I’ll go to protect her, Amelia,” I spit out, the venom in my words barely containing the sheer fury that wants to break free. “Using my daughter as leverage was your worst mistake.”
She smirks, “Your daughter? You gave her away minutes after she was born. You and I are more alike than you think, we both weren’t cut out for it.”
It takes everything in me not to lunge at her, not to let my rage consume me entirely. But I won’t. Not yet. Not until I know what the hell’s going on.
“Listen to me carefully, Mackenzie,” Amelia says, her voice dripping with calculated malice. “You’re not in a position to make demands. If you want to see that little girl, you’ll follow the rules. Diego wants power. He wants everything your father and I worked for. If you don’t comply, Gabriella will be lost to you. And you’ll have no one but yourself to blame.”
I take a shaky breath, every fiber of my being fighting the instinct to collapse under the pressure. My stomach churns with the thought of Gabriella in danger, but I can’t let it show. Not in front of her. Not in front of this monster.
Amelia’s gaze shifts to Flynn, Creed and Jenson, then back to me. “Now, let’s try this again, shall we - I’m giving you twenty-four hours to make your decision,” she says.
I feel the ground beneath me shift, my balance teetering. But I can’t let it show. I can’t let her see how terrified I am for Gabriella. Not now. Not after everything she’s done.
“You’ll regret the day you ever thought you could play with my daughter’s life.”
Her eyes narrow, and for a moment, I see the faintest flicker of something—something resembling fear. But it’s gone as quickly as it came. She’s still the puppet master, still in control. At least, she thinks she is.
“Make your choice,” she tells me.
And just like that, she’s walking away, disappearing into the shadows of this house of horrors that was my prison for far too long.
But as I turn to leave, her ultimatum has me in a chokehold. Twenty-four hours. A single day to make what seems like an impossible choice.