Chapter 23
Edmundo
“This is unacceptable,” I growled, my anger rising to a very dangerous boiling point. “I warned you that I would come in person. What do you think will happen when I do?”
Mr. Valentino stuttered on the other end of the line.
“You have my deepest apologies, Mr. Genovese. The data has been scrubbed. There is nothing I can do to retrieve it. I’ve had the entire IT department working on the issue, but it looks like someone got access to our system, and it is…irretrievable.”
“One of two things is going on here. Either you’re lying to me, or you’re incompetent. Neither is reassuring concerning my continued business with your bank.”
“I would never lie to you, Mr. Genovese. Your business is extremely valuable.”
My teeth ground together as Mr. Valentino continued to kiss my ass.
There was only one thing he was concerned about, and that was me moving my money.
Which I could easily do, considering I had accounts all over the world, but that wasn’t the point.
Someone was fucking with me and my emotions, and when I found out who, I was going to kill them with my bare hands.
“Enough! I’m tired of your excuses. If someone could so easily bypass your security system, how safe is my money?”
“Mr. Genovese, I swear that—”
“No. I will give you one more week to find out who did this and get me the footage. Then…well, let’s just say you don’t want to see me angry, Mr. Valentino,” I snarled and hung up on the man before he could cry and tell me his sob story.
“Still nothing,” Marcus asked.
I glared at him across the desk, but he didn’t flinch.
“Who the fuck would do this to me? After all this time?”
“I can think of three people, but one doesn’t have that kind of pull without using someone else’s money,” Marcus said.
“Christov. He’s a snake, and I wouldn’t put it past him, but you’re right, he doesn’t have the funds to pull this off. Who else?”
“Patricia, she’s the most obvious,” Marcus suggested.
I sighed, knowing that it was true. To prove it, I would have to do a deep forensic accounting dive, which would take weeks if not months.
“The last one…Vadin,” he said, and I sat straighter. “I know it seems like a long shot, but we both know how backstabbing and underhanded he can be. He’s old, his wife is dead, his daughter is dead, and there is no way that Christov hasn’t been in touch with him about Lilya.”
An uncontrollable rage filled me as I stood up.
“Lo ammazzo quando lo trovo.”
My hand clenched into a fist as I pictured doing what I should’ve done years ago.
Ding.
I looked down at my phone, hoping that Mr. Valentino had finally gotten his head out of his ass and sent me the camera footage. Instead, it was a text from Paul.
P: Vadin at Wayward.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I growled, snatched my phone, and ran for the office door.
“What is it,” Marcus asked, hot on my heels.
“Vadin is at the school.”
I stormed outside, startling the guards standing nearby.
“Son of a bitch,” Marcus swore. “Let’s go. We’re mobile,” he yelled, before jumping into the driver’s seat.
If Vadin thought that he was going to come here and fuck with me, my family, or my daughter…he was going to learn just how ruthless I’d become since the last time I saw him.
Present Time
Ren
“Can I ask why you’re here now? Why have you decided to reach out after all this time?”
Liam and Dean Henry shadowed us like guards as we left the office.
He glanced at me and offered a small smile.
“Because I—”
The front doors of the school exploded open, and cold air and snow whipped into the foyer. Men in black suits fanned out in a wave of muscle as students standing nearby shrieked and ran. My father was at the head of the storm like a force of nature.
Coat flaring.
Fists clenched.
Face carved in a murderous rage.
I’d never seen him anything but a perfect picture of composed strength, but the look in his eyes could kill, and if that were true, then Vadin was a dead man.
“Edmundo?”
Vadin took a step back, his hands up as if that would stop him.
My father didn’t slow. He hit Vadin like a hurricane, grabbed him by the front of his suit, and lifted him clean off the ground. Vadin hung there—my father’s equal in height, but he looked like a rag doll in his grip.
“Edmundo…wait…please.”
Eddie marched Vadin backward and slammed him against the wall with a thud. Impossibly, it felt like the whole building shook.
Students poured in from every hallway, and the crowd swelled until it was a sea of eyes all watching with rapt attention. I spotted Nash and Myles sprinting over as Liam stepped in front of me like a human shield.
“You dare come here?” Eddie’s voice thundered. “You ruined my life. You broke your daughter’s heart. I told you—next time I saw you, I’d tear your throat out with my bare hands.”
Goosebumps rose all over my body. This wasn’t a simple show of strength. There was no showmanship in the way Eddie spoke to Vadin. He was serious and blinded by ghosts of his past.
Dean Henry sprinted toward the chaos as if he had just registered the same thing. A death on Wayward property put my father in danger as well.
That snapped me out of it.
I darted out from behind Liam and ran for my dad before he did something that would have the Curators seeking retribution.
“Ren,” Liam growled.
I felt him chasing after me, but didn’t stop until I reached my father. Liam grabbed my arm, and I turned to glare at him. He immediately let go, and I turned back to Eddie.
“Edmundo…please…” Vadin choked out.
“It’s Don Genovese,” my father snarled. “You lost the right to say my name when you broke your word to me.”
Vadin looked terrified. He reminded me of a bug pinned to a board by its legs.
Chaos erupted once more when the Wayward guards and a handful of Vadin’s men poured through the main entrance. Everyone had guns drawn. Holy hell, if they all started shooting, innocent people were going to die.
“Put your weapons away,” Dean Henry yelled, but no one moved. “Now! Or my next call will be to the Curators.”
The men hesitated but holstered their weapons. The tension in the air was so thick that it pressed in on my chest.
“Dad, stop.”
Vadin’s eyes darted to me.
“She’s…she’s your daughter?”
Vadin looked genuinely shocked.
“Yes, Lilya is mine, despite every vicious thing you did to try and stop Yuliana and me from being together. Lilya is a Genovese. She is my heir, and you’ll never come near my daughter again,” he declared, and everything went quiet.
Eyes snapped in my direction. But it was Vicky, standing at the front of the crowd, who stood out from the rest. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked at me like the ground had dropped out from under her. She turned and pushed her way out through the bodies.
My stomach sank.
Shit.
I grabbed my father’s arm.
“Dad, stop. Please don’t do this, not here,” I whispered. “Innocent kids will get hurt, and I know you don’t want that, as angry as you are with Vadin.” His jaw twitched. “The Curators will come for you and for me.”
His eyes stayed angry, but he dropped Vadin, who landed hard as he fell on his ass.
Eddie towered over him, his body shaking with the rage he was trying to hold back.
I stepped in front of him, and he glanced down at me.
He sighed, like it was taking all he had to let this go, but finally stepped away.
“I didn’t know she was yours,” Vadin said, slowly getting up with Dean Henry’s help.
“Now you do. Come near my daughter again, and I’ll skin you alive,” Dad growled, his eyes trained on Vadin like a predator tracking prey.
Dean Henry walked over and placed his hand on Dad’s shoulder. I wasn’t sure if the act was meant to be comforting or a subtle threat. Heck, maybe it was both. He whispered in Dad’s ear before turning to the crowd watching the spectacle.
“All of you get back to class or wherever you’re supposed to be.
Guards, escort Mr. Mikhailov safely from the property.
Mr. Genovese’s men, get back to your vehicles, stay there, and don’t ever draw your weapons on Wayward property again,” Dean Henry commanded before he looked at me. “I need to speak to your father alone.”
There was a lot of grumbling and whispers as the onlookers slowly left. I didn’t care that people knew I was a Genovese, but it wasn’t supposed to come out like this.
Vadin straightened his suit and turned to me.
“It was lovely to see you again, my granddaughter,” he said, emphasizing the word my.
Dad lunged, but Dean Henry and Marcus held him back.
“Don’t talk to her. Don’t look at her. If you had your way, she never would’ve existed. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave and never show your face here again.”
Vadin turned and left without another word.
I still had so many questions concerning Vadin Mikhailov. All I’d found said he was a ruthless monster with a horrible reputation. Had he sent the men to kill my mother? Was he why Aunt Nadia was so scared? Did he really regret his actions, or was that just a ploy to get close to me?
My thirst for information was as strong as the warnings to stay away.
Dad locked eyes with me as Marcus and Dean Henry released him. He straightened his suit, walked over, and placed his hand on my shoulder. I could feel him trembling.
“I’m sorry for charging in here like I have and making a scene. I should’ve handled this situation better. But no matter what Vadin says to you, you cannot trust him. Don’t let him get in your head. He’s a snake and as dangerous as any viper. He wants something, and it’s not good.”
Dad turned to Nash.
“Keep her safe. With Vadin here, Christov is the least of our worries,” he said low enough for only us to hear.
“Mr. Genovese,” Dean Henry prompted.
“We’ll talk more about this later.”
With that, he turned and disappeared inside the office.
“Well, I guess that secret is out,” Myles said.
I rubbed a hand over my face.
“I’m going to assume you never told him about the painting,” Nash asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.
“No, I hadn’t yet,” I admitted.
“Guess, I’m not the only one that keeps secrets,” he said, and I glared at him, but he did have a point. Shit.
“I guess not. So much for a drama-free week,” I mumbled, under my breath.
As I turned around to face the guys, Sabastian caught my eye. He stood alone in the doorway to the cafeteria. His face was as dejected as Vicky’s had been. He stared at me and shook his head.
Great…just great.