Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Chloe
My fingers hover over the phone screen, staring at the warning the unknown number had sent during dinner.
It’s two in the morning. Basili is still locked away in his office, drinking and throwing a fit. The house is in chaos, men coming and going, phones ringing, everyone desperate.
I need to talk to Shufen. I need to understand what was happening. Why did she warn me? What else does she know? I need to ask her if she knows where he is being held.
“I need to see you. We need to talk. Please.” I type out the message and hit send, praying for a response.
And to my surprise, a response comes almost immediately: “You know where to go.”
My breath catches, and I’m up and moving in seconds. Changing into jeans and tennis shoes and putting on a sweatshirt over my tank top. I do know. The old parking garage on the east side, the one that’s been abandoned for years.
We used to go there as children when Father had forbidden us from spending time together. We would sneak out after he fell asleep, we’d sit in the stairwell, and she’d teach me Mandarin, tell me stories, and make me feel less alone.
It’s been ten years since I’ve been to my father’s territory, somewhere I’d hoped never to go again.
I head for the door, moving quietly through the hallways. If I can just get to the garage —
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I freeze at the sound of Basili’s voice behind me, turning slowly to face him where he stands in the hallway. He is still in his suit from dinner, his tie loosened, another glass of whiskey in his hand.
“I need some air. I was just going to —”
“Don’t lie to me, Chloe.” He steps towards me. “Not now. Not about this.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath before answering him further. “I’m going to meet Shufen. I think she can help us get Emmanuel back if I can convince her.”
“I’m coming with you.” He straightens, setting the glass down on a hallway table, fixing his tie and overcoat.
“Basili, think about this for a moment; if she sees you—”
“I don’t care. My son is missing, and your sister seems to be at the center of this entire thing.
” His voice is hard, a low growl. “So, either we go together, or I’m going to take you upstairs, lock you in my room with me, have my way with you, and neither of us is going anywhere until I’ve got every ounce of frustration out of my body. ”
I want to argue further. Want to tell him Shufen might not talk if he’s there. But the light in his eyes tells me not to push him right now and that he means every word he’s said.
The intensity of his gaze makes me gulp before answering, “Fine. But let me do the talking.”
Twenty minutes later, he’s pulling his dark charcoal colored sports car into the parking garage. It’s exactly as I remember— six stories of crumbling concrete, broken lights, the walls littered with graffiti.
The perfect place to meet in secret.
Basili parks on the ground level and kills the engine. “Where?”
“Upper stairwell. That’s where we always meet.”
We take the stairs; the elevator hasn’t worked for years. Each floor darker than the last, the only light coming from the city around us filtering through the open sides.
Shufen is waiting on the top level, leaning against the rail, arms crossed, looking out at the skyline. She’s wearing dark clothes, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and even from a distance, I can see that her shoulders are tense.
“Shufen,” I called to her softly.
She turns, and her eyes widen when she sees Basili behind me. “Why did you bring him?”
“He wouldn’t let me come alone.” I move closer. “He has a right to know what’s happening, Shufen. It’s his son they have.”
She studies Basili for a long moment, then nods. “I suppose you would have found out eventually anyway.”
“Found out what?” I ask, signaling Basili softly to hush when he opens his mouth to speak. The glare he gives me would make most women quiver.
Neither Shufen nor I flinch, ignoring his look. “Father’s plan. Why does he want this marriage so desperately?”
“He wants an alliance —” Basili begins.
“He want’s control,” Shufen cuts him off, putting her hand up to silence him.
“The Triad is desperate, Mr. Cierro. You’ve been cutting off their operations for years, perhaps without even knowing the extent of the intrusion.
Drugs, weapons, trafficking. Every time they establish a foothold, your family pushes them further out.
They’re losing ground, losing money. Losing power. ”
“Good,” Basili snipes flatly.
“The Russians are taking advantage of those weaknesses. Pushing into Triad territory. Father needs leverage, ammunition. He needs a way to secure their position and regain ground before he loses everything.” She looks at me, her eyes sad.
“And you gave him that leverage when you came back to New York.”
My stomach drops. “What?”
“He’s known you were here all along, little sister. Father’s been watching you for months.” She shakes her head. “He saw an opportunity, and he took it. Your adoration of the child and infatuation with his father gave him just the leverage he needed.”
“The kidnapping,” Basili says, his voice deadly quiet. “Delan orchestrated it.”
Shufen nods, “He did. I tried to stop it, but…” Her hands clench on the rail behind her. “I couldn’t. All I could do was help Emmanuel escape. I took him to the orphanage where I knew Chloe would find him. Only, I didn’t realize at the time that my father was counting on me doing exactly that.”
“You brought him to me,” I whisper.
“Yes, I sent those messages. The hints. I knew you’d figure it out.” She looks at Basili. “I knew you’d bring him home. I just had hoped that would be the end of it.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“No. Father knew he could use Emmanuel as leverage to force your hand in the marriage agreement. Marry me off to Basili, unite the families, use that connection to rebuild the Triad’s power.” She pauses. “And then kill the child. Ensuring any children I bore to you would inherit your empire.”
The words echo through the air like a death sentence.
“What?” My voice comes out strangled.
“You know how the game is played, Chloe. If Basili has an heir without connections to the Triad, he has no reason to stay loyal. But if Emmanuel dies…” She meets Basili’s eyes. “Then he needs a new one. A son with Tao blood. One that Father can claim and control.”
Basili’s hands are clenched into fists, his entire body vibrating with barely contained rage. “You’re telling me, your father planned to murder my son on my wedding day either way.”
“Yes.” Shufen’s voice is hollow. “I’ve been trying to stop it. I tried to save Emmanuel again by warning you, but it was too late. The plan was already in motion once I learned of it.”
“Where is he?” Basili demands.
“I don’t know.” He takes a step toward her, and she backs up against the railing further. “I don't, I swear. Father keeps that information secret. But I know he’s alive. He needs him for leverage to force the marriage.”
“And then what?”
Shufen doesn’t answer. She doesn’t have to; we all know the answer already.
“You’ve known about this all along?” Basili’s voice is venomous. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you right here, right now.”
“I don’t want this either, Basili.” Shufen’s voice is calm, defiant. “Because I’ve been trying to save that boy since the beginning. And because I’m as much a victim of my father’s plans as you are.”
“That’s not good enough —”
I grab at his arm, holding him back. “Basili, no.”
“I know.” She finally looks away. “I know it’s not. But that’s all I have. I can’t help you this time. I’ve done everything I can. The rest is up to you.”
Basili stares at her for a long time, and I see the war going on behind his eyes. Rage, pragmatism, emotional exhaustion, and strategy all fighting one another.
Finally, he takes a deep breath and steps back to stand beside me once more.
“When I destroy your family, and trust me I will, you will be the only one I leave alive. Only because you helped Emmanuel,” he glances down at me briefly, “and you helped Chloe. But you’d better prepare yourself because I’m going to burn the Triad to the ground.
Your father, your brother, everyone who touched my family — they’re all dead. ”
Shufen nods slowly. “I understand.”
“Do you?” His voice is dangerous, lethal. “Do you understand?”
“I do.” She looks at me. “I’m sorry, cherry blossom. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. For either of you.”
I move before I can stop myself, pulling her into my arms. She stiffens for a moment, then relaxes, her arms coming around me.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “For trying. For saving him the first time. For warning us.”
“I wish I could do more.” Her voice breaks slightly. “I wish I were as brave as you. That I’d run too.”
I pull back enough to look into her face, and that’s when I see them — bruises on her neck and arms. Dark purple marks, finger-shaped, unmistakable.
The same kind I used to wear.
I want to say something, to comfort her, but she catches my gaze and shakes her head slightly. Not here, not in front of Basili.
“I have to go,” she says softly. “Before Father realizes I’m gone. And be careful. He’s desperate, which only makes him more dangerous.”
“Come with us,” I beg, but she shakes her head again.
“No. I have to go back. If I disappear now, he’ll know I warned you. He’ll move Emmanuel. Hide him somewhere no one will be able to find him.” She squeezes my hands. “I can still help from the inside. Trust me.”
I want to drag her away from that house, away from our father, from the life that’s slowly killing her, but she’s right. We need her on the inside.
“Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“You too, little sister,” she says with a small smile.
“Chloe, we have to go.” Basili pulls on my sleeve, dragging me back toward the stairs gently. I follow with only mild hesitation, looking back at Shufen standing alone against the railing.
She looks so small. So fragile. So much like the woman who used to look back at me in the mirror.
In minutes, we are back in the car, speeding back toward home. We’re both quiet at first.
“He’s abusing her,” I say quietly. “Just like he used to do to me. She has bruises on her neck and arms. I saw them when I hugged her. Just like the ones I used to get from him, grabbing me.”
Basili’s hands tighten on the steering wheel.
“We have to help her —”
“We will.” He glances at me. “After we get Emmanuel back. I meant what I said. I’m going to destroy them all.”
“And Shufen?”
“She will be safe. I promise.” His voice softens slightly as he reaches over to take my hand in his. “She helped as much as she could. That counts for something in my book.”
I lean back in my seat, reassured by the warmth of his hand in mine. “So, what do we do now? We know Emmanuel is alive, we know what my father has planned, but we still don’t know where he is.”
“We force him to show his hand.”
“How?”
“By giving them what they want. I agreed to the marriage. Now we set a date and start making arrangements. They’ll have to bring Emmanuel to the exchange. They know I won’t go through with it unless I see him alive and unharmed.”
“And then?”
“And then I take him back. By force if necessary,” he says as he pulls through the mansion gates. “I’m going to need every man I’ve got and a solid plan —”
“Let me help.”
“No.”
“Basili —”
“No, Chloe.” He pulls the car into the garage, the very place he’d been so gentle with me just days before, turning on me now with a gaze of steel. “This is going to be dangerous. Violent. I can’t be distracted by having to protect you. I’m not putting you in the line of fire.”
“He’s my father —”
“And he hates you. Which is exactly why you’re staying out of the way this time. If something goes wrong, if he gets his hands on you…” He reaches over and cups my face. “I won’t lose you, too. I can’t.”
“You can’t do this alone.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll have Omero, Raffaello, my men, every resource at my disposal to back me up.” His thumb strokes my cheek as he speaks. “But you’re staying here, safe and sound, where I know nothing can happen to you.”
For the first time, I see a combination of fear and desperation in his eyes. He’s already had Emmanuel taken from him, not once but twice. He can’t handle the thought of losing us both.
“Okay,” I concede. “I’ll stay here.”
“Chloe, you have to promise me,” he insists.
“I promise.”
It’s a lie, and we both probably know it, but right now, it’s what he needs to hear.
He leans across the small space to press a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to get him back, tesoro. Whatever it takes, I will bring him home again.”
“I know. I believe in you.”
We both take a deep breath, closing our eyes and just savoring the moment together for a few minutes. Basili moves first, opening his door.
“Come on. I need you naked, in my bed, in my arms,” he says as he opens my door, extending his hand to pull me out of the car and into his arms. “Tomorrow, we have a war to plan.”