Chapter 146 Collateral damage.
CHAPTER 146
Collateral damage.
ROMAN – POINT OF VIEW
Luca floors it, driving like a madman.
I’m in the passenger’s seat, holding on, feeling my heart in my throat.
My phone is in the console, Bastian is directing us, while Luca speeds to my mother’s house. Damian, Bastian, and Elena are safely tucked away. Caleb and Eve are with them. We are driving into a trap, which is why we are not going alone. I am going with my whole security team. I’ve deployed all of them there now. Luca’s soldiers are ahead of us, on motorbikes, speeding there, desperate to save the women.
My whole body is thrumming with adrenaline.
Bastian has the traffic logs, and he’s clearing the paths for us.
“Drive straight. The road ahead is clear.” He orders urgently, and I nod.
Luca isn’t speaking. He hasn’t spoken since Adeline called. Scarlett called me first, and I ignored her call because I couldn’t get my head out of my ass long enough to see there was a problem.
Scarlett is Rosalina Diaz. She is the supposed dead daughter of Rafeal Diaz. She is supposed to marry Emiliano. All these have been because of her. He wants her. He wants to marry her.
I remember everything we’ve said about her.
“But she is a woman. If she were a son, I’d understand, but a young woman thrown into a crazy country, running from a monster. It’s easy for us to think about revenge, but for her, she’ll be focused on survival, on seeing the next day. She can only avenge them if she’s alive, and now that Emiliano is scouring the earth for her, she’ll be in survival mode, hiding, desperate and of course, angry.”
“Being born into the mafia isn’t an easy fit, and it’s more of a burden than a blessing. I hope she is alive and that it is not a storm. Let the evil men be afraid for once. If she is alive, she can ruin everything. She is the rightful Queen. The Cartel Queen, and she needs to take back her throne.”
What does this mean? What does it all mean? Was I just a means to an end? Protecting herself?
“Why did they go to your mother?” Luca seethes, gripping the steering wheel hard.
“I don’t know.” I huff. I grab the guns from the backseats and get them ready. We will be there in forty minutes. Forty long minutes.
“Find a connection between our wives and Roman’s mother.” He orders, yelling instructions at Bastian.
“Now?” Bastian stutters.
“Yes, fucking now. Now.” Luca snarls, vein bulging.
He’s spiralling, and so am I. If only we could disappear there.
“Right way.” Bastian stammers, and the click-clack of typing fills the air.
Caleb’s voice slips in for a moment, “I just spoke to the closest police station there, but apparently they have their hands full with a robbery, which is obviously a deflection. Anyway, they have sent a few of their officers there. The women will be fine. Your mother will be fine. You mustn’t crash the car, Luca.” His tone hardens.
Luca exhales and slows down just a little bit.
Emiliano was watching them, watching my mother. How long has he been watching her?
For a moment, the only sound is the bullets as I stack the guns.
“The fire,” Bastian announces, and I stiffen.
“What?” I ask slowly.
“The fire.” He explains. “Scarlett’s parents died in a fire two years ago, and we know it is Emiliano. Luca and Adeline’s father died months ago, wiped away by fire. Emiliano’s work, too, and your … your father died by fire eleven years ago.” He sounds cautious.
“What is the correlation? There isn’t. The fire that took my father was caused by a gas leak. It wasn’t an assassination attempt.” I don’t sound sure anymore.
“Eleven years ago, fifteen-year-old Rosalina was betrothed to Emiliano Calderon, and according to the marriage certificate we saw, there are inconsistencies, which means her father backed out of the deal because he discovered something about Emiliano. He pulled out. I don’t know much about the mafia, but things like that won’t just happen without consequences.” The words drag out, and my pulse pounds.
“How does this connect to my parents?” I ask calmly, but I’m not calm.
“The fire that destroyed your home was labelled a gas leak, and here I can see that your mother tried to investigate after, but found nothing. The fire that killed her parents was labelled a freak accident. The fire that killed Luca and his wife was also labelled an accident. Emiliano’s signature is fire. Similar fire. Similar methods. Similar coverup. Powerful targets. Your parents were powerful activists.”
My body goes completely still, and my lungs close up.
“Oh, fuck.” Damian murmurs.
“I don’t know what her father found on Emiliano, but it’s probably the reason they reached out to yours. Is it possible that both families were working together towards a common goal? You were in your early twenties then. Do you remember anything?” He asks carefully.
The gun slips from my hand.
My eyes throb loudly. Pressure builds behind my eyes.
“Emiliano was involved in child trafficking,” Luca announces calmly, but he is not calm.
“And, Scarlett’s parents found out, pulled her out of the deal, reached out to your parents in a way to stop him, but … Emiliano found out and … and he k … he came for them, probably as a warning strike, as a war to let them know that he knows, as …
“As collateral damage.” I am empty and broken.
“I … I don’t think …
“Do not lie to me. My father burned to death as a warning because of her. He lived his life for people and died as nothing more than collateral damage. Now, they are here to finish off the business, using my mother to get to her. The last parent I have is about to be collateral damage again, because of Scarlett.” My voice flattens, and my pulse slows.
“Roman, no, that’s not –” Eve yells through, but I tune her out.
I pick up the gun, as my whole body grows numb.
A notification comes through, and I stare at it emptily. The wedding announcement. Perfect timing.
“Broke through the cameras, connecting you now.” Bastian murmurs, sounding almost pitiful.
Luca slows down, and we look at the live video of his wife and Scarlett fighting. I watch as Scarlett runs a knife through the neck of my mother’s nurse without even blinking. She does it naturally, as if she were born to do this.
A fucking savage.
I will save her from the monsters tonight, then I will let her go, never to see her again.