Chapter 12 Father's daughter

Chapter 12 Father's daughter
Liam stumbled through the door like he was holding himself together by will alone.
My heart slammed into my ribs.
Blood soaked through the sleeve of his shirt. It was dark and sticky, the metallic smell hitting my nose before my brain could fully process what I was seeing.
“Liam,” I breathed, already moving toward him. “What the hell happened?”
“I’m fine,” he said automatically, jaw tight, already shrugging out of his jacket like it was nothing.
That alone made my anger spike.
“My girls?" he asked as if it was a normal day and he was just coming home late from work.
“They are asleep" this is testing my patience.
“You’re bleeding,” I snapped. "What the hell happened" I growled out.
“I said I am fine" he grunted in pain as he moved to look for the first aid kit.
“That disqualifies you from being ‘fine.’ Sit! Now!"
He opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it after he saw the look on my face.my arms crossed in front of my chest. He sank onto the couch with a hiss, one hand braced against his side. The living room lights were soft, illuminating every grimace he tried to hide. Without being too bright.

I grabbed the first-aid kit from the cabinet in the kitchen, my hands shaking despite my best effort to keep them steady. I am good at this. I am used to this. The only problem is that I have never imagined doing this for him.
“You disappear for hours,” I said, dropping to my knees in front of him, “and come back looking like you picked a fight with death itself. Do you enjoy stressing me out?”
A corner of his mouth twitched. “Didn’t know you still cared.”
That stung more than it should have.
"Of course I care. I care too much for my own good" I said softly. As if a little higher would make this end in a terrible way.
“Don’t,” he muttered. "don’t let us ruin this moment.”

I carefully lifted his shirt. The wound wasn’t just superficial. It was deep enough to make my stomach roll. He must have tried to see it shut with a stapler. But it did nothing to help. Now the wound is red and angry and tearing some more.

My anger melted into fear.
“This needs stitches,” I said quietly. “I can do it but you might need Julian he is the professional"
“Julian is at work and I've had worse"
I breathed. Shocked but not surprised. I had an idea but this.
“That’s not comforting.” I said as nonchalantly as I could.
I cleaned the wound anyway, pressing gauze against his skin. He clenched his teeth but didn’t pull away. I handed him painkillers and a glass of water.
“Take these.”
He obeyed, swallowing them down before exhaling slowly. “Thank you.”
The word landed heavier than I expected.
I worked in silence after that, which is surprising because getting stitches without anaesthesia hurts as hell. And all he did was just sip the vodka I am using to clean the wound. The girls were asleep upstairs, their soft breathing echoing in my head like a reminder of everything at stake.
When I was done, I leaned back on my heels, exhaustion washing over me.
“I know,” I said suddenly. Breaking the silence we both settled on. His eyes never left me for a second.
He looked at me, brows knitting together. “Know what?”
“I know you have a life you don’t want to tell me about,” I said, my voice steady even though my chest felt tight. “And I have a life I don’t want to tell you about.”
His eyes darkened, unreadable.
“Because you can't trust me" he started
“And this,” I continued softly, “will always be our problem. We’re never honest with each other. We protect secrets instead of… us.”
He didn’t interrupt. Didn’t deny it.
“I just…” My throat burned. “Sometimes I wish we could go back. Before everything fell apart. Before we learned how to hurt each other so well.”
For a moment, I thought he might walk away.
Instead, he pulled me into him.
The suddenness of it stole the air from my lungs. His arms wrapped around me like he was anchoring me to something solid. I pressed my face against his chest without thinking, careful of his injury, breathing in his scent. His familiar scent that always seem new to me every time I breathed it in.
“Stay,” he murmured into my hair. "For now. We will figure it out later"
My fingers curled into his shirt.
“Your wounds…”
“I don’t care,” he said. “I just need you here.”
So I stayed.
The next morning came too fast.
My phone buzzed relentlessly before the sun was fully up.
That ringtone. It was specifically set up for emergencies. Something is wrong.
My chest tightened.
I slipped out of bed quietly, pulling on clothes with a practiced calm that hid the storm brewing inside me. By the time Liam walked into the kitchen, I was already halfway packed.
“What’s going on?” he asked, eyes sharp.
“Work emergency,” I said lightly. “One of my restaurants in Sicily has some legal issues." Trying to make it something simple. When in reality, I was going to deal with a rat issue at the estate. " A customer sued on of my employees for something silly. Won't want my employees to be alone"

He studied me like he always did when he knew I wasn’t telling him the truth. But he left it.
“That place is a lion’s den,” he said slowly. “You don’t just walk into it and expect nothing to happen.”
“I’ll be fine,” I replied. “Gia and Alyssa are coming with me. The three of us together?” I forced a smile. “Unbeatable.”
His jaw tightened. “I don’t like this.”
“I know.”
“please kiss the girls for me”
He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “If anything happens”
“It won’t,” I interrupted. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
He held my gaze for a long moment, then nodded once. “Okay.”
That scared me more than if he’d argued.
Sicily greeted us with gunfire.
The sound shattered the calm the moment we left the airport grounds. Tyres screeched. Glass exploded. Alyssa swore loudly from the backseat as Gia ducked, firing back with terrifying precision.
The car rocked as bullets slammed into metal. My heart raced, adrenaline burning through my veins as I grabbed my weapon.
“Drive!” I yelled.
We fought our way through the chaos. The acrid smell of smoke filling the air. By the time we reached the estate, my hands were slick with sweat and adrenaline pumped my veins.
I feel like I am a video game, going through levels.
The gates loomed open like a challenge.
Inside, Romano was waiting.
He leaned back in his chair, smug, eyes crawling over me with thinly veiled disdain.
“So,” he drawled, “the traitor returns." He sneered.
"At least you know what it means" I said " how's your knee." His face contorted to an ugly sneer. "Didn't think I would introduce my husband to you in that way. But you know, he loves me too much." I did with a sickly sweet smile.
" But that is not why I am here. You want to take the mafioso from me and become capo"
And that's when he laughed. A full bellied laugh as I just said the funniest thing in the world.

“You ran,” he continued, sneering. “Left everything behind. And now you think you can waltz back in like you belong? And what ..take over"
I stepped forward, my heels echoing against marble. “Careful.”
He laughed. “You can’t even be an heir properly. You are nothing but a woman. Weak and emotional. Running off to play house with your dead husband. Once I get a hold of him" I stepped forward.
"I'd like to see you try"
" You should have been given to Volkov. At least you would have been more useful there”
Volkov. The Russian capo that doesn't do nice to women. He married twice and both died with a snap in their necks. I would kill him before he even tried but that would be another target on my back.
The room went silent.
I smiled.
My own laughter starting up. It was funny how he thought he could beat me.
“Don't forget I am my father's only daughter. I killed my father using what he taught me against him"
“So you finally admit it" he said. A sneer on his lips.
“I never denied it. I just don't kill and tell" I winked at him. Moving closer to his seat. The seat my father sat on for years. Giving me all the orders that ruined my life.
My knife out, slowly teasing his neck with it.
“And you seem to be my next target." I whispered in his ear.
“You want my throne. My crown. Well guess what?" I paused for the drama. My hands on either side of his chair. His face not able to leave my sight.
“I am still my father's daughter"
The next moment bleeding into chaos