Chapter 125 CHAPTER 125
Xavier’s POV
I sat still, feeling the coldness of the metal pressed against my thigh. I should have known that this man who wore a mismatched baseball cap at night was not to be trusted.
“What do you want?” I asked, sounding braver than I actually felt.
He leaned closer. “I don’t want any troubles, Xavier,” he said. “I want to find your mother.”
I gritted my teeth. “What for?”
Perhaps he was really my father. Just worthless.
“No questions,” he said, pressing the gun again. He glanced at the phone beside me. “Take it. Type the address there.”
I reached for the phone, watching him. I wasn’t really sure what he wanted. Yet I knew I couldn't lie to him. So I typed the right address.
He glanced at the address on the phone. “Let’s move. No wrong ideas, Xavier.” He rose up first. I thought about heading for the door, but I knew I wouldn't make it fast enough. I rose up too and walked ahead of him.
When we got outside, I turned suddenly and I caught him off guard. He had his gun in his hand but he hesitated. It was a split second but I saw the hesitation. He didn’t want to shoot me.
“Can you tell me what this is all about?” I asked. “I can’t just bring in a stranger with a gun to the house.”
“Quiet,” he said.
A car was waiting for us already. He pushed me towards the car and someone opened the car door. I recognised him immediately as Sebastian. He didn’t say a word to me and I said nothing to him.
The car sped along the road and in a few minutes’ time, we arrived at the house.
“Don’t harm my mother,” I pleaded as he pushed me towards the door. He rang the doorbell. I waited, hoping that somehow, no one would be home. Perhaps Anna would be on night duty and by some miracle, mum would decide to be somewhere else.
The door opened, and as she stood in the doorway, I saw the look of shock and recognition as soon as she saw Ignatio. Before she could close the door, he pushed me aside and held the door. I staggered to my feet and tried to reach him, but Sebastian held me tightly.
“We meet again, Madeline,” he said, smiling sickly.
—
He had us both strapped to the chair while he walked around the room, checking the pictures and anything his eyes could lay on.
“Did you ever tell him the truth?” he asked, still facing the pictures.
She groaned but made no response.
“What truth?” I spat out.
Ignatio turned around. His eyes were still gentle. He faced her. “You didn’t.”
Then he faced me. “She isn’t your mother.”
I looked at her and her face was rock solid. “What do you mean? She is my mother. She -”
“She is sterile,” he said. “A moon scarred wolf.”
I had never heard such a term before.
He glanced at the pictures again. “Still stealing babies, aren’t you, huh?”
He walked towards the window and returned to us shortly. He looked at me. “She stole you from us when you were a baby,” he said. “Her sister is your mother. She never gave birth to you.” He pointed at a frame with Anna’s picture. “Or her.”
“You are out of your mind,” I said.
“No -”
“He’s lying,” she said finally. “You are my son, Xavier. And Anna is your sister.”
Ignatio pulled out a photograph from his pocket. It was old, as though it had endured many years in moist places. He stretched it towards me. I hesitated. “See for yourself.”
I glanced at her briefly before I took the photograph from him. I could only recognise two people there - younger versions of Igantio and my mother. There were two other people in the photo. A woman and a young child strapped on her side.
“That’s your real mother,” he said. “Madeline stole you from us when she couldn’t take me away from her sister.”
“And Anna?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea yet.”
“If what you are saying is true,” I said. “Then why did you point a gun at me and force me here. You could have just told me the truth.”
“You wouldn’t have believed me,” he said. “I was paid to kill you. I had the opportunity multiple times. Did you think I was unsuccessful? I found out who you were and I wanted to give us a chance.”
I thought of the message that had popped up on his screen. It was definitely Rosaleen. The hitman she had contracted to kill me was my supposed father.
“You are not giving me a good impression of you, unfortunately."
He laughed and pressed the butt of the gun against my head. “Imagine the shame when I found out my son was in jail over a woman. You’ve grown up to be a weakling.”
“I don’t want anything to do with you,” I spat out. I wanted him to crawl back from wherever he came from.
“You can’t decide that, Xavier. You may be my son, but you owe me your life.” He pulled the gun from my head and pointed it at Madeline. “I’ll decide what i want to do with you. As for Madeline…”
She started hyperventilating and crying. “Please, Ignatio. Please. I’ll go away. I’ll leave and you’ll never find me.”
“Let her go and I'll do as you please,” I begged.
He twisted the gun on her head. “You love her, don’t you? You didn’t even bother to ask about your own real mother.”
Mum was sobbing. “Please, Ignatio. I’m ready to pay for all I did. I’ll leave.”
He pulled the gun away. “I’ll give you ten minutes to pack your things and leave,” he said. “Take anything you want.” He looked around the house. “Everything in this house now belongs to me. And my son. That’s your payment for your crimes.”
“And Anna?” I asked. The house was the only thing Trent Moon had left for my mum.
He looked at me. His eyes were cold this time. “She should look for her father.”