Chapter 23

Chapter 23
|| KIERA STEVENS'S POV ||
" You come home late every night.", my dad's voice halted me in my tracks. I jolted to find him, sitting on the couch. Legs crossed, he was reading the newspaper calmly.
Who would believe that this man had a minor heart attack a few days back?
Because he looked perfect with his freshly trimmed beard and stone-cold expression. My father had always been a man of perfection. He was discharged from the hospital last night. He didn't even bother to tell me because he claimed that there was nothing serious about his health. Thankfully, Luca had taken care of everything. So, the news of me wasn't trending anymore or causing this old man to erupt his anger.
I mumbled, flinching mentally at the thought of what I do every night,
" Yeah. It's just..My schedule is too busy these days."
Yes, too busy to fuck!
I prayed that my dad never found out about this. Giving birth to Ryan was already his limit. Last night, I had cried enough to vent out my frustrations especially after he asked me to leave as if I was some sort of whore whom he fucked and told to leave just like that.
"Where's Ryan?", dad spoke again, lifting his head slightly to look for my little guy. At least, he wasn't paying attention to my mood too much. I hated to be judged by him like a criminal.
I replied, clutching the handbag nervously,
" He is staying with my friend. Last night, he insisted on going with me. So I dropped him off at midnight at my friend's place. He will be back soon."
" That's not how you should raise a child. You can't just bring him to your workplaces." " Dad rumbled, raising his tone, accusing. Here, I thought that he had become sober after visiting the hospital.
I gave up on arguing. I was already feeling guilty that he was so hyped because of my issues and had to go to hospital. Crossing my arms after an exhale, I asked for his opinions,
" Then tell me, how should I raise him? You have already spoiled him enough more than me."
His expression turned out complicated as if I was lying. But soon, he skipped the question to something else,
" At least, give him a proper family, Kiera. He can't always carry your surname. I will indeed make him my heir but what about his father's identity? You can't always run away from reality."
My mood turned sour in a minute. I hated to talk about this but sooner or later, I had to face it. I shook my head firmly, gritting,
" No!! Who is gonna accept my child? No one! So better forget about this Dad. I am fine by myself."
His tone rose immensely, almost reaching the corridor outdoors,
" Don't talk! You have been giving this excuse for years. I don't care what you do outside but you must have a husband for Ryan first. I don't want to listen to anything. I am setting blind dates for you. Just do as I say! "
I opened and closed my mouth to say something but in the end, I said nothing and stormed outside. Regardless of my status or wealth, I met no man until today who was suitable as my baby's father. The only man who was genuinely warm to my son was Luca, the same man whom I hated the most.
__________
" Why are we doing duo? It was supposed to be sole advertising!", Molly blurted out angrily, glaring at the assistance of one of my clients.
The assistant girl looked like tough shit. She adjusted her glass first then replied with a huff,
" Our Managing Director changed his mind at the last minute. Why? Is there any problem? You should be grateful that Miss Stevens wasn't replaced."
" You...", Molly almost pouched at her but I held her back as the assistant girl headed off outside, trotting on her high heels angrily. Their company ran a cosmetic business. A month ago, they contacted me for a lipstick commercial. At that time, they clearly stated that it was a solo project with me. But right after reaching their head office, they said that there would be another model, sharing a screen with me.
It was absolutely unprofessional but nothing I could do since the contract was signed already. Besides, I wasn't a big name in the industry. So, I could easily be replaced by them. Back then, if I wouldn't have gone vanishing from this industry, I could be a big name today. However, I always believed that good things take time.
" Who is the other model? Do you know?", I questioned Molly who couldn't stop rumbling. She got back to her mind before shaking her head. Strange! The other one should arrive by now.
Shrugging, I turned around to continue with my makeup when the door slammed open loudly. Before I could turn my head back, a soft, teasing voice echoed inside the room,
" Hello, Kiera! We see again!"
__________
|| AZRAEL DE LUCA'S POV||
" Don, we held him here!", One of my men came forward to inform me. A smile formed on my lips as soon as he said those words to me. So he was the one who was playing with me in this city.
" Don Azrael De Luca! What a meeting!", a rumbling tone raised from the other side of the room, bringing my attention to him. He was no bigger than twenty something like a boy.
The order of assassination was made by him. He ran one of the local gangs in the town. The Russians just entered the territory through him. I wondered what his achievement was from this encounter.
I smirked, lighting up my cigarette to clear my thoughts. He was sitting in the middle of the room. My men surrounded him with guns. One wrong move, he would be shot dead without hesitation.
" I have no time to waste now, Rafe! Tell me, who leaked the information about my place to you?", I spoke dryly, raising my head to look at his unaffected face. I felt a little weird. Even though he knew that he couldn't walk out alive from this place, he was so comfortable.
" I.. don't know. We just followed orders..", he spat confidently and my hand immediately went down to my waistband. Pulling out the gun swiftly, I aimed it at him,
" Like, I told you, Rafe. I don't have fucking time to play with you."
His voice erupted into laughter. Shooting me back with a glare, he blurted out confidently,
" You can't kill me, Don. I am Russian Don's illegal son. I bet you don't have the guts to kill me NOW!"
We all were stunned for a while. The news was totally a blow for us. If I killed someone from their bloodline it meant an indirect war. I guess, it was the same reason why he stayed so calm in front of us.
Too shocked, I put the gun away subconsciously, gritting my teeth harder. Rafe continued with a sarcastic laughter,
" What? Scared already! Let me tell you, Don! Today or tomorrow, you are going to die in our hands including your little chicks. Who the hell was that girl? It seems like your personal life is corrupted like my father. You fuck around everywhere you go. Tsk..It was too late to pull the trigger."
My anger erupted immediately. I almost ran to him but Matteo held back with a reminder voice,
" Don! No! You can't lose control. He wants to trigger your rage. You know, we can't kill him. It will mean a war to them."
I rebuked back, glaring at his smiling face,
" You are just pussy like your father, Rafe. You planned to kill a woman and a child to pass through me. Since when did Russians become this coward?"
His face turned black and I let out a triumphant laughter. They thought that they could use me through a woman. My men never used any single woman to control their actions yet they broke the bro rules. They touched something that shouldn't be touched. I was going to remind them what consequences it would be to touch something that belongs to me solely.
Rafe growled his words out loudly,
" Why do you care? Are you in love with that woman? Wait a second! She had a child. Is that the bastard child belongs to you? No wonder, you are so protective about them. If I had known about it earlier, that little guy would have been dead. I would have fucked that girl's corpse."
My inner beast broke out every chain around it. Before I knew what I was doing, some bullets fired his way from me.
Matteo gasped, growling from my side,
"LUCA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!"
Then he cursed something in Itali
an, running over to Rafe,
" He better be alive. GOD!!"