Saving Nikolai

Chapter 13

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Leylani hadn't a clue which sin she was paying for. Perhaps she was paying for her father's sins. After all, the sins of the father are to be laid upon the children. At least that's what her church going mother used to say. Leylani scoffed at the thought of religion. Her mother clung to it so desperately and in the end, her faith wasn't able to save her. Her devil of a father won and claimed her life. Clinging to holy verses didn't do her mother any good, nor would it do Leylani any good.

Despite that thought, Leylani found herself praying. She didn't know what was going to happen, and the unknown frightened her. It wrapped around her body like a vine and choked her. The fear she felt now was nothing compared to when her father beat her or when she saw her mother's soul leaving her body. This fear was purely selfish. She was terrified her father would reveal everything he had done to her and her mother. The thought of anyone–even the Gotti's–knowing the genuine horrors she has suffered, chilled her to the bone. Once upon a time, she used to pray that someone would notice her bruises and tear down her walls, but now that the thought was becoming a reality, she cringed at the idea.

"In here." Nikolai led her to the interrogation room.

Her father and his friends sat gagged and bound to chairs. Leylani's stomach heaved at the sight. Mr. Gotti, Massimo, and Richard followed the two into the room and locked the door behind them. Nikolai pulled Leylani behind him as her father stirred. As Nikolai's fingers wrapped around her arm, his words played in her mind.

The woman I love. The woman I love. The woman I love.

Months ago, she would have died of happiness at the revelation. Now it caused her pain. Her father blinked, adjusting to the light. The movement broke Leylani out of her depressive thoughts. Her body went rigid as his fiery glare landed on her.

"Leylani," he began, his gaze flickering around the room. "Would you like to tell me what's going on?"

"Your sentencing, sir," Richard said. He propped her father's drooping figure upright.

Mr. Gotti stepped up into the dim light. His face was hauntingly eerie. His eyes were dark and his mouth was set in a grim frown. "You have attacked a member of the Gotti family. It is time to pay the price."

"I didn't attack no one," her father seethed.

He struggled against the bindings. Massimo pulled out a gun and aimed it at his face. Leylani's heart lurched. Despite all the abuse he put her through, he was still her father, and her broken heart still yearned for him.

"One wrong move and I'll blow your head off." Massimo didn't yell. His voice was but a whisper, carrying the promise of bloodshed.

Leylani trembled at the sound of his voice. She couldn't tell if she was impressed or afraid, or both.

Her father didn't show any signs of fear, despite having a gun pointed at him. Instead, in the depths of his eyes was fury. Red hot rage and he directed at her. "Leylani. Tell these men I didn't attack any member of the Gotti family. I didn't touch the kid," he said, nodding towards Nikolai.

Mr. Gotti chuckled. "I am not speaking of Nikolai. The family member in question is Leylani. You have harmed the heir to the Gotti family. You have spilled the blood of my child–my daughter."

Leylani's heart stopped. Had she heard him correctly? Daughter? She looked up at Mr. Gotti, a million questions swirling in her mind. He stared at her father, his face contorted in anger, giving her a glimpse of the man he was beneath the mask.

"Leylani may have been born a Garcia, but she's fated to be a Gotti. She is a member of this family. Leylani is my child, and you have hurt her. It is time to pay the price."