When We Met

CH 45 Logan

Once the massive doors swing open again, I think it's more men here to take Hector away and put him out of his misery. His groaning is starting to annoy me, and if they don't do something soon, I might end up putting a bullet between his eyebrows myself. But as I rush towards my sister, trying to gauge how many more men might capture us, I stop dead in my tracks.

It's not a group of men. It's just one large man carrying what looks like a dainty woman on his shoulder. The entire room seems to freeze, every pair of eyes fixated on the newcomer. I slowly start making my way toward Maria, who is whimpering and crying in the hands of the benefactor. He lets out an obnoxious laugh.

"Yes, hahaha, finally she is here! The pain of my existence just because she was born before me!"

I look around, confusion clouding my thoughts, then I spot Alejandro shaking his head in disbelief as if he's figured something out. "You... you did all of this? I thought you were dead. I thought we were brothers. How could you do this to your own sister? She never wanted any of this. She never even wanted to be the don!" Alejandro exclaims, his voice thick with betrayal and anger.

The benefactor throws Maria onto the floor with a thud and pulls his hood down. "Yes, yes, blah, blah, blah, save your breath, Alejandro. No, we are not brothers, and yes, I know she never wanted it. But if Father was alive, he would have never allowed me to take it because the family rule is clear: the eldest, whether man or woman, shall take the status until their last breath. Ugh, stupid semantics. So, I took matters into my own hands."

His men finally act as we're distracted. They grab Noah, scrape him from his hands and knees, and drag Alejandro and me to our knees right next to where Maria is lying. The large man walks further into the room towards the benefactor as the men move aside to create space. That's when I see who he's carrying.

"No, Rosaline... no! What did you do? Ahhh, I'll rip your head off! I'll rip it right off and feed it to the damn sharks, you stupid, idiotic maniac!" The sight of Rosaline's battered body sends a surge of uncontrollable rage through me.

I let out a roar of anger, my body trembling with the need to fight, but all it gets me is a punch from the man standing beside me and a hysterical laugh from the benefactor.

"Well, I'd be delighted to see that happen," he sneers. "But look at you—the big, bad don-to-be from England. What a joke. I have you surrounded, and there's nothing you can do about it. And to be fair, you could have never done anything. Even your father is in on this. He never knew your servant, or whatever she is to you, is my big sis, the heir. Still, he had a good brain and good info. If you haven't put it all together yet, I'm Romano, her brother. The one that—well, I'm guessing you know the story by now and have put it all together in that tiny little head of yours."

My mind races, trying to piece together the fragments of this twisted puzzle. Romano. Rosaline's brother. The one we thought was dead. The one who's been orchestrating this entire nightmare.

"You bastard," I hiss through gritted teeth. "How could you betray your own family like this?"

Romano smirks, his eyes glinting with malice. "Betray? No, Logan, you don't understand. This isn't betrayal. This is justice. This is me claiming what's rightfully mine. Father was a fool, and so is Rosaline for thinking she could just inherit everything without a fight."

Rosaline stirs slightly, her face contorted in pain. The sight of her suffering fuels my anger, but I know I have to keep my wits about me if we have any chance of getting out of this alive.

"And what about Maria?" I demand. "She's just an innocent girl. She has nothing to do with your twisted games."

Romano laughs again, a cold, mirthless sound. "Innocent? There are no innocents in our world, Logan. Maria is simply another pawn in this game, just like you, just like Rosaline."