Twisted Fixation

『 Chapter 92 』

There was a soft knock on the door, and it was Giancarlo who heard it. He automatically looked at Yuri beside him, and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief when she remained fast asleep.

He quietly slipped out of bed, put on a robe, and made his way to the door. It was Favio with a concerned expression on his face.

"La squadra di intelligence ha scoperto qualcosa che sicuramente ti interesserà. Devi venire a vederlo subito." (The intelligence team found out something that would certainly interest you. You need to come see it right away)

Giancarlo nodded, following Favio to his office. Given that his right-hand man disturbed him in the middle of the night while he was nestled comfortably with the woman he loves, he knew it must be really important.

Once they had reached the office, a thick pile of documents sat on Giancarlo's desk, waiting to be examined. Favio wasted no time in giving it to him.

With his brows furrowed, Giancarlo began to flip through the documents, his mind racing to understand the significance of what he was about to discover.

As he read through the pages, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Il suo vero nome era Natalia Petrova. È stata allevata e addestrata dal Cigno Nero," (Her real name was Natalia Petrova. She was bred and trained by the Black Swan) Favio explained, but Giancarlo's eyes remained fixed on the documents, absorbing the revelation.

When he was finally finished reading everything, he looked up at Favio and shook his head with a sarcastic smile, recalling how the woman had always been weird in more ways than one.

"Avrei dovuto prestarvi attenzione molto tempo fa. Immagino che stesse cercando di darmi suggerimenti su chi fosse veramente, ma l'ho ignorato," (I should have paid attention to it a long time ago. I guess she was trying to give me hints about who she really was but I ignored it)

***

Yuri wanted to go to her mother the next morning, so after breakfast, she told Giancarlo that was what she wanted to do. At first, it seemed Giancarlo was hesitant, but eventually he relented and agreed to accompany her because he also wanted to talk to her about something.

When they had already reached the apartment, Yuri told Giancarlo to let her in first so her mother wouldn't be surprised by his sudden appearance, even though her mother was already aware that she had been with him since yesterday.

She knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, her mother answered the door.

"Hey mom, I am back," she said with a smile. Her mother's face lit up with joy as she embraced her tightly, relieved to see her safe and sound.

"Giancarlo is here, and he wants to talk with you. Would it be alright if I invited him inside?" Yuri saw the anger that passed across her mother's face for a split second before she composed herself and nodded.

"What is he here for? He did kidnap you, didn't he?"

In other times, she could have already told her about what happened, but knowing that she would just be worried, she decided to keep it to herself.

"No, mom, I really wanted to be with him. I am just waiting for him to come and get me so we can start over again," she said, and somehow there is a truth in her words that she couldn't deny.

"Let him in then," her mother said, turning on her heels and walking away without another word.

Yuri looked at Giancarlo, who was standing a few meters away, and nodded to him, which is an indication that she wanted him to come closer.

Giancarlo approached Yuri with a smile, and with their hands intertwined together, they entered the apartment. Agatha was already seated on the single couch in the living room; her eyes were fixated on them as they entered. Giancarlo sat on the couch opposite Agatha, and the only thing that separates them is the glass table in the middle.

Yuri, on the other hand, remained standing, as she did not know what to make of the situation in front of her. 

"I heard what almost happened to my daughter in Sicily, Giancarlo. You have no idea how painful it was to see my daughter come back here with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. Didn't I tell you that I am not going to sit back and let anyone harm her? You have a lot of nerve coming here." Giancarlo looked down at the ground and stared at Agatha with remorse. "I have no excuses for what happened, Agatha. I take full responsibility for it, and I am here to let you know that I want to make things right with your daughter."

Agatha smirked at that. "And you plan to do that by taking her by force? You don't deserve my daughter, Mr. Costa."

"I was desperate, Agatha. Your daughter was the best thing that ever happened to me, and seeing that she has started to live her life normally without me is tearing me apart. I had to make my move to take her back. If I will just let her do what she wants while I wait, what will happen if she ends up deciding that she does not need me anymore?"

Yuri couldn't help but feel heartbroken, seeing the two people she cares about at odds with each other. "I made the mistake of giving you a chance because I thought that you were different and that you cared about my daughter. I don't want you near her anymore, Giancarlo. By this time, I know that you already know who I am, so there is no need for me to speak carefully. I would not mind killing another head of your family."

Yuri's eyes narrowed as confusion washed over her. "What are you talking about, mom?" she asked with her mouth gently agape.

"Are you going to tell her the truth or you want me to help you with that? Natalia Petrova," Giancarlo intervened which just added to her growing confusion.

Before Yuri could react, Agatha had already lunged at Giancarlo with a knife pointed directly at the base of his neck.

"You stay away from my daughter! If you are thinking of using my own daughter against me then you die here!" she shouted angrily, but Giancarlo remained calm and composed.

"I am already the head of the family, Natalia. There is no reason for me to hurt Yuri. I would rather kill myself than do that. I am sure that you know the donna, so you are also aware what kind of mother she was to me. Why would I avenge the death of a person who is a stranger to me and I did not consider as a part of my life?"

Agatha seemed not to be listening as her grip tightened around the handle of the knife. Her eyes burned with rage as she glared at Giancarlo. Yuri could feel her breath quickening and her body tensing.

"Mom, why is he calling you that? Tell me what's happening," she pleaded, desperate to understand the situation unfolding before her but her mother remained silent, her expression unreadable.

"I promised Yuri that I would no longer lie to her, even if it meant hurting her feelings. Your mother's name was Natalia Petrova. She used to be a legendary assassin back in her prime, and a few days ago, she killed the donna."

If a bomb had exploded in front of her instead, maybe Yuri would have been less shocked. The revelation about her mother's past was beyond anything she could have ever imagined. Her mind raced, trying to process the information and make sense of it all. 

Was that the reason she disappeared the next morning when she arrived from Sicily?

"Yuri, let me explain," her mother said as she reached out to touch Yuri's trembling hand.

Yuri pulled away. She stared at her mother, her eyes filled with a mix of anger, confusion, and betrayal. The weight of the truth hung heavy in the air, leaving her torn between wanting answers and wanting to distance herself from the woman who had kept such a dark secret.

She was about to take another step backward when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Her eyes widened in shock, and her hand instinctively reached for her stomach.

"Yuri!" she heard Giancarlo shout in panic, rushing towards her. The room spun around her as she collapsed in Giancarlo's arms, clutching her stomach in agony.

"Giancarlo, our baby," she gasped, her voice barely a whisper as tears streamed down her face. She struggled to speak, the pain overwhelming her. The last thing she saw was her mother dropping the knife and rushing to her side with a look of horror on her face.