My Enemy's Daughter (Edited)

Chapter 61

Fiona's POV

How did it get to this?

I can't believe this is happening. The last thing I remembered was the laughter-Bruno and I were driving home from church, after a wonderful service, my spirit lifted in a way that felt rare these days. Samuel had called again-what was it, the eighth time? I had been joking with Bruno about it, about how Samuel was acting like a mother hen. Bruno had chuckled, his eyes on the road, always calm and vigilant. The day had been perfect. And then...

Then the world turned upside down.

We hadn't even seen it coming. One second, we were cruising down the road, the city lights flickering in the early evening. The next, our car was boxed in. Four vans, two in front and two behind, slammed into place, blocking us in.

I barely had time to register the danger before Bruno jumped out, barking at me to stay in the car. I froze, my heart pounding in my chest as men swarmed out of the vans. They were armed-heavily. I wanted to scream at Bruno to get back inside, to drive us away, but my voice felt stuck, strangled by fear.

And then the shots rang out.

Bruno... Bruno, I don't even know if he's dead or alive. He fought so hard, holding them off, his body shielding my car door, but there were too many of them. I heard him cry out in pain, saw the blood, too much blood. They gunned him down, their bullets tearing through him like he was nothing, and I... I couldn't do anything.

They came for me next. Even as I fought-God knows I fought with everything I had-they were too strong, too fast. Rough hands grabbed me, dragging me out of the car. I kicked and screamed, but it only made them angrier. They gagged me, threw a thick, suffocating bag over my head, and bound my hands so tightly that my wrists burned. I was shoved into the back of one of the vans like a piece of luggage, and taken to some creepy building, the smell of sweat and gunpowder filled my nose as I struggled against the restraints. But it was useless.

Then I heard his voice.

"Surprised to see me, sweetheart?"

I stiffened. Even with the bag over my head, I'd recognize that voice anywhere. My father.

Jake Bruckner.

"Get her up," he barked at someone, and rough hands yanked me into a sitting position. The bag was ripped off my head, and I blinked against the harsh light, my eyes focusing on the figure before me.

Jake. The man I had once called Dad. The man I now barely recognized.

He smiled that cold, calculating smile I hated so much. "You didn't think I'd stay in jail for long, did you? You really believed you and that scumbag Samuel could bring me down?"

His words hit me like a slap. My heart pounded in my chest, fear and anger warring within me. How had this happened? How was he out? "How..." I tried to speak, but the gag muffled my voice.

He chuckled, a low, menacing sound. "Oh, Fiona. You really thought you were safe, didn't you? I'm your father, for Christ's sake. Did you think betraying me, siding with Samuel, would go unpunished?"

I glared at him, my body shaking with a mixture of rage and terror. Betray him? He was the one who'd betrayed everything-his family, his morals, everything. And now, he had the audacity to play the victim?

"You're going to pay for this, Fiona," he continued, leaning in closer. His breath was rancid, his eyes cold and hard as ice. "You and Samuel both. But don't worry, sweetheart. I'll take care of Samuel. I'll kill him, just like I killed Maggie."

I tried to speak but it came out muffled again. He ordered his men to remove the gag and I yelled at him immediately.

"You despicable man! I know what you did to my mother!" I accused him