Page 51 of Overdosed: Her Dark Side
“What?” I ran towards Karl, my heart racing. “Where is he?”
“In one of Moretti’s hideouts in Miami. With Charles, the leader of the Moretti family, and your father.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. I felt dazed. “What does my father have to do with it?”
Karl’s eyes flickered between mine. “We have old scores to settle. We’re leaving. We’ll bring my son back, even if it’s the last thing I’ll do in my life.”
I didn’t understand why, but it sounded like a goodbye to me. I had an unpleasant chill sweep down my spine and an unsettling coldness enveloped me.
“I’m coming with you,” my mother’s voice reached me.
I turned to face her, a shock and confusion painting my face, as so did Karl’s and Anders’.
“I have to face Dedrick. I have to face him for the last time.” She spoke with so much anger and hatred it made me shiver.
“Celine, it’s too dangerous. We might all die there,” Karl stated calmly as if death meant nothing to him.
“I don’t care. I have to, Karl. I have to.” She pleaded through her pain and rage.
Karl didn’t reply. He reached out for one of the guns from the back of his belt and handed it to my mother. Goosebumps raised on my skin and my breathing quickened.
“I’m coming too,” I said without thinking. My gaze wandered toward Karl who looked at me with some sort of approval in his eyes.
“Shane would never forgive me if something happened to you, Melanie. You must stay here.”
“But—”
“For Hope.” He placed his hand on my elbow, squeezing it gently. “You must protect your daughter.”
I nodded in agreement. I didn’t want to allow this thought even to cross my mind, but the darkest scenario that Shane might die kept coming back somewhere in the back of my mind. I would die for him. I would give my life so he could live. I also knew that his life was Hope, and I had to stay to protect her. So that our daughter wouldn’t grow up without both parents.
Karl signaled his waiting men, and with one last, “Tell Elena that I love her.” He left, Anders, and the men followed.
My mother approached me hesitantly, putting her shaking hand on my cheek and caressing it with caution. Her eyes were still watery and her voice a breaking whisper, “I’m so sorry, my daughter. I’m sorry I realized my mistakes too late. Will you ever forgive me, Melanie?”
I wanted to tell her so many things. I wanted her to know all the pain she caused me. I wanted to scream and cry. Tell her how badly I missed having a mother. A shoulder to lean on when I needed to. Her love. Mother’s love that can be compared to nothing. I wanted to tell her how she screwed me up, how she screwed up as a mother. How, now, when I was a mother myself, I despised her even more, because now I knew, I’d do anything for my daughter. At the same time, I wanted to hug her and hold her close. Tell her that from now on, everything will be okay and that we can still repair the damage done. That I missed her, and I want her to be a grandmother to my child. I did neither. I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I just stared numbly at her while a tear dripped down my face, she wiped it with her trembling finger as she nodded and left.
The same coldness as when Karl left enveloped my body. A shiver swept down my back the same way. Again, that felt like a goodbye.
NINETEEN
Shane
Ilooked around a dark warehouse, gradually refining my consciousness. My senses slowly sharpened, and the haze of confusion lifted. I wanted to adjust myself but couldn’t move. I realized I was bound to a sturdy column, its cold metal digging against my flesh. It took a moment for my vision to clear and the unbearable ringing in my ears to subside. I quickly assessed the warehouse and several men of the Moretti mafia. But it was the sight of Dedrick Atwood that jolted me fully awake. My eyes widened, brows furrowing instinctively as I struggled against the restraints.
“Surprised to see me, son-in-law?” A wicked satisfaction crossed his face.
I clenched my teeth over the piece of cloth they put in my mouth. If it wasn’t for the bindings restricting my movements to mere inches, I’d kill the fucking piece of shit right on the spot. My eyes darted to the side, where Charles stood by a table with glasses of whiskey as he lit up his cigarette, the smoke floating around him.
“I warned you that you were going to regret fucking with me,” his voice rang out. “I lost everything because of you. Because of the fucking Vergoossens! Money, reputation, even my family! Your existence is like a curse to me,” he spat. “Everything would be different now if you hadn’t shown up in my daughter’s life.”
I stared into his psychotic eyes, unable to do anything. I was bound and helpless. I could only listen as Dedrick unleashed his bitter, pathetic rant.
“Now, it’s high time your father loses everything.” He took a few steps closer. “At midnight, he’s going to sign papers that transfer ownership of his companies and all assets to Charles to save his beloved son. What he doesn’t know is that afterward, we’ll kill you both anyway.” His laugh bitter reverberated through the warehouse.
“I don’t think so,” Anders’ voice boomed, his gaze steely as he pointed a gun at Dedrick. Behind him, dozens of our soldiers accompanied by Karl and Sergio Suarez. Sergio was our trusted ally from Colombia, who ran some of our deals in Miami.
Chaos erupted like a volcano. Moretti’s men pointed their weapons back at our soldiers, and neither side backed out. It would mean death. But death was inevitable that night.
