Page 53 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

Arielle

“I pleaded with him to give you some time to recover before calling you back to duty, but he wouldn’t listen. He insisted that your accident should’ve brought you closer, and he was disappointed you weren’t using the situation to your advantage, knowing what is at stake.”

Vivian’s words cut through me like a sharp blade. It was an unwelcome reminder of Mikhail’s true nature despite his sweetness to me. There was also the slight hurt from knowing Father prioritized the mission over my health, but even I couldn’t deny he was right. I recovered a long time ago and was intentionally stalling the mission because a man was nice to me while I was sick.

A cocktail of bitter emotions trickled down my throat, and my face became heated from the shame that flashed through me. I averted my eyes from Vivian, focusing on the picture of us on a trip to Edinburg hanging on the wall.

“He is right, you know. I should use the situation to my advantage. We barely have much time left,” I replied, earning me an eye roll from Vivian.

“But you were in an accident weeks ago, and even though your body seems to have recovered, these events are equally verytraumatizing and can take a psychological toll on you. I’m the psychologist here. It’s my job to say if you’re mentally fit for a mission or not.”

If I hadn’t had a combination of guilt and shame about the size of the Empire State Building weighing on me, I would have whipped up a teasing comment for Vivian’s outburst. She was always timid and avoided confrontations at all costs. Seeing her challenging and willing to go against Father for me warmed my heart, but I didn’t feel worthy of her protection anymore.

I almost didn’t belong anywhere at this point. I had guilt eating me up for lying to Mikhail. I couldn’t even stand Maya’s kindness to me anymore without feeling like I would burst into tears. On the other hand, was the crippling feeling of shame I felt with my family. I was slowly betraying the man that I owed my life to for a man who took lives at the snap of his fingers, returned home covered in blood, and had hands in child trafficking.

I was both embarrassed and disappointed in myself. The past few weeks might’ve opened me to a side of Mikhail I didn’t know about, but that weighed nothing in comparison to the person he truly was. But here I was, letting stupid feelings take the reigns over logic.

When Father finally arrived, it took a combination of every training I had received in the past to fine-tune my body language and maintain eye contact with him. He was very quick-witted and would pick on the slightest change and flicker of an eye.

“How are you feeling Cara?” he asked, balancing his walking stick on the wall before settling into the sofa.

“Much better. How about you? The knee giving you more trouble?” I inquired with a look of concern.

“Nothing I can’t handle. I’m scheduled for a replacement surgery in a few months, so it should be a thing of the past shortly.”

“Do you want me to get you anything?” Vivian’s voice almost startled me. I had completely forgotten that she was in the room as I focused my energy and attention on making sure I appeared as neutral as possible in Father’s presence.

“Not to worry, Viv. I’m old, not disabled.” He muttered, and I chuckled on cue. “So, tell me, Cara, what have you gathered in your period of recovery? I understand the accident shook you up. I’m sorry I couldn’t visit for obvious reasons, but I’m certain you were smart enough to use the situation to your advantage,” he said, going straight to the point.

One thing about Father, he was the grandmaster of disguise. Be it to disguise his true intentions as praise and concern or to sandwich them between compliments, he had his way with words. A way that completely disarmed you. Even the fury simmering in Vivian’s eyes had dulled down following his admission, but his question was passed clearly.

“I was able to take note of a few things while in recovery. It appears he has shifted most of the family dealings to his brother Benjamin and channeled his focus to the expansion of his business,” I replied, my heart thudding in my ears as I prayed my pathetic excuse of observation would be enough to placate him till I could find something bigger to occupy him while I figured out what to do with the feelings growing inside me.

“You must’ve been really distracted by your accident,” he said in a flat tone, and I felt my heart slam into my rib cage. He has me.Of course, he can fucking see through me. How did I ever think I could fool the person who trained me?

My eyes discreetly darted to the door, surveying the room for the nearest escape before he calmly added, “There’s an exclusive party tomorrow morning, and I need you to go with him. You can bring Vivian along if you feel you’ll need help. All you have to do is note the people present, memorize their names and faces if you must, and report back to me.”

I held down the sigh of relief that threatened to spill from my lips and offered a wordless nod to his demand, not trusting my voice to produce an answer without quivering.

“That would be all.” He said, getting on his feet. “I would’ve passed the message through Vivian, but I wanted to see how you were doing myself,” he said, casting me a soft gaze I hadn’t received in a while, and the knot in my chest became impossibly tight. Why couldn’t he just remain the stern Father we’ve grown accustomed to me? Why did he have to be kind and sweet all of a sudden and at this time?

“I’m fine, Father. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ll always worry about you. You’re still my little girls, both of you.” He said, looking at Vivian and me before picking up his walking stick and walking out the door.

“Your accident must’ve done a number on him,” Vivian muttered as soon as he was out of the room, and I nodded in agreement.

“So, would you like to come with me to this exclusive party?” I asked, sinking into the sofa.

“There’s no way I’m letting you take on a mission alone until I deem you psychologically fit,” she replied, falling into the seat Father had just left.

“I’ll tell Mikhail about it. I’m still in recovery, and I’m certain he won’t say no to me,” I said, sending him a quick text to be home before dinner time.

*******

Father had completely missed out on the part where the party was a masquerade ball, making it very difficult to see the faces of some of the guests. Although some left their faces uncovered like Mikhail, the dim lighting of the hall made it slightly difficult to make out their facial features.

“I’ll have to leave you ladies here for a bit. There’s something that urgently requires my attention, but Canaan will be watching,” Mikhail said, placing a soft kiss on my forehead before disappearing into a hallway at the right.

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