Page 74 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

“While maternal instincts look incredible on you, I have more pressing issues to deal with, and if you cooperate, your little boy will be fine,” he said, returning the picture to his pocket and settling on his seat.

“Why is this so important to you? It’s not like you’re the federal government itself?” I asked, finally finding my voice. He was unnaturally particular about Mikhail, and it didn’t make sense. He was a criminal by law and was wanted by the FBI, just like every other target I’ve had to work on. While I understood Father’s anger at my betrayal, I couldn’t wrap my head around his seeming obsession with Mikhail’s case.

His face contorted in the perfect image of disgust. “You still think this has anything to do with the government, and you and your siblings are special kids who were specifically selected for classified jobs by the government?”

“You said we worked—”

“I know what I said, Cara,” he chuckled darkly. “Do you really think the government has the time for all of this? That I’d pick up and raise a couple of kids for what? The greater good? Every person you’ve taken down and every life you’ve taken was for me. Every one of them. I am your government.”

I felt like the air had been knocked out of my lungs as I stared at the man who had once been the pinnacle of a moral compass to me in mortification. He lied. His little sermon about how we should see ourselves as superheroes, creating a less dangerous world for our loved ones, was a lie. They were all lies, every bit of it.

My whole life was a lie.

“Were they even guilty of any crime?” I asked, trying to find excuses to make myself better. Mikhail wasn’t innocent. I got a glimpse of his life. But what about the rest?

“If you consider pissing me off a crime, then yes,” he replied casually, and at that moment, I saw a monster in place of the man I had known my whole life.

“You turned us into murderers! You—”

“Enough!” He roared, and I jumped back in fear, wiping my eyes with the sleeves of my dress. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’ll tell me everything I need to know about Ivanov, his new job here, and anything you can think of. One wrong move from you, and I’ll blow your son’s head off and force-feed you his intestines.”

His threat killed off the fight in me, and I was back on my knees, tears streaming down my eyes as I pleaded desperately. “I don’t know anything. You have to believe me. I didn’t run away with him. I ran away on my own, and I accidentally started working for him.”

My words sounded ridiculous even to my own ears. The chances of me disappearing with Mikhail’s child and being found years later on a different continent with him and the child being a coincidence sounded like the sort of lie even an idiot wouldn’t buy. I searched my head, trying to find something for him, a little bit of information that would pacify him, and I came up with nothing. Mikhail made sure I knew nothing about his personal business.

“The choice is made then,” he said, raising his phone to his ear.

“Wait!” I screamed, grabbing his ankle and stopping him from making his call. “Hold on. I think I might have something for you.”

He smirked. “I knew I raised you well. Go on.”

“I don’t have much. He doesn’t trust me, and the only reason he kept me around was to punish me, but there’ve been some weird meetings and some situations I didn’t tell you about after my accident.” I said, gluing my eyes to the floor.

“Go on.”

I emptied every bit of information I had on Mikhail to him, from his wake-up time to the brand of deodorant he uses. I equally involved Benjamin and Enzo in my report. I didn’t feel good about it, but I’d rather die than for my son to be killed over some criminal rivalry.

“I should’ve anticipated a side effect when I staged that accident to drive you closer to him,” he said, shaking his head in disappointment, and my eyes widened in shock.

“You were responsible for my accident? I could’ve died!” I yelled at him, my eyes wide with disbelief.

I didn’t think it was possible for me to be surprised following the turn of events, but this took the cake.

“Sometimes, you have to throw in an enzyme to speed up a reaction, and if I had known things would turn out this way, I would’ve ensured you died in the crash.”

A sudden wave of anger overtook me, and I was lunging at him before I could think. “You son of bitch! I’m going to fucking tear you apart! Even if it is the last thing I do, I’ll kill you, Henry!”

Strong arms tore me away from him as I kicked and struggled to land a blow on his face. I felt a prickle on my neck, immediately followed by a burning sensation on my neck, and it all went black.

******

Bang!

An explosion sent a sharp jolt of pain through my head, waking me instantly.

“Where is she!?” A familiar dark voice boomed, adding to the ache in my head.

“Mikhail?” I croaked out, struggling to open my eyes.

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