Page 74 of Merciless Oath

“But… Alexandra,” Enzo stammers. His fingers grip her arms, turning her to face him directly. “How could this be? And you never told me?”

With Alexandra’s full attention on him, I take my chances. I know it’s stupid, I know they’re probably going to shoot me the second I step outside, but I can’t sit here playing games until she decides to shoot me.

I need to find my daughter.

I slip out of my seat and bolt, taking the stairs two at a time. I hear Alexandra’s angry voice behind me, yelling for me, but I don’t stop. I burst into the cold night air, looking around wildly.

“Hey…” one of the thugs she hired drawls, noticing me. I elbow him in the ribs, knocking the air from his lungs, and punch him in the throat. He goes down smoothly, and I land a hard kick in his groin.

“Matilda!” I call wildly, racing around the deck. My legs are shaky and my head is throbbing, but I don’t care.

Another one of the goons pops out from a different set of doors, and I duck into the shadows as he fires a shot at me.

“Mama!” I hear a tiny voice call from somewhere beyond him.

She’s here. My baby is here.

“Valentina!” Alexandra screeches as thick, strong arms wrap around my waist, hauling me back.

I kick and flail wildly as my body is thrown into the air by the guy I took down near the door. He outmaneuvers me, dragging me back to the dining room entrance and tossing me down the stairs.

I land in a twisted heap of limbs, but I’m okay—no broken bones, no head trauma.

Alexandra steps over my body, shaking her head angrily at me. She adds a kick to my ribs for good measure and finds her way back to Enzo.

I pull myself off the floor and limp back to my chair.

“See, Enzo? I told you we can’t trust her,” Alexandra whines. “She’s insane, unhinged. She tried to kill my security guard out there. How could you ever leave me for her?”

“I’m so sorry, my love,” Enzo apologizes. “But that’s in the past, isn’t it? Now it’s you and me, forever.”

Alexandra gazes at him adoringly, smiling like the Cheshire cat. When a security guard stomps down the stairs, she barely turns her head.

“Get the other girl,” she mutters to him, snapping her fingers.

The other girl. My girl.

I hold my breath, my eyes trained on the doorway, waiting for Matilda to emerge. Alexandra’s blabbing to Enzo about their love, the future, and all kinds of batshit-crazy nonsense, but I ignore her.

Finally, a set of tiny feet appear at the top of the stairs, and Matilda hesitantly descends.

“Mama!” she cries when she spots me, and I explode out of my seat to scoop her up into a hug. I hear Enzo breathe a sigh of relief, seeing that she’s relatively unharmed.

“Tie her up,” Alexandra commands to the thug hovering over us. “Both of them, sneaky little bitches.”

“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper into Matilda’s ear as I’m forcibly pulled away from her and tied to my chair.

Her eyes water, but she bites her lip and holds her head up high, refusing to cry.My brave girl.

“More wine!” Alexandra calls, her speech heavily slurred, to the guard’s retreating form. She stands up shakily and stumbles over to Matilda, leaning in close to inspect her.

I watch with hawk eyes, knowing I’ll kill this woman with my bare hands if she touches my child again.

“Too bad she’s half hers,” Alexandra muses, bringing the bottle to her lips for a big glug. “She has your eyes. But then, so does Alessia.”

She glares at her own daughter, and my heart drowns in empathy for the little girl whose own mother despises her. Suddenly, Alexandra’s demeanor changes, and she claps her hands happily, squealing with delight.

This can’t be good.

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