Page 126 of Unholy Union
“He was turning on me. He was acting erratic. Confrontational. Accusing me of things. Questioning orders. How was I supposed to trust him after that? He was supposed totake over, carry the Corsini name. But I couldn’t hand over my life’s work to someone I couldn’t trust.”
“So… so you killed him too?”
“The Valentes killed him.”
My sobbing halts, if only because I can’t comprehend the twists anymore. “What?”
He steps closer, eyes gleaming with strange, manic sincerity. “ButIwas the target, Sabrina. Not him. There was a hit planned for me—an event I was supposed to attend. I got word, and I sent Leo in my place. But he walked into the trap meant for me. He took the hit and I knew it was for the best. Because if they hadn’t done it, then I knew I would’ve had to. That’s when I knew. That’s when it became clear what this life demands. What I’d have to sacrifice. Because what other choice did I have left, with my wife and heir gone?”
I sit there in stunned, suffocating silence, every part of me aching and broken.
Mario grimaces from the sidelines. “We’re running outta time.”
“Alright,alright,” my father snaps. “Go ahead. Bring him in. Let’s get it over with.”
Heavy footfalls echo from the far end of the warehouse, each step dragging. I lift my head just enough to see Mario moving across the concrete, disappearing behind a hanging tarp. A few seconds pass in tense silence before he returns with someone bound and gagged.
It’s Don Valente.
His hair is disheveled, tie askew, blood crusting at the corner of his mouth. Fury burns in his dark, stormy eyes as he stumbles with wrists tied by the same ropes binding me. His suit is rumpled, probably what disgusts a prideful and meticulous man like him most.
It takes a moment for my mind to accept the fact that Augusto Valente, the man who never loses control, has been taken captive.
I blink hard, trying to make sense of the scene in front of me.
“Surprised?” my father says. “You didn’t think he was the only one with spies, did you? Augusto tends to think he’s smarter than he is. He thought he was pulling a fast one on me when really I was pulling a fast one on him. I had several insiders in his operation. It’s that easy when you’re a charming guy like me and everybody likes you versus nobody liking him. He underestimated how many people wanted to see him fall.
“I had ears in his operation formonths. Some of your closest people,” my father explains, turning to Don Valente. “Your enforcer, Pello? I got some real good dirt on him. He was willing to look the other way today when we abducted you outside your office. And then there’s some of your staff. Like that little blonde assistant of Cato’s. What’s her name again? Harper Caldwell? She flipped the second I offered her protection—and a payout that’ll keep her mother’s medical bills covered for a decade. Turns out she hates you just as much as you hate her, Augusto. Maybe next time, be a little nicer to the help.”
Don Valente growls through his gag, his entire body seething with rage, but Rinaldo only chuckles.
“She had access to everything. Your business moves, your emails, your meetings, yourschedules. It was realconvenient. She’s a very intelligent woman. Did you know she went to Wharton? You should’ve appreciated her more.”
He gestures to Mario, who raises his gun and trains it on me.
“And now?” My father spreads his arms wide like a magician revealing the grand finale. “You’re going to die, my beautiful girl. I’ll have Mario put a bullet in you, and we’ll wipe the prints and press this piece into Augusto’s hand. Cato will arrive just intime to see his father standing over your body with the murder weapon.”
He leans in closer, his grin so wide it borders on unhinged.
“And he willsnap. He’ll kill his father. Just likeIhad to kill the woman I loved most in this world. Just likeIwas forced to sacrifice my family. And onlythen, only when he loses everything, will I finally be even.”
My heart pounds against my ribs like it’s trying to break free of my chest. I start pulling at the ropes around my wrists, ignoring the burning friction.
“Papi, please,” I cry out. “Please don’t do this. Don’t do this to me. I’m your daughter. Please. I’m begging you.”
Tears stream down my face as I thrash against the chair, my body aching with the need to run, to scream, to undoeverything that’s led us here. But he simply watches with cold detachment, like I’m an unfortunate casualty in a war he’s already written the ending to.
“It has to be done,” he repeats like some mantra. “This is the only way Iwin.”
Mario cocks the hammer, clicking off the safety as he takes his aim. I clench shut my eyes and draw what feels like my last breath before I die.
“If you really think your plan’s going to work,” growls a venomous voice from the distance, “you’re even stupider than I thought.”
My whole body jerks at the sound, eyes snapping open.
Cato steps into view looking more furious than I’ve ever seen him.
Chapter 27
