Maya's POV
I nearly fell when I sprinted down the stairs. I could hear men arguing in irate voices, and my father's screams were growing louder.
"Give him up!" I shouted as I rushed into the large room where we had been conversing.
My blood froze at what I saw. In the center of the room, my dad was kneeling. He had been shot, and blood was streaming down his arm. Over him stood a tall, gray-haired, icy-eyed man brandishing a smoking gun. Moretti, Vincent.
"Ah, Maya," he said, grinning cruelly. "It's great to meet you at last."
With their own firearms drawn, the Romano brothers stood around the room, but they were unable to fire without striking my father. Moretti was intelligent. My dad was being used as a human shield by him.
"Maya, baby," my father exclaimed as he gazed at me in desperation. "I apologize. I sincerely apologize for everything."
"What's going on, Dad?" I moved closer and asked.
"Remain back," Dante cautioned me. "Avoid getting close to him."
"Why not?" I asked, but I was alarmed by something in Dante's voice.
Enzo muttered, "Because your father isn't just hurt." "He has been poisoned."
I gazed at my father. I could see something was wrong now that I was looking more closely. The room was cold, but he was perspiring and his skin was too pale.
"Poisoned?" I muttered.
"A little something I gave him on the way here," Moretti remarked nonchalantly. "Don't be concerned. It acts slowly. It will kill him in about an hour."
"You monster!" I let out a scream.
"I'm a businessman," Moretti clarified. "And I'm here to make a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Marco inquired.
Moretti pressed his gun to my father's head and said, "Simple." "I bring the girl along. Rather than working for your family, she works for mine. I give her father the life-saving medication in return."
"And if we refuse?" Luca snarled.
"Then David Chen dies in about fifty minutes," Moretti stated. "And, just to make a point, I kill the girl anyway."
My father's eyes were filled with tears as he gazed at me. "I never intended for this to occur, Maya. He claimed it would be simple, but I just owed him a huge sum of money."
I inquired, "How much money?"
"Three million dollars," my dad muttered.
It was as if someone had punched me. "Three million? However, you informed the brothers that it was two million."
My father said, "I lied," with more tears in his eyes. "I retained one million for myself. I intended to take you away and start over in a secure location."
"You stole an additional million dollars?" Dante's voice was deadly quiet as he asked.
My father exclaimed, "I was scared!" "When you learned about the charity funds, I knew you would murder me. I reasoned that we could vanish if I had enough money."
Marco angrily remarked, "So you let those children die for nothing." "You could have had money left over after repaying the charity."
My father said feebly, "I wasn't thinking clearly."
I retreated from him and said, "No." "You were considering yourself. As usual."
"Please, Maya..."
"Enough," Moretti said. "I have other things to do tonight, but this is really heartwarming. What do you say, girl? You can either stay here and watch your father die, or you can come with me and save him."
I glanced at the brothers Romano. They were keeping a close eye on me, anticipating my next move.
"What happens to me if I go with you?" I asked Moretti.
He remarked, "You work for my family." "You spy on the Romanos. You tell me about their plans, weaknesses, and secrets."
"And if I don't spy?"
"Then you'll wish you had," Moretti grinned snarkily.
Dante firmly said, "Maya, don't do it." "We can find another way."
"What other way?" I inquired. "You stated it yourself: the antidote is the only treatment for poisoning."
Luca cracked his knuckles and remarked, "We can make him tell us where the antidote is."
Enzo typed on his tablet and said, "He doesn't have it with him." "I'm currently scanning him. No pills or bottles hidden away."
"Smart boy," Moretti remarked. "The antidote is secure. I am the only one who knows its location."
My dad was deteriorating. His hands were shaking and his breathing was shallow.
"How can I be sure you'll actually give him the medication?" I inquired.
"You don't," said Moretti. "But it's his only chance."
I tried to think while I closed my eyes. My father was dying as a result of his own foolishness and greed. He was still my father, though. I couldn't let him die, no matter what he had done.
"I'll do it," I replied.
"Maya, no," Marco snapped.
"I have to," I replied. "He's my dad."
"He's a thief and a traitor," Dante declared. "Don't sacrifice your life for him."
I said, "It's not your choice." "I own it."
Moretti grinned. "Great. Come on over, girl."
Enzo blocked my path as I started to approach him. Quietly, he said, "There's something you should know first."
"What?"
Enzo remarked, "Your father didn't just steal money." "He provided Moretti with details about our family. Names, addresses, and places of business. Because of what he told them, people will perish."
I glanced over at my dad. "Is that true?"
My dad was unable to look me in the eye. "I was forced to. They intended to murder me."
I said, "So you sold out the people who trusted you."
"I apologize," he muttered.
"Sorry doesn't bring the dead back," Luca said sternly.
"Maya," said Moretti impatiently. "There is not much time left. Perhaps your father has forty minutes left."
I glanced back at my dad. It was his own fault that he was dying. I couldn't let him die, though.
I told Moretti, "I need something in return."
He stated, "You're not in a position to make demands."
I tried to sound braver than I actually felt when I said, "Yes, I am." "To spy on the Romanos, you must keep me alive. That implies that I am valuable."
Moretti squinted. "What do you want?"
I said, "I want evidence that you'll actually save him. Now give him some of the medication. Prove it to me."
"Clever girl," Moretti remarked. "But no. You accompany me first. He then receives the medication."
"Then no deal," I replied.
"Then your dad passes away."
"Maybe," I replied. "But then you lose your spy."
We gazed at one another. He was clearly considering whether or not I was bluffing.
"Fine," he said at last. "But only a tiny amount. Enough to sustain him for an additional hour."
He gave my father a few drops from a tiny bottle he took out of his pocket. My dad's breathing eased and his face returned to some color in a matter of minutes.
"Now," Moretti uttered. "Your turn."
I turned to face him once more, but Dante took hold of my arm.
"You don't have to do this," he stated.
"Yes, I do," I replied. "It's the only way."
"There's always another way," Marco stated.
"Not this time," I sadly said.
I escaped Dante's hold and made my way to Moretti. As if we were longtime friends, he put his arm around my shoulders and grinned.
"Wise decision," he said. "Let's go now."
"Wait," I said. "I wish to bid my father farewell."
"Make it quick," Moretti instructed.
I knelt beside my father. He was alive, but still weak.
He muttered, "I'm sorry, baby." "I sincerely apologize for everything."
"I know," I replied. "But, Dad, I have to tell you something."
"What?"
"I know about Mom," I whispered, leaning close to his ear.
My dad's eyes widened. "What?"
I muttered, "I know she didn't die in an accident." "I am aware that you killed her."
"Maya, no... you don't understand..."
"I understand perfectly," I said as I got to my feet. "And now, so will they."
I looked over at Moretti. "I had second thoughts. I will not accompany you."
"What?" Moretti's face flushed red with rage. "We struck a deal!"
"We had a deal based on lies," I stated. "My father has been telling falsehoods about everything. Including the passing of my mother."
Desperately, my father said, "Your mother's death was an accident."
"No, it wasn't," I replied. "And I can demonstrate it."
I took a tiny recording device out of my pocket. "I've been recording everything," I replied. "Including the part where you just confessed to providing Moretti with information that will lead to the deaths of people."
Luca outran Moretti as he lunged for the recorder. Grabbing Moretti's arm, he twisted it behind his back.
"Give me up!" Moretti shouted.
"I don't think so," Dante replied.
"What do you know about your mother, Maya?"
I said, "She learned about Dad's debts from gambling." "She intended to take me away and divorce him. So he..." I was unable to complete the sentence. It was just too awful.
"So he killed her," Enzo muttered.
My father yelled, "It was an accident!" "She fell down the stairs!"
I cried as I said, "After you pushed her."
"I didn't intend to! I took hold of her arm as she attempted to flee while we were fighting."
Marco said indignantly, "And you let everyone think it was an accident."
"I was scared," my dad said. "I was at a loss for what to do."
I said, "You could have told the truth." "You could have handled the fallout like a man."
"Maya, please," my dad pleaded. "Your father is still me. I still adore you."
"No," I replied. "You are no longer my father. The night you murdered my mother, my father passed away."
Moretti resisted Luca's hold. "This has no effect! Your dad is still not getting better."
"Actually," Enzo stated, glancing at his tablet, "I don't believe he is."
I said, "What do you mean?"
Enzo remarked, "I've been analyzing the 'poison' Moretti gave him." "It's not poison at all. Although it's not lethal, the drug makes you feel ill and weak."
"What?" I gazed at Moretti.
"It was a trick," a furious Dante declared. "Your father would never be killed by him. He merely aimed to intimidate you into assisting him."
"You misled me!" I yelled at Moretti.
"I did what I had to do," he declared.
"Just like my father," I retorted.
"Maya," my dad uttered feebly. "What happens now?"
I saw him, broken and pitiful, lying on the floor. I then turned to face the Romano brothers, who were observing me with a sort of reverence.
"You're going to tell these men everything you know about Moretti's plans," I said. "After that, you'll be gone from my life forever."
"Maya..."
"Forever," I said again. "Because I'll kill you myself if I ever see you again."
I looked over at Dante. "I'll also assist you in putting an end to Moretti's war. It's the right thing to do, not because I owe you anything."
Dante gave a nod. "Maya, welcome to the family."
But the lights went out before anyone could react. I heard Moretti laugh in the shadows.
He asked, "Did you really think I came here alone?"
Then the gunfire began.