I Saved His Daughter And The Mafia Boss Won’t Let Me Leave Chapter 16
Victoria used Lily to set the whole thing up. Called Roman, told him Lily got hurt somewhere outside the city. He tore out of the house alone. She’d already had somebody cut the brakes.
She wanted him broken. Out of commission. Unable to run a damn thing. Then she’d swoop in as Lily’s mother and take control of every dollar the Ashford family had.
The cops are about to haul Victoria in when the school calls.
“Mr. Ashford. A woman came in with an emergency court order and two men claiming to be officers of the court. They took Lily.”
Long pause.
“We just finished checking. The paperwork is forged. The IDs are fake. All of it.”
The mug in my hand hits the floor and shatters.
Lily’s smartwatch is dead. No GPS. No signal. Nothing.
Roman pulls up every traffic camera on every road heading out of the city. His hands are moving fast. His face isn’t moving at all.
There. On the screen.
Derek behind the wheel.
Victoria in the back, gripping Lily’s arm. Lily thrashing, kicking, trying to rip free.
The car’s heading for the outskirts.
My phone buzzes.
Right before her watch died, Lily hit the SOS button.
A GPS pin pops up on my screen. And a voice clip. Choppy. Breaking apart.
“Mommy… save me…”
She remembered.
I taught her: if something bad happens, stay calm. Leave a trail. Leave something Mommy and Daddy can follow.
And then believe that we’re coming.
The pin drops on an abandoned clubhouse way out past the suburbs.
We get there before the cops.
Inside, I can hear her. Crying. Trying to hold it in. Trying to be brave and choking on it.
I can’t wait. I’m not waiting.
“Sera.”
Roman grabs my wrist.
“We don’t know what’s in there. You stay. I’ll go.”
I turn around.
“That’s my daughter in there too.”
Two seconds. He reaches under his chair and presses the stun baton into my hand.
“Okay.”
“Together.”
Inside, Victoria has Lily by the wrist. Lily’s face is red and wet and terrified.
Derek is standing by the door. Arms crossed. He sees me and grins like this is funny.
“Well, well. Right on schedule.”
I look at him. “Let go of her. Now.”
Victoria scoffs. “She’s my kid. I’m taking my kid and going. What are you gonna do about it?”
Lily is shaking her head so hard it looks like it hurts.
“I won’t go! I won’t go with you!”
“MOMMY! HELP ME!”
I rush in and grab Lily and pull her behind me.
Derek lunges from behind.
I kick him in the chest so hard he skids across the floor.
Victoria snaps. “What are you idiots waiting for? GET HER!”
Men come out of the dark. Three. Four. Moving fast.
I shove Lily behind me and snatch an iron bar off the ground.
Victoria laughs. This awful, ringing sound.
“Oh, Sera. You can fight all you want. It’s not gonna change anything.”
“That little brat isn’t even Roman’s real daughter.”
I freeze. “What did you just say?”
Victoria’s whole face lights up. She’s been dying to say this.
“I got Roman drunk. Told him we slept together. He believed every word.”
“Then I grabbed some random kid, faked a birth certificate, and boom. He married me.”
“I wanted the name. I wanted the money. I got both.”
“The kid could’ve been anyone. Who cares?”
Lily’s face goes white. Dead white. Like every drop of blood just left her body.
“I’m not… I’m not Daddy’s girl?”
Victoria doesn’t even look at her. Waves her off like a bug.
“Obviously not. You think someone with Roman’s genes and mine would make something this sad? This pathetic?”
Something explodes inside my chest.
I swing the bar and the first man who comes at me hits the floor. Then the next. I’m heading straight for Victoria.
Behind me, Derek scrambles up, grabs an iron bar, and swings it at the back of my skull.
Lily screams.
“MOMMY! WATCH OUT!”
A cane comes out of nowhere and catches the bar with a crack.
Roman. Standing right behind me.
On his own two legs.
They’re shaking so bad I can see it from here. His whole body is trembling.
But he’s planted between us and that iron bar and he is not going anywhere.