Chapter 18%
Three little faces lit up the room, laughing, running barefoot through a sunlit field. rd filmed it last spring, when the cherry blossoms were still blooming. Their voices filled the space like angels had decided to sing. One of the boys tackled his sister into a pile of petals,
“Mommy Look at mer
“Daddy, catch mel
“I’m faster than your
And then came the part I knew would shatter him X
The camera turned–Salvatore X
Kneeling Arms open. Laughing
He scooped them into a hug, spinning all three in his arms. One of the boys kissed his cheek.
“Love you, Daddy.”);
I saw Reagan freeze like someone had stabbed him in the spine. His entire body locked.
The camera panned to me in the background–soft smile, hand on my growing garden. Happy Alive.
“Come here, my angels,” my voice said from the recording:X
“Time to eat.&
“Yes, Mommy““X
Reagan exploded ä
“NO! NO–NO–WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!”Y
He screamed like a rabid animal, Punched the wall so hard the sound cracked through the feed.
“Those are my kids he roared, pointing at the screen. “MY FUCKING HEIRS
He stumbled toward the projector, fury tearing through him.” –
“THAT’S MY FUCKING BLOOD, DANICA! THEY’RE MINEIX
His voice cracked, row and unhinged.X
“They’re calling him Daddy?! That son of a bitch? You let–YOU LET HIM TOUCH THEM?!”
He grabbed a chair and flung it into the wall. The projector flickered but kept playing. The children laughed louder, hugging Salvatore. climbing over his shoulders.X
Reagan dropped to his knees, shaking.
“You took everything from met he sobbed. “You crazy bitch! Those are MY FUCKING CHILDREN!”
And then my voice played over the scene!
“You didn’t just lose me, Reagan.
You lost the right to ever find me.”
He stared, mouth trembling. The screen faded to black, Silence echoed in the room like a tomb.
I looked over at Salvatore, who said nothing. His jaw was clenched, eyes unreadable.
“Let him break,” I whispered. “Let him feel the void I had to crawl out of,”
Salvatore poured me a glass of champagne and handed it over.
“You’re colder than I’ve ever seen you,” he murmured.§
I sipped it slowly, savoring the quiet devastation on the feed.
“Good,” I said calmly “I was too warm before.“%
Salvatore turned to me, voice low “This won’t stop him. He’s not hunting you for power anymore.”
I lifted my head. I
“He wants you back,” he finished. “Not the empire. Not the money. You. The kids. The life he threw away”
I smiled, cold and sharp
“Then let him keep chasing ghosts,” I said. “Because the women he lost… doesn’t exist anymore.“X
I toasted the screen one last time, as Reagan clawed at the wall like a man possessed
“Enjoy your hell, darling I built it just for you!
The next morning, I wore black. Not for mourning
Titanis – the empire my father built with sweat, blood, and steel–was finally mine again. The world didn’t know it yet. But they would
At dawn, the final acquisition papers lut my desk. Forty–seven shall companies. Twenty–four anonymous investors. Three years of waspers, meetings beland closed doors, and dirty deals made with white gloves. It all came down to one last thing
One signature (
Mine
I signed it in ink so dark it might as well have been blood
Titanis was no longer a kingdom of Deception. It was reborn And now it bore the name it was always meant to
McKellar
I didn’t cry when the documents were finalized. Didn’t tremble. Didn’t even blink. That girl–soft, hopeful, desperate to belong–was gone The woman standing now? She belonged only to vengeance and legacy
Salvatore handed me the closing papers in a black leather folder, embossed with my crost. De Santis Holdings.
“Thure years,” he said quietly. “And now it’s yours””
I turned to face him. Salvatore–my consigliere in the shadows, my shield in public. One of the best legal minds in the world, disguised as the most dangerous man I knew. While he ran the underworld as Mr. X, he moved through boardrooms like a ghost with claws.
My personal lawyer. My monster in a suit.
“Thank you” I said, firm. For every deal. Every he. Every firewall,”
He looked at me the way only he could–like I was the fire and he’d already decided to burn for me X
“You earned this,” he said “I just watched the world fall into place for you.“}
“No,” I whispered, taking the papers and pressing them to my chest. “You made it fall.”
We drove in silence, wind slicing through the moming fog as we reached the graveyard X
I stood alone. No press. No guards. Just marble, grass, and ghosts. My mother. My twin sister. My father!! Names carved into granite, left to be forgotten. But I hadn’t forgotten. Never
I stepped forward, heels crushing growel, cont fluttering like a banner in war No flowers. No tears.
“My life was stolen,” I said softly. “But now I’ve stolen it back.”||
I bent down, brushing dust from my mother’s name, My fingers lingered on the stone–warm from the sun
“It’s done
Behind me, Salvatore stoyed silent. Respectful. Deadly
And mine.
Salvatore drove me back from the cemetery in silence. Until he finally sold the thing I knew he was holding in.
“He’s not after power anymore, Dani.“)
I turned to him, brows mined
Salvatore’s voice was low Dead serious. “Reagan. He’s not trying to control you. He wants you back.”
I laughed once–cold and sharp. “He’s lost everything. His father. His mistress. His legacy. All he has left to chase is the one thing he never truly had ”
“Which is?
