“I wish I could help,” I said, running my nails down his back with delicacy. “But you don’t ever tell me what’s really bothering you or what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“I know.” He sighed. “I’m afraid you’ll hate me once you know everything.”
“There is only one way to find that out.”
I was being truthful. I would give him the benefit of the doubt and listen as promised, but I couldn’t vow that our relationship wouldn’t be affected by his secret.
“I have a few things to take care of today but come to my place tonight and we’ll talk. About everything. It’s time you know.”
I froze. Was I ready to know?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ezra
Inever anticipated seeing delight wash all over her face as she let me into her hotel suite. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect but her eyes told me she knew why I was there.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she said, fixing herself a drink. “Do you want anything?”
Shaking my head, I declined her offer. Instead, I watched her with interest, comparing her to the woman in the portrait. I was told my mother’s name was Pamela. In the picture, she was a smiling brunette who, even though I never admitted, I imagined as kindhearted and sweet.
However, the woman facing me was Chichi. Blonde, sophisticated with an air of arrogance. Not to mention bold.
“I take it you know who I am by now?” She crossed the room and sat on a sofa. “I must say I didn’t expect you to figure it out so soon.”
“Cut the bullshit and tell me the reason you came back. Why the fuck did you target me?”
For a moment she was pensive as if cautiously preparing her next words.
“I needed a successor and who better than my son to take over my empire.”
“I’m not your son.”
“Oh, but you are.” She snickered and then took a sip from her tumbler of amber liquor. “When I first arrived, I went to see your uncle and asked him to smooth things over with you. You know, to get you to talk to me but instead, he insulted me and warned me to stay away from you.” She deepened her voice, attempting to mock my uncle. “You’re no good for him. He’s better than you. We raised him right. Blah, blah, blah.” She waved her hand around indifferently. “But I’m not a woman who takes no for an answer. I decided to prove them all wrong and here we are, Ezra. I did what I had to do to have you on my side. Whether you like it or not, it’s my blood that runs through your veins. You are a part of me.”
“You could have talked to me like a normal person instead of playing all of these games.”
She made a pfft sound. “You would have rejected me after all the lies you’ve been told. I needed to prove to your family that you are just like me. Greedy and ambitious.”
I was at a loss for words for a moment wondering if this woman was real. “I’m not an object that you can toy around with. I’m a fucking person whose life you’re trying to ruin.”
“Oh please, the same way I don’t force anyone to take drugs or buy them I didn’t force you into this. I might have shown you the path, but you decided to take the walk all on your own.”
Her words were painfully truthful. The revelation made bile rise to my stomach. I was disgusted with myself more than I’d ever been before. I was indeed my mother’s son.
“Why did you abandon us?” The question rolled off my tongue and caught us both by surprise.
Blinking back what seemed like a flood of emotions, she said, “I didn’t abandon you. Is that what they told you? I was—” She paused, collecting herself. “I left for a while and now I have returned. I couldn’t stay in the mediocre life your father was offering me. I was born for greatness. When my dancing career went to shit, I reinvented myself and here I am today. Powerful, wealthy, and feared by many. I have what I’ve always wanted.”
“Then why come after me if you have everything you need? My life was fine without you.”
“Because as unbelievable as it might sound, I never stopped thinking about you, Ezra. At first, I didn’t have a way to contact you—this was before the internet era—but eventually I was able to reach your uncle. We agreed that he’d keep me informed about you and in exchange, I would stay away. Then I realized how unfair that was to me. If I wanted to see my son no one should stop me.”
“I wished you’d kept your promise and stayed away.”
“You say that because you don’t know everything.”
“Why don’t you tell me then?”
“You’re not ready for the truth and even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
I was done. I didn’t want to hear anymore. Something was terribly wrong with that woman. All I knew was that I needed to stay away from her.
“I’m leaving.” I turned for the door. “I’m done with this.”
“Don’t even think about it, Ezra. You have no idea what I’m capable of to get what I want. I said that you will be my successor and it shall be so. If you dare cross me, I will take it out on that precious family of yours and I’ll make you watch while they plead for their lives. Then I’ll finish with you.”
I spun on my heels. Her posture was stiff, her jaw rigid and her eyes hard. She meant every word.
“You’d kill your only son? The successor you want so badly?”
“God sacrificed His son for the greater good, and He’s considered to be the epitome of love. Imagine what I’ll do to you since the devil and I are on a first-name basis. I will have things my way whether you’re dead or alive.”
Chichi was hollow—completely dead inside. She didn’t care about me in the slightest, I was just a piece in this very twisted game.
“The time to make choices is long past, Ezra. Welcome to your new life.”
“You’re sickening.”
“And you’re no better than me.”
I wasn’t. I had inherited her tainted DNA.
I left her hotel room more troubled than when I entered. I spent the day driving around, planning my exit strategy.
The fan in my room shuddered from side to side, blowing a light breeze as it moved. Christina was fast asleep next to me, she rested on her stomach using her folded arms as a pillow. Her hair was messy and spread around her bare back. I ran my finger tracing the line of her spine till where the sheets stopped. Then moved up, all the way to her neck. She stirred but didn’t wake. I planted a light kiss on her back and refrained from touching her further.
Every day I was falling deeper for her. She was the first thing on my mind when I woke and the last before I closed my eyes. Her presence was mandatory. A day without her had me restless, and every single time she smiled it unraveled me.
I didn’t tell her the truth because I was thinking, concocting another plan to get out of this chaos.
I made a call to Nunes that night. He affirmed that if I could give him Chichi, along with hardcore incriminating evidence on her, he could give me anything I asked for. What I demanded was protection for my family, and he said it would be done. I didn’t know how impenetrable their witness protection program was, but it was my best option at that moment.