Chapter 45: Chapter 45

KIAN

"And you know exactly where your father is?"

"Yeah, I know. He's in his study. If you're lucky, he'll be alone. I won't be coming with you from then on."

"What do you mean you won't come with me from there?" I ask suspiciously.

"Kian, you're going to kill my father. I can't be there. Believe me, it's better if I'm not there. I know my father. He'll find ways to get me back on his side. I'll help just clean you."

"And if something goes wrong, there with him. What should happen then? He'll kill me!"

"Then you have to act wisely and, above all, quickly!" She looks at me intently. "And now come on, otherwise we'll waste even more time!" I rub your face and take a deep breath. It's pointless to keep arguing about it. It's her job to get me in, I have to do the rest. We finally get out, while I reload my gun, then I follow Heaven. We walk along the wall of the property until Heaven stops at one point in front of it. "We have to go over there." She puts her foot on the wall and climbs up. In itself, the wall is not large, just a little smooth. As soon as I land on my feet on the other side, Heaven keeps running. I follow her, my gaze wandering to the villa. Lights are on, suggesting everyone is still awake. Heaven looks over her shoulder, probably to make sure I'm still following her. She nods to a spot where a window is open. "I left the window open," she explains. So we go closer and climb in. It's a basic bedroom.

"Why does he have this mansion here? And how am I supposed to find his study without running into his men?" I ask her the obvious.

"He's owned this mansion for a long time. I think since he was your mother... you know. But he rarely came here. And the study..." Heaven steps toward a door. My grip on the gun instantly tightens. She opens the door that leads to a bathroom. "The bathroom also leads directly into the study." I look Heaven in the eye to see if she's telling the truth. "You have to hurry, Kian. I have no idea how much longer he'll be there. You have to do it now." She steps aside while I go into the bathroom and head for the other door. I look over my shoulder at her one last time. She slowly closes the door behind me, leaving me alone in the bathroom. My eyes cling to the door in front of me. My hand grips the doorknob that I turn slowly quiet enough not to make any noise. I open the door just a crack to peek inside. And when I recognize his head, I throw open the door and rush towards him, only to point the pistol to his head the next moment.

"Kian?" suddenly a startled voice, very familiar to me, calls out. At first I think I misheard. But when I look down, I see my...mother getting a gun stuck in the back by Costello. Fuck! What's going on now...? What is she doing here? With him? When Costello laughs, I'm about to pull the trigger. "Don't do that! Kian!" my mother yells desperately.

"What the fuck..." I yell. She flinches. Her bony hands reach out to me - as she always does. I look into her eyes, which are really begging me.

"You better listen to your mother, son," says Costello. I swear I'll kill him with the conscience that he put a gun in my mother's back. Why is he always one step ahead? Could this have been a trap from Heaven?

"Shut up! I swear, I'll pull the trigger, bastard!" My fingers are shaking. For some reason, I can't take my eyes off my mother. Fuck! What the hell is going on here? Why did he bring her here? To blackmail me? But how did he know I was coming? From Heaven? Shit man! I knew I couldn't trust her. This little bitch! She's the next one I...

"I love you, Kian. Don't do this. Please," my mother begs. I shake my head in disbelief. She has never said those words to me. My mother's eyes shimmer suspiciously. What the fuck is going on here?

I look at Costello. He looks me in the eye with a malicious grin. "What did you say to her?" I growl. Although my question should be more like; what he planted in her head.

"Just the truth that we're family, mi hijo!" I cock my head to the side and glare at him hatefully.

"Family?" I repeat mockingly. "We're not family, asshole!"

"Did you really think I didn't know what my daughter was doing behind my back?" he says suspiciously. "Did you really take me for so stupid?!" He laughs in disbelief. "So many disappointments in this family." He shakes his head. So Heaven didn't betray me after all? You don't know anything about this? double shit!

"I came here to kill you!" I say slowly, taking two steps closer to him. Costello narrows his eyes. "There's nothing she can do about that!" I nod to my mother, who is shaking with fear. shit...

"Really, Kian? So your mother couldn't do anything about it? If you kill me, she's dead too. So think twice before you want your parents on your conscience." I look at my mother. Her eyes beg me not to do it. Fuck! My mother really had nothing to do with it. Even though she was never the mother I wanted her to be and treated me badly, she doesn't deserve to die. At least not like that. After all, she is sick and this disease will eventually kill her – it is inevitable. But her time has not yet come. And I have no intention of rushing it.

"You're not parents to me..." I say quietly, then slowly lower the gun in my hand. Fucking shit! So he's won again. That miserable bastard.

"Smart decision, Kian," he laughs. "I guess you don't care about your mother after all."

"I'm going to kill you. Don't worry, your time will come, motherfucker!"

"Give me your gun." I swallow. If I hand it to him now, I'm defenseless. "Instantly!" My mother winces violently. This causes me to throw her on the floor and kick her over to Costello. He stops her with his foot and laughs. "You know, Kian..." he begins. He now steps forward in front of my mother. As if she had been his shield all along. "Kassandra..." He looks down at my mother and smiles at her. Puke rises up inside me and my hands clench into fists. I didn't think the instinct to protect my mother was so great. Even though she doesn't give a shit about me. And I don't owe her anything. So why am I doing nothing? Why do I want to save her? My thoughts wander to the woman I really love. If Costello gets away again, she's in danger. We would have to hide from him again. We'd have to live in fear all the time that Costello would attack us. And he does. I know he still wants Callahan dead. He would do anything for it. And we were all in the same shit. I can't allow that. I vowed to put an end to this. So that I can be with Estrela without further endangering her. "I've really spared a lot of your people now, some of them from Callahan. But I should change that. I have the feeling that you just don't take me seriously. That's why..." He pulls out a knife. My body immediately tenses up. "I'll show you that I'm not to be trifled with." the sharp blade of the knife, cuts my mother's throat the next moment. Suddenly everything is happening in slow motion in front of me. How all the blood flows out of her and she looks me in the eye with shock and pain. I can only watch, paralyzed, as she hits the ground, as the carpet turns red beneath her, as all life drains from her. Her last breath fades. Costello slit my mother's throat in front of me. She's dead. He killed her on a whim. Costello killed my mother. "She was ill anyway, Kian..." I look from my dead mother to Costello. "I hope you learn from this." How all the blood flows out of her and she looks me in the eye with shock and pain. I can only watch, paralyzed, as she hits the ground, as the carpet turns red beneath her, as all life drains from her. Her last breath fades. Costello slit my mother's throat in front of me. She's dead. He killed her on a whim. Costello killed my mother. "She was ill anyway, Kian..." I look from my dead mother to Costello. "I hope you learn from this." How all the blood flows out of her and she looks me in the eye with shock and pain. I can only watch, paralyzed, as she hits the ground, as the carpet turns red beneath her, as all life drains from her. Her last breath fades. Costello slit my mother's throat in front of me. She's dead. He killed her on a whim. Costello killed my mother. "She was ill anyway, Kian..." I look from my dead mother to Costello. "I hope you learn from this." He killed her on a whim. Costello killed my mother. "She was ill anyway, Kian..." I look from my dead mother to Costello. "I hope you learn from this." He killed her on a whim. Costello killed my mother. "She was ill anyway, Kian..." I look from my dead mother to Costello. "I hope you learn from this."

"What... what did you do?!" I breathe in shock. Anger courses through my body. I fix him with a death glare. "I'm. killing. you!" I growl. Costello tilts his head to one side. His malicious grin makes me bring out my deepest murderous thoughts.

"You never learn..." he laughs, shaking his head. I approach my mother and pretend that I want to approach her. I swallow hard as I look at her. My right hand slides slowly and unobtrusively behind me. I reach for the knife in my belt and carefully pull it out. Then kneel before my mother. Costello is only a few inches from me. I count to three. On three, I'll stab him in the leg with the knife. Costello groans in pain and I take the chance and grab my gun from the floor. "Bastard!" I jump behind the desk for cover as he fires the first shot at me. I raise my gun and aim it at him. A head-to-head race begins. He's a bit inferior because the knife in his leg made him weak. But unfortunately not weak enough. I raise my head to spot him. Quickly duck him again as he fires at me again. Fuck! I hear the door rattling. Probably his men. I don't have much time left. Which is why I break cover and aim straight at him. It hits his arm and he groans in pain. Suddenly the door behind me is thrown open. I'm distracted for a moment, so Costello takes his chance. The next thing I feel is the almost unbearable pain and adrenaline pumping through my body. I sag and my surroundings blur in front of me. Fuck... he got me.

"You've hurt too many people..." I hear a muffled voice next to me, but it's ringing in my ears so much I can't make out whose voice it is. I close my eyes. My hand moves to the spot that hurts unbearably. When I pull her away, she's covered in blood. Only with effort and strength can I still cling to consciousness.