His Dangerous Ways✔️

Chap. 32 Mom

"She remembers," the woman in front of me smiled as she slowly stood up and began walking toward me, her eyes soaking up every detail about me. I looked at her and was surprised at how she looked like she hadn't aged from the picture in my father's dresser from over eighteen years ago. Same black hair. Some soft looking porcelain skin. Same striking green eyes. I could see why he feel for her, but why is she here? "Oh my beautiful daughter," she sighed as she reached for me, but I quickly moved away.

"No," I said shaking my head. "You don't get to call me that. You lost that privilege the moment you decided to walk away from me and dad."

"Cat-" but I cut her off.

"It's Caterina to you," I spat. "Only my friends and family call me Cat, and you are neither. You and Kenny can have fun, but I think I'll be better off in my room."

"You don't know where you're going," Kenny accused as I began making my way back to the door, seeming completely unfazed by the fact that his boss and I are related or he's just really good at hiding it.

"I'll take my chances," I shrugged as my fingers wrapped around the door's handle.

"Wait Caterina," she called and despite my better instincts, I hesitated. "Please sit and eat and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"How do I know I can trust you?" I boldly questioned as I faced her.

"You'll just have to take your chances, won't you?" She said with a half-hearted grin using my own words against me. My fingers went to my ring reminding me of River and all the information I could get from her.

"Fine," I agreed. "But, you have to answer all my questions or I'm walking."

"Okay," she nodded and I slowly made my way to the table and sat across from her with Kenny taking his place at her right side. Ironic. I opened my mouth, but she beat me to it by saying, "Please get something to eat. This is going to take a while."

"I think I'll pass, thanks," I said leaning back in my chair with my arms crossed.

Kenny grew frustrated. "Why don't you just listen to her and stop being a bratty little pain in the-"

"Kenny, it's fine," she said as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at me but backed down. "Come on, Caterina, I wouldn't have spent all this time looking for you just to kill you."

"I'm fine, just talk," I stubbornly repeated. "Why did you leave and how did you end up here?"

Seeing that I wasn't going to give into her pleads, she sighed and began. "I didn't want to leave you or your father, but by being with you I was putting your lives in danger." Why do these words sound somewhat familiar? Wasn't that what River used to say? "They were after me since my brother owed them big time, but before he could pay up he died in a boating accident, but everyone knew that there is no such thing as accidents where a Silencer is involved." She paused to eat a piece of chicken, taking her time to thoroughly chew before she swallowed. She slowly dabbed her face with her napkin before she took a long drink of water. My toes curled in frustration. She knew what she was doing. She was trying to get a petty reaction out of me and I refused to give that to her.

"Ahh, Where was I? Oh yeah, my brother's debt. So, it was a few weeks before you were due was when the former head of the Silencers started hounding me to pick up where my brother had left off. I tried my best to stay with you and your father, I truly did, but he began threatening you, claiming he's keeping coming after us, after you until he got what he wanted and I just couldn't risk calling his bluff. So, I made the decision to do what he wanted in order to protect you and your father and left less than a year after you were born. I...I just had to hold you in my arms as much as I could before I had to leave. I had to hold your father and remind him how much I loved both of you. I didn't want to leave, I promise I didn't but I...I just didn't want them to come after you." By now tears were pooling in her eyes and silently falling, but she quietly wiped them away. My guilt wrapped its fingers around my heart and began to squeeze due to how hostile I'd been toward her. But then I remembered these things happened almost nineteen years ago and all empathy I felt vanished. She's the boss now, so what's her excuse?