Heir’s Redemption

Chapter 39

I drove like a bat out of hell towards the underground warehouse where Veronica was being held. She was moved there a month ago because Rámon thought it would be better that she lived like a true prisoner.

Ever since he found out the baby wasn’t his, he’s been spiraling out of control and losing his mind.

I’ve tried to call Caterina and get her to contact him, but she refuses. She says that he deserves everything that is happening to him. She won’t put her anger aside just for one god damn minute to call him and get through to him in his rage-full haze.

It pisses me off.

I understand she’s in pain, but so is he. If one call from her could calm him down and not cause a full blown war in the mafia, then why can’t she just do it?

I dialed Caterina’s number for the tenth time, trying to get a hold of her. She’s been ignoring my calls and I’m getting fed up.

“What do you want?!” She finally picks up and answers the phone.

I hear loud music in the background—club music.

“Stop calling me Vinny, I’m busy.” She slurred her words, sounding out of it.

“Caterina!” I growled out, “Why haven’t you been picking up my calls?!”

“Because I’m busy!”

“That’s not a good enough excuse little sister.” I scoffed out, “What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you said you would stay in contact with me and take care of yourself while you’re away.”

“I am taking care of myself!” She snapped back, “I don’t have to check in with you all the damn time Vincenzo! You aren’t my father!”

I rolled my eyes, knowing she was drunk and angry. There was no getting through to her right now.

“Look Cat.” I softened my tone as I spoke to her, “I need you to do me a favor.”

“What favor?”

“I need you to call Rámon for me.” I explained, “I need you to try and get him to relax before he starts a war between the families. You’re the only one he’ll listen too.”

“HA!” She laughed out into the phone, making me close my eyes and sigh out. “f**k him and f**k you for even asking me to do that!”

“Cat!” I yelled out.

“No Vinny!” She cut me off, “I’m done with him and I’ll be done with all of you if you don’t stop talking to me about him!”

“Caterina.” I sighed out.

“He’s dead to me!” She belligerently yelled back, “And you’ll be dead to me if you don’t stop calling me about him. I DON’T CARE ANYMORE!”

I pulled the phone away from my ear, uncomfortable with how loud she was yelling.

“Stop calling me!” She demanded before she hung up the phone.

I tossed my phone into the center console of my Bentley and sighed out, feeling so frustrated.

“Sounds like she’s doing worse than Rámon.” Sage muttered next to me.

She reached over and interlaced her fingers with mine, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.

“I just wish it didn’t have to be like this between them.” I whispered, not knowing what to say.

“Me too.” Sage agreed as I continued to drive, knowing I needed to get to Rámon’s underground warehouse quickly.

“Everything will be okay.” Sage reassured as I got lost in my thoughts, “If it’s meant to be, then they will find their way back to each other.”

I nodded my head and gave her hand a squeeze, thankful for her calming presence.

“And if they don’t get back together, then that’s meant to be too.” She hesitantly whispered, “Maybe they don’t belong together.”

My breath froze in my chest as I processed her words.

I had the same doubts, but I tried not to accept them. Rámon and Caterina were meant for each other, even if they were going through a war of their own—but then again, maybe they were too toxic for each other.

I didn’t really want to think about it, considering it just made things even more complicating.

I just want my life to be peaceful right now.

I want to be in love and handle my duties as Don like I always have.

I don’t want to deal with anybody else’s problems right now.

…

I helped Sage down from the steep stairs that led underground to Rámon’s remote warehouse.

A metallic scent I knew too well hit me at full force—blood.

Lots and lots of blood.

“This place stinks.” Sage complained as she pinched her nose.

I kept her close as we moved through the dimly lit underground warehouse.

Rámon’s men were stationed all over the place, but I couldn’t find Rámon anywhere.

“Where’s Rámon?” I asked nobody in particular.

A man pointed down the right hall that parted ways with different halls—this place was a lot bigger than I thought. You could get lost in here if you weren’t paying attention.

I led Sage down the right hall, following it until we hard loud screams. They were a mixture of voices—male and female.

“This is so scary.” Sage whispered as her body tensed next to mine.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe.” I reassured, “If you can’t handle it, close your eyes.”

I led Sage into the opening of the room, seeing Rámon torturing Santino while Veronica sat chained to a chair with blood seeping out of a c-section wound to her stomach.

Santino hung from the ceiling naked, while Rámon lashed his body with a barbed wire whip.

“Oh my god.” Sage breathed out as she pressed her body into me more.

I held her close, trying to comfort her—she wasn’t used to this life or what went on behind closed doors.

Santino’s screams bounced off the concrete walls, piercing our eardrums. His crimson blood dripped down the gnarly wounds that coated his Italian flesh from the lashes Rámon inflicted on him.

Rámon kept torturing him, not even noticing our presence.

“Stop!” Veronica begged, “Let him go! Let my father go!”

Rámon smirked, before throwing his whip to the ground.

“Oh, I’ll let him go alright.” He sinisterly mocked as he looked over to his men and ordered them to unchain him and bring him in front of Veronica.

Rámon finally turned around and met our gazes. His eyes flickered with something that I couldn’t decipher before a look of emptiness shone through.

“What are you doing here?” He coldly asked.

“My mother is worried about you.” I answered, seeing him tense up.

“She doesn’t need to be, I’m fine.”

Fine my ass.

“We all know you aren’t fine, so save me the lies.” I argued, making his lips curly up into a sneer.

“Take her away and leave.” He scoffed as he looked at Sage cowering next to me before he turned his attention back over to Santino and Veronica.

I looked around, looking for the baby but it was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s the child?” I asked, authority lacing my voice.

Rámon turned around, meeting my gaze.

“The child?” He smirked, “Is that why you’re here?”

A cold and sinister laugh left his lips, making him look deranged.

His attire was messy and nothing like the sophisticated and calculated Don he was—his white tee was tattered and covered in blood. His dark-wash jeans were covered in dirt and blood, while his hair was sprawled in different directions. He had a beard that wasn’t tapered or lined up in any good way.

He’s never had a beard before, but here he was sporting a dark brown beard—the same color as the hair on the top of his head.

He looked nothing like the Rámon we knew and loved.

“You think I would hurt the baby, just because it isn’t mine?” He scoffed, “If I wanted to kill the bastard, I would have killed Veronica a long time ago.”

His disappointing and angry gaze bore into mine.

“I gave the baby to a good family.” He explained gruffly, “Despite your doubts, I made sure the bastard was taken care of for the rest of his life.”

I frowned, not liking the way he was looking at me.

“But let’s be honest here, you don’t believe me.” He chuckled coldly, “You all see me as some cold and heartless man who’s lost his mind, right?!”

Sage’s fingers dug into my dress-shirt as Rámon continued his rant.

“Why don’t you stay then.” A sinister smile curved onto his dry lips, “Watch and see what the cold and heartless man can really do.”

Before I could say anything, he turned back around and faced Santino and Veronica. Rámon’s men had Santino on his knees in front of Veronica while she begged for her and her father’s life.

Rámon walked around Veronica and stood behind her before he pulled his pistol from his waistband.

“You have a chance to live Veronica, but you’re gonna have to sacrifice your dear ol’ daddy.” Rámon chuckled in amusement, looking even more deranged.

He unchained one of her hands and put the pistol in it before placing her finger on the trigger.

“Pull the trigger and you’ll live to see another day.” He mused as Veronica cried out with shaky hands, staring at her defeated father.

“Don’t.” Santino coughed out as blood dripped down his face, “Don’t pull the trigger.”

Rámon leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Come on, pull the trigger Veronica. Think about your bastard child. Would you like to see him again?”

Veronica cried out, not knowing what to do.

“Don’t act like you want your father to live.” He mocked, “You hate him, so pull the f*****g trigger and live to see another day.”

Veronica cried harder as her hands shook even more.

“PULL THE f*****g TRIGGER!” Rámon screamed out, making Veronica jump and pull the trigger, shooting her father right in the head.

She wailed out as her father dropped to the floor dead. His crimson blood poured out of the wound to his head and all over the concrete floor.

“DADDY!” Veronica screamed out, making Rámon laugh.

“Your dear ol’ daddy is dead, he can’t hear you.”

I looked down at Sage, seeing her eyes wide with shock as she looked on at the sinister situation in front of us.

My attention got drawn back to Rámon as he grabbed a container of gasoline and began drowning Veronica in it.

“What are you doing?!” She cried out, “You said I’d live if I killed him!”

“Did you really think I was telling the truth?” Rámon mused, “I guess we both good at lying, huh Veronica?”

Veronica screamed out as she kicked and tried to get out of her restraints, but she was going nowhere—she was chained to the chair, stopping her from escaping.

“Please stop!” She begged, “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“Your apologies mean nothing to me, Veronica.” Rámon’s voice was devoid of any emotion as he poured the last of the gasoline over her head.

The smell of gasoline was strong as it overpowered the metallic scent of blood that filled the room.

Rámon took a couple of steps back from her before taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it up.

I moved back and pulled Sage with me, knowing this was about to get chaotic.

“You know.” Rámon drawled out as he took a puff of his cigarette, “I was okay with choosing you and that bastard of a child I thought was mine.”

“I was fine with giving Caterina up, because I knew I had a son I would get to raise.” He spoke out with more emotion than he’s shown this whole night, “Raising my son was worth more than being with the woman I have loved more than myself.”

Rámon kept talking, not caring about Veronica’s cries.

“But the bastard was never mine.” He scoffed, “I gave up the one thing that only mattered to me over a bastard that wasn’t even mine.”

A sinister laugh escaped his mouth as he released a large puff of smoke.

“I let you deceive me, falling for every little lie you fed me.” He kept laughing, but there was no amusement behind his voice, only pain. “I gave up the woman I have loved since forever, for a lie.”

“For a f*****g lie!” He yelled out, silencing everyone around the room.

He inhaled a large amount of smoke before exhaling.

“And for that.” He whispered, “You will pay.”

“NOOOOOO!” Veronica screamed out.

Rámon flicked his cigarette onto Veronica, instantly setting her ablaze.

She screamed at the top of her lungs as the fire consumed her whole, burning her alive. She tried to fight, but she succumbed to her fate.

Death.

Her cries lessened, until she couldn’t be heard anymore. All that was left was a burning corpse that crackled as the flames burned through her skin and bone.

Sage buried her face into my chest, making me finally look away at the sight in front of me.

I’ve never seen someone get burned alive before.

It was gruesome.

The smell was horrible—the way the dead flesh burned from the flames and the sound of everything turning to ash was just disgusting.

Rámon finally turned around after watching Veronica burn alive for several minutes.

“I hope you enjoyed the show.” He smirked, “You may leave now.”

I wanted to say something, but I decided against it.

His once amber eyes were now black.

He looked like the devil himself—no ounce of morality or light in him anymore.

There was nothing I could say right now to get through to him. He was lost and I just needed to give him space until he’s calmed down.

Whenever that will be.

“Come on.” I said out to Sage before pulling her along.

I gave one last look to Rámon before we walked back towards the entrance.

Everything was such a f*****g mess.