Chapter 242

I shut my eyes, wishing for an angel to appear, and that was exactly what happened as Johnny barged through the door.

“Christian, stop!” He was out of breath as he made his way behind the glass. My eyes moved to the knife in his back pocket, wondering whether Christian and Dario, who had only been focused on Luca, had noticed the sharp object.

“Johnny?” Luca said, relieved. Christian rolled his eyes in annoyance while Dario stayed out of it.

Judging by his mild reaction towards Luca and Christian's unbothered response towards his uncle, the two must’ve made some sort of deal.

It only took Johnny one second to stand in front of his brother and he stretched his arms, protecting him. “I won’t let you do this.” He stated.

Christian tensed his hand around the gun. “Move.”

“No.”

Dario cleared his throat to speak. “Johnny—“

“Move!” Christian raised his voice at Johnny, pointing his head to the door.

“No.”

“Fine, then you’ll die with your brother,” Christian said, and I could tell he wasn’t bluffing. The determination in his eyes was proof of it. He would end up killing both of them if he had to.

Afraid of Enzo not being on time, I took matters into my own hands and covered Johnny the same way he had covered Luca.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” I exclaimed, tears falling from my eyes. Maybe it was the hormones, but I felt overwhelmed and responsible for the situation.

Christian lowered his gun, glaring at me with eyes filled with anger. “Serena, move.”

“No!” I shouted. “Can’t you see he’s scared?” I pointed out. “Just let him go…for me.”

No matter how hard I tried getting through to him, my words did not seem to be of much help.

“I lowered my gun because you’re pregnant—but believe me, I can still make my shot.”

I believed him, alright.

Christian was trained to do this.

“The knife in your back pocket? Hold it against my neck.” I lowered my head, whispering to Johnny, hoping he would hear me.

“W-what?”

“Just do it. Enzo is on his way!”

That was all he needed to hear before he pulled out the sharp knife and held it against my throat. I could feel the sharp object on my skin but remained calm. I trusted Johnny.

“Do it. Make your shot.” He dared Christian.

Christian, who finally seemed capable of negotiating, dropped his gun to the floor and motioned Dario to do the same.

Not having any intentions to do something in the first place, Dario revealed his gun and followed Christian’s instructions.

“See,” I could hear the anxiousness in his voice. “You can let go of her now.”

“Don’t—just a bit longer,” I whispered, waiting for Enzo to reveal himself. Christian’s goal was to kill his cousin—and something told me he was actually going to do it.

“I don’t want to do that just yet,” Johnny told Christian.

“Just take your brother and leave.”

“So you can shoot him right after?” Johnny chuckled, not believing a single word coming from his mouth. “I would never hurt Serena—not her.” He said. “We’re just trying to buy some time.”

“For?” An uncertain tone could be heard in Christian’s voice. There was a silence as Johnny struggled to find the right words.

Saying he wouldn’t really hurt me was like an invitation to Christian to kill his brother.

“For me!”

I muttered a quick ‘thank god’ as Enzo entered the room with his hands in his pockets with no worries whatsoever. “I’m glad to be part of this little reunion.” He held his hands together, clicking his tongue. “Oh wow, Uncle looks…dead. Remind me not to cross Dario.”

“What are you doing here?” Christian clenched his jaw, not happy to see his brother.

Enzo made his way toward us. “Well, you see—“

“I texted him.” I backed him up, earning a furious look from Christian. “Just hear him out—okay!”

Christian looked from the knife against my throat to his weakened cousin on the floor and kicked the guns to Enzo, showing Johnny he couldn’t get to them.

I had a good feeling he already had a feeling Johnny wasn’t capable of hurting me, but wasn’t taking any chances.

“As long as you remove that knife, I’m willing to hear what my brother has to say.” That was all he had to say for Johnny to remove the knife from my throat.

Enzo nodded. “Okay, where should I start—Serena?”

“What are you looking at me for?”

“You’re the one who texted me while I had a special date with Britney and M—“

“Just tell him the thing I texted you!” I snapped, not caring about whatever activities he had before all of this.

“Oh, right.” Enzo got back to his senses. “Little brother, if you want to kill Luca, you should kill me too.” He spoke loudly. “And Isobel.” He added. “And Vince.”

“It’s different.” Christian opposed. “You’re my brother. Killing Isobel would’ve started a war, and I was partly responsible for leading her on, Vince…he’s a good person—“

“And so is—“

“No,” Christian spoke, not blinking even once. “Even though we didn’t always get along, I thought he was smart, loyal…but this?” He beckoned Luca, who was shaking in fear, sweat all over his face.

“Dario?” Enzo moved to his next target. “Your bullying history, which you just can’t seem to forget about, has been on your mind for years—and as far as I know, Luca was one of the few who had stood up for you, so maybe you can add something?”

“I do not believe he’s a bad person, Christian.” Dario said immediately, barely giving Enzo the chance to finish his speech. “My brother is stupid…but what he truly needs is help.”

“And I’m going to give it to him!” Christian sounded hurt and betrayed. “By sending him to hell.”

“You’re sick.” Enzo shook his head. “I tried to get Serena and Siena killed. I did it without anyone’s orders—came up with the plan all by myself, so please tell me!” He demanded an answer. “Why do I get to live, and Luca doesn’t!”

“Because you’re my brother!”

“And Luca is your cousin,” Enzo said calmly. “And I promise you, the moment you put a bullet through his head, I’ll come clean to everyone about all of my mistakes which you’ve been trying to erase, make a laughing stock of this entire family and force you to kill me.”

Unsure laughter escaped from Christian’s lips. “Don’t be crazy. You wouldn’t.” He swallowed hard.

“But I would.”

“Please!” I ran to Christian and grabbed his hands, shaking him. “I’ll never bother you again. I-I’ll try to be a good wife and even take a cooking and cleaning classes. Do you want fifteen children? I’ll give them to you—”

“Serena, stop.” His eyes softened. Those cold eyes from before changed back to the ones I felt the most comfortable around. Defeated, he brought his hand to the top of my head and brushed through my hair.

“Do you really think you can help him?” He asked his brother.

Enzo smiled, and I could feel this would end up in yet another rant. “I went to a good place where they cleansed my mind, body, and soul. It was a good experience and—“

Christian grimaced. “Look, do you think you can help him—yes or no?”

“Yes!”

“Then he’s your responsibility, and I’ll leave him in your hands.” Christian finally agreed, leaving everyone—including Luca, to release a relieved breath.

“Hey, you piece of shit!” He removed his hand from my head and knelt to face his Luca, staring at him like he was the dirtiest thing he had ever seen in his life.

Luca met Christian’s eyes. “Y-yes?”

“If it were up to me, you wouldn’t have been here right now, so consider this your lucky day, and you can thank Serena for that.” He said. “Because after everything you’ve done to her, she’s still kind enough to give you a second chance.”

We were probably on our fourth or fifth chance, but that didn’t matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was that Luca would be safe.

“Enzo, since you and my fiancee are buddy-buddy—you can take her to mom’s to pick up Siena.”

Christian got up from the ground and straightened his clothes.

“I don’t feel like talking or seeing her for the rest of the day.” He glared at me for a split second, leaving me baffled as he walked away. “By the way, drive safe and don’t do anything crazy. She’s pregnant.”

My jaw dropped until the moment I heard the sound of an engine, and that’s when I realized he had indeed left me behind.

Asshole.