“That should have been something special between the three of you, Daddy. Why would you get Angelo arrested and take him out of a relationship between both of you and mom?” Chiara asked.
Robert stared at Chiara.
“Because the baby was his. Angelo is your father, not me.”
“What?” Chiara asked, as she covered her mouth and tears filled her eyes. Cash and Zane comforted her.
“Is this why you didn’t want me involved with Cash and Zane? Did you think that the same thing would happen to me that happened to you two and Mom?”
“No. I just wanted to punish you for your real father’s existence. Angelo was going to take over the company, and take all my money, money that belonged to him, and then he would take you. If I forced you into a marriage with Marvin, Marvin would hold part of the shares for me in my name. I was completely worried about myself.”
“You bastard!” Zane said then stepped forward. Angelo stopped him.
“I got to Marvin. I threatened him, and he handed you different documents. You signed agreements giving everything over to Chiara,” Angelo told him with his teeth clenched. Robert had been tricked. He was taken for everything he had. Now he was broke and alone in the world.
“You didn’t. You took my money, my company, and gave it to her?” Robert yelled and then tried to sit up when the beeps started going off on the machine.
“I did, because she deserves it. Not you. It’s what Patricia would have wanted. She knew the baby was mine. She knew that you couldn’t contribute and impregnate her, because of your medical condition. She wasn’t stupid. Just like my daughter isn’t stupid. You did this to yourself, Robert. You became so self-absorbed in money and power that you lost the last precious most important person in your life. The daughter you, Patricia, and I created out of our love and bond. You distorted it, you turned it into something obscene and bad, and for that, you deserve to be alone, with nothing.” Angelo turned and walked out of the room.
Robert looked at Chiara. “You won’t leave me with nothing will you? I took care of you all these years. I was your father. He wasn’t.”
Chiara lifted her chin, just like Patricia would have. “You pushed me away after Mommy died. I couldn’t understand that. Not when you were my daddy, the one man in my life I could always count on. Now I find out that you’ve done nothing but lie, and were even willing to sell me off to Marvin, like some share in the company? I don’t know if I can forgive you for this. We shared so much. Twenty-six years of my life, and you were there for me. But when your money, your assets, were threatened by Angelo’s existence, you sold me out. Is there nothing between us? Did all those years mean nothing, that you could give up on us, on the bond we shared, blood or not?” She lowered her eyes. She was so hurt. Robert knew that he hadn’t loved her when it mattered most.
“It did mean something. You can’t leave me with no money, no place to live, after all these years that I took care of you and looked after you. I deserve that much. I don’t deserve this treatment,” he said with attitude.
“I’m shocked by your response. By your easy dismissal of me, your only child, and what I’ve learned here today. I’m a good person despite the fact that all I feel like doing right now is smacking you, and hating you, but I can’t. You’ve been my father all these years. I trusted you and all I asked was to be loved in return. I won’t leave you on the streets, but I hope that you will be reminded every minute of every day for the rest of your life, what you lost, what you could have had. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you. I just don’t know what I’ll do.”
He watched Chiara and her men exit his room. He stared at the closed door. The silence, and being completely alone hit home hard. He deserved this. And if he had the power, money, and means to seek revenge on Angelo, he would do it in a heartbeat.
Robert clenched his teeth and his fists and growled in anger. He had lost. His fight was over.
* * * *
Six Months Later
Chiara was smiling wide as she walked into the main office at Costiano’s. She was now president of the company, and today was Friday, and what she called “dress down” day at work. It gave her employees a day to wear jeans and sneakers and feel more comfortable. They loved it. She headed toward her new VP’s office with some tickets in hand.
As she opened the door, she was shocked to see Cash and Zane there. “I thought we were meeting for lunch and then heading to Saratoga for the horse races?”
But her men were standing next to Angelo who was looking at the computer.
“We are. We are. Angelo is just giving us some pointers. He knows a bit about horses and betting,” Cash stated.
“I know he does. He’s been doing an outstanding job monitoring the numbers alongside me.”
She smiled. At first, Cash and Zane weren’t too sure about her idea of getting to know her biological father better. But once they got through the awkwardness of the past, they’d learned to like Angelo, too. He really was a great man. His determination to get to her and to make things right was a sign of his strength and character, even if his means were a bit illegal. His lawyer was able to clear him of any charges despite Robert’s attempt at pressing charges. Nothing could be proven. As for Marvin, he was going to jail for a long time. And not only for embezzling money from the company but also for soliciting sex from young underage girls in an illegal sex scandal online. Yeah, he was going away for a long time.
Zane walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “I already know who I’m betting on.”
“Oh you do?” she asked.
“Yes. I have a sure thing.”
“Me, too,” Cash said, then walked over to her and gave her a kiss.
She looked at them strangely and then at Angelo. He smiled.
“They are fast learners. This should be fun,” Angelo said as he rose from his seat.