Leon tossed his cell phone across the room. “That sonofabitch!”
Calderone stared at his father. He’d never seen him so unraveled. “Dad, come on. Just try to calm—”
“Calm? I’ve never even gotten to meet her! I never knew she even existed before yesterday and now, some greedy shit-head has her. He’s off his fucking rocker too!” Leon paced as he ranted, “I want my family whole! I want these two women to live a charmed life from her eon out. I want to lavish them with…” He gripped his hands into fists. “Love and gifts. Parties and good times. All the joy they missed while being locked up or too scared to live a life. All because of fucking Siobhan. I wish I would have killed her myself. Then she hires some fucker that gets ideas of grandeur? I am gonna kill him myself.”
“DAD!” Calderone shouted from across the room.
Leon stopped his pacing and looked over at his son.
“You are losing it. You will never win this way. This is one thing that you taught me well, a long time ago. If anyone knows the pain of losing a daughter, it is me. You held me up the whole time. You also kept me sane.” Calderone stalked over to his shocked looking father. “Don’t make me slap you the way you did me the day…” he choked up. “…the day they found my wife dead in that car and my daughter gone.”
Leon studied his son’s reddened face then his shoulders relaxed. He shook his head. “Not fair to use reverse phycology on me, son.”
Calderone almost smiled. “Good. There’s my dad. Leon Vincinti. Smart and clever.”
Leon shook his head. “God, I need a dammed drink.”
His son nodded. “Let’s go get one.”
Leon paused. “No. I want to see how Evelyn is holding up. After all that she has been through, this must be tearing her up inside.”
Calderone said nothing. He simply walked over and opened the door. Whatever his dad wanted to do he would follow.
Both men went out into the hallway.
They headed to the upper floor.
The large room and anti-room were both empty.
“Damnit,” Leon swore. “I told her to stay up here. But I bet she’s in the kitchen again.”
Calderone figured this too, so he followed his dad downstairs.
Evelyn was there. She was baking something and doing the dishes.
Leon shook his head. They had servants for this. But he wouldn’t say a thing about it. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I promise it will be okay, sweet woman.”
Her body was rigid as he held her. “I gave up years to make sure she would be fine. To make sure Siobhan didn’t hurt her. I stayed in that crappy old house, day after day. Month after month, when I could have escaped.” She turned to look at him. “Anna had an escape plan all set for the last seven years did you know that? She even set money aside, so we could escape. But I couldn’t. Siobhan said she would have Meena killed if I left. Now—she may die anyway. Why?” She cried out. “It is not fair!” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I am…was so happy to finally be reunited with you. But I shouldn’t have ever left that house.” She sniffled.
“My dear. I am so sorry. I didn’t know about Siobhan’s backup plan. Though I should have known. It is the very thing she would have in place.”
“It is not your fault. Leon. None of this really was.” Swiping at her tears, she asked, “H-have you heard a-anything?”
He nodded as he rubbed his hands gently up and down along her arms to try to calm her. “I spoke to Meena. She was alive and sounded fairly good.”
“Fairly good…?” Evelyn squared her shoulders. “At least, there is that. She’s alive.” She seemed to try hard to control her grief. “I just have to think positive. I have to believe—”
A buzzing sound cut off her sentence.
Calderone caught Leon’s eyes as both men stared at each other.
“Someone has crossed the perimeter fence.” Calderone stood up.
Suddenly, there was a racket at the back door.
Leon and Calderone started at the banging.
Calderone reached for his weapon.
Leon told Evelyn to stay where she was and he called out for John.
Walking toward the back door, Leon wrenched the door open and a girl fell into his arms. She was bloody and bruised and before she passed out, she whispered a word that froze his heart. She’d whispered, Daddy.
Leon lifted her into his arms and carried her into the kitchen.
Calderone stepped outside and looked around the backyard. Not far from the back door, a man laid in the dirt. He looked around but when he didn’t see anyone, he holstered his weapon and rushed down the back steps to turn the man over. He didn’t know him. He wondered what he had to do with all of this.
When he raised his gaze, he could see Anna standing in the doorway.
She looked both stunned and worried. Her eyes were locked on the man at Calderone’s feet.
John came running out of the house. He lifted the man up and carried him into the house.
Anna was waiting and she looked as if she was personally concerned about this injured starnger.
Calderone glared at Anna and asked, “Do you know him?”
Anna nodded. “That’s Oscar, he’s the man who was watching over Meena for me. He was keeping her safe. I don’t know what happened to them but he got her here where she belongs.” She knelt down beside his body and cupped his jaw with her hand. “Oh Oscar, what did they do to you?” She looked up at Calderone then turned her head to focus on Leon, Evelyn and Meena. She then got to her feet and went over to Evelyn. “Is she okay?”
Evelyn nodded. “I think so.” She looked up at Anna.
Anna dropped down beside her and wrapped her arm around Evelyn’s shoulders. “At least now, she is with you.”
Evelyn held on to her daughter’s hands. “Damn your sister and damn whoever could do something like this to an innocent girl.” She had pulled Meena’s head into her lap the moment Leon laid her on the floor. Evelyn wept silent tears as she gazed down at her daughter.
Leon snapped his eyes up to Anna. “You know this man who brought her here?”
Anna nodded. “Oscar and a few of the others have been watching over Meena for me, but Siobhan’s always known where she was. Her men have been watching your daughter all along. And seems one of them got the idea to ransom her as Evelyn told me about the kidnapping. I hope he’s dead too!”
Meena began waking up and it wasn’t pleasant. She called out to her mother and then she flinched as if someone had struck her. She sat up and opened her eyes then screamed for her mom, “Mom!” she cried out and fought the arms wrapped around her.
“Meena stop, please stop,” Evelyn called out.
Meena stopped and turned her fear filled gaze toward her. “Mom?” She shook her head to clear it. “Is it really you?” She threw herself into her mother’s arms. “Oh mom, I found you!”
Evelyn hugged her daughter closer and kissed her cheek. “Oh baby, I’m so glad you did.”
Meena just let her mom hold her for a minute. Then she turned her head and spotted Leon. Sitting up, she just stared at him for a moment before she asked, “Are you…?”
“I’m Leon Vincinti. We just talked twenty minutes ago, my dear.”
Meena smiled. “You are real aren’t you?” She reached out to touch him. “You’re real and I finally get to meet you. Oh, my god!”
Leon chuckled. “Yes child, I’m real.”
“And you do know that you’re my dad?” Meena asked in awe.
“I am so glad to see you are okay.” Leon smiled softly. “And yes, I am your father.”
Meena shook her head. “Not my father, that’s too harsh. You’re my daddy. That’s what mom always called you in her stories. She would tell me about you and my brother Calderone every day.” She turned to look at Calderone. “Are you him? Calderone? My big brother?”
Calderone nodded and smiled. “And I’m guessing you’re Meena.”
“Dominica Lysette Druggan at your service, so to speak.”
Calderone looked shocked and turned his head to stare at his father. “Dominica Lysette?”
Meena turned to look at Leon. “Mom named me that for a reason. She always told me that I was named after your mother. She said you lost her and that while you would always have a small piece of her in your heart she wanted you to have a living piece of her too.” She looked at him for the longest time then she asked, “Is that all right?”
Leon felt a single tear roll down his cheek as he nodded. “That’s perfect.” Turning his head, he gazed tenderly at Evelyn. “I don’t know how to thank you for this.”
Evelyn cupped his jaw. “No thanks are needed. I told you I loved you. I can’t and won’t dismiss your past. Lysette was Calderone’s mother and your wife. You loved her too. She is part of your past. I can’t ignore that and I will not dismiss it either. When I accepted you, I accepted all of you.”
Leon now turned his head to look at Meena. “But how did you come to be here?”
“That might be my doing,” Anna spoke up.
“What do you mean?” Leon asked.
“When we got here, I asked to make a phone call remember? I wanted to warn Oscar to get your daughter and bring her here. Siobhan always had a system in place. If there was ever a time when no one was at the house, her man Alfred was to go and find Meena and take her hostage. I think she had plans of killing her. My call was almost too late.”
Evelyn held Meena as she cried a bit more. “Yes, that is what she promised if I ever escaped, but—I thought since she was dead that maybe…?”
Meena raised her head and explained what happened, “Oscar busted in. He and Alfred had the worst battle. He then got me away and we got here before I knew Oscar was hurt. I think he took a knife to his back.” Meena started to cry again. “Please help him! I-I think he might be dying?”
Leon nodded to his man, John. “Get our doctor, immediately.”
