Chapter 243

BRANDON'S POV

The rest of the examination passed in a blur of white noise and mechanical movements. Dr. Evans checked her reflex points, listened to her heartbeat, and noted down her height—declaring the entire check-up a complete success.

I stood there like a statue, the word *Dad* still echoing in the chambers of my chest, a beautiful, terrifying weight. When we finally walked out to the clinic’s pharmacy counter, Amelia didn't let go of my hand.

Her tiny fingers wrapped tightly around two of mine, anchoring me to her as the pharmacist handed over her monthly bottles of chewable vitamins. "Here you go, sweetheart," I murmured, sliding the bag into my jacket pocket.

"Thank you, Uncle Brandon—I mean, Dad," she corrected herself with a shy, gap-toothed smile, testing the word out again as if it were a new toy she wasn't quite sure she was allowed to keep.

My heart squeezed painfully. I looked up, my eyes instantly searching for Aria. She was walking a few steps behind us, her purse clutched tightly against her stomach like a shield.

Throughout the entire appointment, she hadn't uttered a single unnecessary word. She sat in the corner of the exam room like a ghost, completely silent, only offering quiet, strained answers whenever Amelia directly asked her a question.

The vibrant, fiercely independent woman I loved looked entirely hollowed out, crushed under the weight of the distance between us and the shifting reality of our daughter's loyalty.

We exited the hospital into the blinding afternoon sun, stepping into the waiting SUV. The drive back to the estate was suffocating.

Amelia prattled on about her favorite cartoons, completely oblivious to the cold war happening over her head, while Aria stared out the window, her jaw set, refusing to even glance in my direction.

When Anthony finally steered the heavy vehicle through the iron gates of the estate and cruised up the long, winding driveway, the peaceful facade of the house vanished in an instant.

My eyes locked onto the circular driveway ahead, and every muscle in my body violently seized. I froze. Parked right out front, stark and undeniable under the afternoon sun, was a sleek, familiar sports car.

Julian’s car.

The bastard wasn't at the team dinner. He wasn't waiting for tomorrow. He was here, on my territory, armed with whatever lethal secrets he had dug up from the past, ready to blow my entire world to pieces.

The metal of my gun pressed cold against my ribs as I stepped out of the SUV, my vision narrowing to a razor-sharp point.

Julian stood leaning against the hood of his sports car, his posture oozing a terrifying, unearned confidence. He looked completely sober, completely focused, and entirely too smug.

"What the hell are you doing here, Julian?" I demanded, my voice dropping to a lethal, guttural rasp that echoed off the stone facade of the estate.

Julian didn't flinch. He just smiled, a slow, predatory curving of his lips. "I'm here to take my family back, Brandon."

He shifted his gaze past my shoulder, his eyes locking onto Aria as she slid out of the backseat. "He isn't so perfect after all, Aria. In fact, the man you’ve been sharing a bed with orchestrated your entire meeting five years ago."

The air left my lungs in a violent rush. My body went completely rigid, every muscle locking into place like stone. The secret.

The dark, putrid rot I had buried under layers of dummy corporations and offshore settlements was unraveling right in front of me. Five years ago, I didn't save Aria out of the goodness of my heart.

I knew exactly who she was. Before her, I had been married. My wife, the woman who carried my unborn child, had been torn away from me in a horrific car accident.

At the time, I was a ruthless kingpin in the Mafia world, and I automatically assumed my enemies had orchestrated the hit. But it wasn't them.

The vehicle that slammed into my wife’s car was driven by Aria’s father—a good, innocent man who had been tragically manipulated and dragged into the fringes of the Mafia world by Aria's corrupt uncle.

When that crash killed her parents, her brother, and my entire family, I didn't care about their grief. I only cared about my own burning vengeance. I assumed it was a trap.

I watched Aria for years, tracking her movements, waiting for the exact moment she was vulnerable enough for me to strike and destroy her as retribution.

But I didn't count on her being pregnant. And I damn sure didn't count on my cold, dead heart opening up to her. I had fallen completely, deeply in love with her and Amelia, turning from her stalker into her shield.

But the truth was monstrous. Her family had accidentally caused my five years of grief, and I had approached her purely out of malice.

"Amelia," Aria’s voice broke through the deafening ringing in my ears. It was shaking, but laced with a sudden, protective steel. "Go inside with Sarah for a minute, sweetheart. Mum will be right in."

Sarah quickly stepped forward, taking Amelia's small hand and ushering her through the heavy front doors. The moment the doors clicked shut, Aria turned on Julian, her eyes flashing with a dangerous fire. "What the hell are you talking about, Julian?"

Beside her, I stood like a corpse. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. Aria saw my rigidity. She turned her head slowly, her frantic, searching eyes boring straight into mine. "Brandon? What is he talking about?"

Julian let out a loud, mocking laugh, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the heavy brown manila envelope. He tossed it violently through the air. It landed with a heavy thud right at Aria’s feet.

"Your protector is a monster, Aria," Julian sneered, his voice dripping with venom. "Brandon was a fucking Mafia king. Read it. Read how he tracked you down. Read about what happened to your father."

With trembling hands, Aria bent down and scooped up the file. She ripped the clasp open, her eyes racing across the old legal filings, the redacted police reports, and the chilling surveillance logs of herself from five years ago.

The color completely drained from her face. The betrayal in her eyes was a physical blade ripping through my chest. She slowly lowered the papers, turning her head toward me, her breath hitching in a sob. "Is it true, Brandon?"

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I couldn't lie to her. Not now. My absolute, suffocating silence gave her the only answer she needed.

The sound of her palm striking my cheek echoed sharply across the driveway. The force of the slap snapped my head to the side, but the physical pain was absolutely nothing compared to the agony tearing through my soul.

"How dare you?" she choked out, tears finally spilling over her cheeks. "How dare you come near me? Near my daughter?"

"Aria, let me explain—" I stepped forward, my hands instinctively reaching out to catch her, to beg, to plead.

"Leave!" she screamed, taking a sharp step back, looking at me with an expression of pure horror. "Get out! Leave this property right now!"

Julian's smirk widened, and he stepped forward, sensing his moment of triumph. "Come on, Aria. Let's get you and Amelia out of—"

"And you!" Aria spun on her heel, pointing a trembling, furious finger directly at Julian’s chest. "Get the hell off my property! I am done with both of you!"

Julian froze, his triumphant expression faltering into disbelief. "Aria, wait, you can't be serious. I just saved you from a—"

"I said leave, Julian!" she shouted, her voice echoing with an absolute authority that brooked no argument. "Get out before I have the guards throw you off this land myself!"

Realizing he had lost his leverage, Julian glared at me, slammed his car door open, and tore down the gravel driveway, his tires screeching in a cloud of dust.

The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the sound of Aria's ragged, heartbroken breathing. She wouldn't look at me. She stood with her back completely rigid, her shoulders shaking.

I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, swallowing the bitter, metallic taste of defeat. I had earned this. I had built our entire life on a foundation of blood and lies, and now it was gone.

But even if she hated me, even if she never looked at me again, I would not leave her defenseless against the storm brewing outside these gates.

"I'll go," I said softly, my voice completely devoid of its usual authority, hollowed out by grief. "But I am leaving my men here. You and Amelia will always feel protected, no matter what. I won't let anyone touch you."

Aria didn't answer. She didn't move. I turned around slowly, walking back to the SUV where Anthony and Dominic were waiting with pale faces. They had heard everything.

"Anthony," I commanded, stopping by the driver’s side window. My voice was a dead, flat whisper. "Make sure you drive Amelia to and from school every single day. Do not let her out of your sight. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mr. Brandon," Anthony replied, his expression deeply solemn. I climbed into the back seat, the heavy leather swallowing me as the door shut.

I didn't look back at the house. I didn't look back at the woman who held my entire soul in her hands.

"Drive," I muttered. The engine roared to life, and as the SUV pulled away from the estate, I stared out the tinted window, watching my entire world disappear into the distance.